The Strange Way Unfinished Things Stay in Our Heads

I spent most of the day on my bed. No interesting outing. No major achievement. Nothing dramatic happened. Just me, my bed, and a day that somehow kept moving. But while thinking about what to write today, I came across something interesting about how our minds deal with unfinished things.

So, there is a psychological idea known as the Zeigarnik effect. In simple terms, it describes the tendency for people to remember or keep thinking about unfinished tasks more than tasks they have already completed.

Think about it.

You can finish ten things in a day and barely remember them. But that one thing you planned to do and didn't do can keep sitting somewhere in your mind.

"Ah, I still haven't done that."

It is almost like the brain doesn't enjoy leaving things hanging. And strangely, I think this connects with my day today. Because i literally spend a moment of the day to stare at the ambient of the afternoon and watch the way the cloud gave a nice beautiful appearance and yea it was sunny actually. So i took out time to snap the cloud, this is something i kinda enjoy doing.. i just love seeing it designs.

And by evening, after spending practically the whole day doing a real thing, I finally decided to get my hair cut.

It wasn't some major achievement. I didn't suddenly become productive. I simply got up, went out, got a haircut and came back home. But there was something satisfying about finally doing that one small thing I had been putting off.

Sometimes, I think we put too much pressure on ourselves to have an impressive day. We want to study for hours, finish a project, exercise, go somewhere interesting, meet people and generally feel like we accomplished something.

Then there are days when none of that happens. Today was basically one of those days for me. And maybe that's not always a bad thing.

A day doesn't necessarily have to be packed with activities before it becomes meaningful. Sometimes you just rest. Sometimes you move slowly. Sometimes the biggest thing you do is finally get yourself off the bed and take care of one small thing.

I eventually came back, ate, took my medication and settled down again.

So no, today wasn't exactly an exciting chapter in the Diary of Lionel-Richie. But while looking for something to write about, I ended up learning something about the way our minds handle unfinished tasks.

And I guess that's one way to turn a quiet day into something worth sharing.

September 12, 2026