Open tasks occupy short-term memory until they are done. It’s distracting to have so many open tasks because it’s natural to keep thinking about them.
However, additional research by Zeigarnik found that we don’t actually need to finish tasks in order to stop thinking about them. As long as tasks are written down and we trust that they will be done later, it’s enough to convince our brains to stop carrying them around in our short-term memory.
From How to Take Smart Notes.
See also:
- That’s why capture and refile works—it gives a place to offload short-term memory.
- Tools for networked thought try to solve this by creating a second brain.