
Creativity is usually not a single event, a dazzling epiphany that causes a sudden moment of realisation but a process like the process of problem-solving.
A great way to tap into our creativity is just to get started; once we start a task, we cannot help but recall it again and again, to keep it in our short-term memories. Our brains cannot let it go until it is acknowledged as done and the to-do box is ticked. This is the Zeigarnik effect, named after Bluma Zeigarnik, the psychologist who first observed and documented it.
Creativity is a vital aspect of human life, and it involves the ability to generate new ideas, concepts, and solutions to problems. One factor that can enhance creativity is the Zeigarnik effect. The Zeigarnik effect is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when people remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks more efficiently than completed ones. This effect has important implications for creative thinking, as it can help individuals to generate new ideas by stimulating their thinking process.
Psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik first documented the effect in the 1920s. She noticed that waiters in a restaurant could easily remember orders that were still to be completed but had difficulty recalling those that had already been served. This led her to study the phenomenon more closely and to conduct experiments to understand how it worked.
Zeigarnik found that people tend to remember unfinished tasks better than completed ones because unfinished tasks create a state of tension in the mind. I am very aware of this uncompleted to-do list tension. This tension reminds us to complete the task, which can stimulate creative thinking.
When applied to creativity, the Zeigarnik effect suggests that leaving a task or project incomplete can enhance creative thinking. For example, if you are working on a project and have hit a creative block, taking a break and leaving the project unfinished can help you generate new ideas when you return to it. Similarly, if you are brainstorming ideas for a new project, leaving the task unfinished overnight can help to create new ideas the following day.
We can use the Zeigarnik effect to enhance creativity deliberately. For example, you can intentionally start a project or task and then interrupt it or leave it incomplete to stimulate your thinking process. This can help to generate new ideas and solutions to problems.
The Zeigarnik effect is a psychological phenomenon that can enhance creativity by stimulating thinking. By intentionally leaving tasks or projects unfinished, we can tap into this effect and use it to help generate new ideas and solutions.
I often advise clients in my classes to sleep on it (Weinberger et al., 2018) put it on the back burner, switch tasks, and return to a project later if they are experiencing creative blockages.
Creativity is a process, not a singular event and utilising the Zeigarnik effect facilitates this process.
References
Weinberger, E. et al. (2018) ‘Having a creative day: Understanding entrepreneurs’ daily idea generation through a recovery lens’, Journal of Business Venturing, 33(1), pp. 1–19. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2017.09.001.