Why does it feel so good to get e-mail and physical inboxes to Zero? This is said to be the "Holy Grail" of David Allen's "Getting Things Done" (GTD) time management system. Why does it matter? The answer may lie in the Ziergarnik effect.
The "Holy Grail" of GTD isn't just to delete all your e-mails, bills, and other information that comes to you that may or may not require action. It is to delete, file, or respond to most of it immediately and then to WRITE DOWN ACTION STEPS for the rest of the emails before filing them. At this point, the inbox of unprocessed "stuff" is empty. The "Holy Grail" is reached.
Now that I've finally managed to do this, after years of knowing that it was the right thing to do but never managing to get there, I feel much more of a sense of clarity about what I need to do in my work day, less hesitation from moment to moment about what comes next, and improved focus. Again, why?
In their book, Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, authors Baumeister and Tierney discuss the effectiveness of the "Getting Things Done" system and suggest that WRITING DOWN THE ACTION STEPS is what frees up mental energy and improves concentration. They describe the Ziergarnik effect, a psychological phenomenon in which it is hard to stop thinking about unfinished tasks or goals. Even if you aren't consciously thinking about them, your mind is distracted in ways that can be measured such as through impaired reading comprehension. The theory is that your brain doesn't trust you. It thinks you might forget to finish what you started. You might forget to deal with an email, to pay a bill, to finish a project. Fortunately, research has shown that if you write down the task in a plan and you are serious about reviewing the plan regularly, your brain relaxes. It no longer feels compelled to hang on to the unfinished business. So it stops putting energy into holding on to this stuff. And 100% of your brain becomes at your disposal to deal with whatever you face right now.
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