Mental overload often comes from open loops, not workload.
Have you ever noticed that unfinished tasks seem to follow you mentally?
Maybe an unanswered email.
Or a phone call you have yet to make.
Something that’s been on your to-do list for weeks.
Even a decision you haven’t made yet.
The thing is, psychology suggests that unfinished tasks remain more active in the mind than completed ones.
It is known as the Zeigarnik effectwhich is named after the psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik, who noticed that waiters in cafes often remember unpaid orders better than fulfilled ones. Once the bill was paid and the task completed, the memory faded surprisingly quickly.
Our brains seem to keep the “loops open” mentally.
And that means it’s often a mental mess less about how much we need to do… and more about how many things feel unresolved.
This matters because many of us have dozens of unfinished mental tabs open at once. As:
Reply to this message.
Make an appointment.
Organize the paperwork.
Make this difficult decision.
Start what I’ve been putting off.
Even when we rest, a part of the mind quietly clings to these unfinished loops.
The power of notes
But here’s the interesting part:
Research suggests that just clearly planning a task can reduce the stress on the brain around it—before the task is even done. And by “plan” I mean even just taking notes.
In other words, the brain relaxes when it feels that something is safely “caught.”
Why?
Because the brain tends to experience was captured unlike tasks unconcerned some of them.
For example, there is a big psychological difference between:
“I need to remember everything” and “It exists in a safe place.”
It effectively tells the nervous system:
“You no longer need to keep this active.”
This is not only true for the unfinished tasksbut also for the unfinished ones thoughts.
Ideas want to land somewhere.
If not, the brain often exercises them lightly in the background:
“Don’t lose this.”
“Remember that later.”
“That’s what matters.”
“You should do something about it.”
And this constant pattern of low-level cognitive maintenance can become surprisingly exhausting over time.
That’s why notebooks, voice memos, mind maps, rough outlines, or even a simple handwritten brain wipe can be strangely comforting.
In the end, sometimes the greatest mental relief is not when we finish everything…
but from not carrying everything inside anymore.
Try it today
Take 10 minutes and write down any unfinished tasks, worries, obligations, or “I need to remember this” thoughts that are running through your mind right now.
All.
Big or small.
You might be surprised how much lighter you feel afterwards.
Not because life suddenly changed…
but because your mind no longer has to work so hard to keep all the pages open.
References (for those who want to explore further)
Zeigarnik Effect: Zeigarnik, B. (1927). About finished and unfinished tasks. Link.
How making plans reduces intrusive thoughts: Masicampo, EJ, & Baumeister, RF (2011). Consider it done! Making a plan can eliminate the cognitive effects of unfulfilled goals. Link.
