Do you know who Bluma Zeigarnik is? Well if you don’t then you should totally click on that link because, in addition to be awfully pretty (as Russian scientists go), she did some really fascinating research back in the early 20th century. The “Zeigarnik Effect” came out of that research, which is basically how your brain won’t let something go if it got interrupted in the middle of doing it.
As the article goes on to discuss, this is used to great effect by TV shows that have the Cliffhanger Ending. When we’re posed a mystery or twist like that at the end of the show, it gives us something to think about and discuss until the next episode rolls around. If done well then we have a hard time letting go and are much more likely to tune in next week to discover how it all plays out.
Even though I had no idea that I was implementing the Zeigarnik Effect, I see it happen in my weekly game sessions. Although I have to say that while I’m really good at pacing for one-shot games, I don’t always do a great job of it during my regular sessions. Sometimes we end at what seems like a point of closure and other times we have to quit right when it seems like we’re about to have a big, important scene (battle or otherwise).
I gradually came to notice games which ended with the big reveal for what was going to happen next time were followed by sessions where we really hit the ground running and got a lot done. Frequently my players would engage more between sessions and had already planned out exactly what their first moves would be. It’s because their brains had been chewing on the puzzle to come for quite some time leading up to the session.
As I’m sitting here typing this, I realize that I should be using it more for my one-shot games too. There again I have a tendency to take breaks right after defining scenes in the mid-game. We break for several minutes to hit the bathroom or get drinks and stuff like that. Then people return to the table and it takes a few minutes to move things forward toward what happens next.
Instead I should be carrying them through the closer part of the earlier scene and right into the setup for the endgame where the BBEG is revealed or the big set-piece battle will unfold. And right when the hook is set say, “Alright let’s take a 5 minute bathroom break.” I bet we’ll return to the gaming table with more momentum.
Getting past that starting point is, as the article suggests, often the hardest part of getting something done. Once we’re in motion then we tend to stay in motion unless something acts on us to keep us from finishing (yes this is a broad generalization - get used to them because I make them a lot). It’s something I hear from my coaching clients quite a bit because “procrastination” is one of the more common problems people approach me with.
I’m hardly one to be casting a lot of stones in this area. I find that I can be a terrible procrastinator (my good friend Riggs says the kinder management term is “pressure prompted”) at times. And one of my worst areas for this is something I should be doing a lot more regularly: Exercise.
Exercise is important for everybody but it is especially important for me because I’m a Type 1 Diabetic. My body makes no insulin so I need to incorporate my exercise routine into my blood sugar control regimen. Even though I am not somebody who enjoys exercise just for the sake of exercise, I always feel better having done it. So why is it so damn hard to get started?
Recently I started using the Zeigarnik Effect to my advantage. I’ve removed most other barriers to my primary form of exercise (running) by virtue of having a treadmill. It’s sitting about five feet from where I’m typing this and it’s available rain or shine in a climate controlled room with ample music and other entertainment easily available. And yet I still manage to find ways to avoid it.
Lately when it is time for me to get off my butt and run I can feel my body wanting to resist what is good for it. What I do is say to myself, “I’m just going to put on my running shoes. If I still don’t feel like running then I will give myself the day off.” As I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, I virtually ALWAYS run once I’ve got my shoes on. If I sit around now with my shoes on I get fidgety as my brain keeps after me about this unresolved task. I’ve started and that’s all I needed in order to be able to finish.
I’m also trying to apply this to my writing. Lately there has been lots of writing to do including but hardly limited to this column. I do my best to write when inspired and not try to “force” it. But I am finding that it is a bit easier if I get down the opening paragraphs even if I don’t write all of what I’m working on right then. My brain tends to keep writing even if my fingers aren’t and fairly soon I’m rushing back to the computer to type it all out.
I think I was utilizing some of these methods long before I knew who Bluma Zeigarnik was. But I am a big fan of having terminology for things because it makes me more aware of them as well as giving me a way to talk about them more easily. So welcome to the Zeigarnik Effect! Use it wisely.
Do you find that you are leaving cliffhangers in your life or gaming that help you move to the next phase with momentum on your side?
As the article goes on to discuss, this is used to great effect by TV shows that have the Cliffhanger Ending. When we’re posed a mystery or twist like that at the end of the show, it gives us something to think about and discuss until the next episode rolls around. If done well then we have a hard time letting go and are much more likely to tune in next week to discover how it all plays out.
Even though I had no idea that I was implementing the Zeigarnik Effect, I see it happen in my weekly game sessions. Although I have to say that while I’m really good at pacing for one-shot games, I don’t always do a great job of it during my regular sessions. Sometimes we end at what seems like a point of closure and other times we have to quit right when it seems like we’re about to have a big, important scene (battle or otherwise).
I gradually came to notice games which ended with the big reveal for what was going to happen next time were followed by sessions where we really hit the ground running and got a lot done. Frequently my players would engage more between sessions and had already planned out exactly what their first moves would be. It’s because their brains had been chewing on the puzzle to come for quite some time leading up to the session.
As I’m sitting here typing this, I realize that I should be using it more for my one-shot games too. There again I have a tendency to take breaks right after defining scenes in the mid-game. We break for several minutes to hit the bathroom or get drinks and stuff like that. Then people return to the table and it takes a few minutes to move things forward toward what happens next.
Instead I should be carrying them through the closer part of the earlier scene and right into the setup for the endgame where the BBEG is revealed or the big set-piece battle will unfold. And right when the hook is set say, “Alright let’s take a 5 minute bathroom break.” I bet we’ll return to the gaming table with more momentum.
Getting past that starting point is, as the article suggests, often the hardest part of getting something done. Once we’re in motion then we tend to stay in motion unless something acts on us to keep us from finishing (yes this is a broad generalization - get used to them because I make them a lot). It’s something I hear from my coaching clients quite a bit because “procrastination” is one of the more common problems people approach me with.
I’m hardly one to be casting a lot of stones in this area. I find that I can be a terrible procrastinator (my good friend Riggs says the kinder management term is “pressure prompted”) at times. And one of my worst areas for this is something I should be doing a lot more regularly: Exercise.
Exercise is important for everybody but it is especially important for me because I’m a Type 1 Diabetic. My body makes no insulin so I need to incorporate my exercise routine into my blood sugar control regimen. Even though I am not somebody who enjoys exercise just for the sake of exercise, I always feel better having done it. So why is it so damn hard to get started?
Recently I started using the Zeigarnik Effect to my advantage. I’ve removed most other barriers to my primary form of exercise (running) by virtue of having a treadmill. It’s sitting about five feet from where I’m typing this and it’s available rain or shine in a climate controlled room with ample music and other entertainment easily available. And yet I still manage to find ways to avoid it.
Lately when it is time for me to get off my butt and run I can feel my body wanting to resist what is good for it. What I do is say to myself, “I’m just going to put on my running shoes. If I still don’t feel like running then I will give myself the day off.” As I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, I virtually ALWAYS run once I’ve got my shoes on. If I sit around now with my shoes on I get fidgety as my brain keeps after me about this unresolved task. I’ve started and that’s all I needed in order to be able to finish.
I’m also trying to apply this to my writing. Lately there has been lots of writing to do including but hardly limited to this column. I do my best to write when inspired and not try to “force” it. But I am finding that it is a bit easier if I get down the opening paragraphs even if I don’t write all of what I’m working on right then. My brain tends to keep writing even if my fingers aren’t and fairly soon I’m rushing back to the computer to type it all out.
I think I was utilizing some of these methods long before I knew who Bluma Zeigarnik was. But I am a big fan of having terminology for things because it makes me more aware of them as well as giving me a way to talk about them more easily. So welcome to the Zeigarnik Effect! Use it wisely.
Do you find that you are leaving cliffhangers in your life or gaming that help you move to the next phase with momentum on your side?
