Remembering an Unfinished Task
Written by Studio AM.
Your result
- Words per minute
- Score
- Pace
Words per minute mean something only with the score beside them. They describe this passage on this read. With fewer than 3 right, try the next slower pace.
Choose a pace and select Start. The passage is paced and timed, then the questions check what you understood. How pace mode works
Reading time 0:00
Imagine stopping halfway through a letter. During another activity, you remember that the letter still needs an ending. The unfinished goal draws your attention again. But does that mean interrupted tasks are always remembered better than completed ones?
The Zeigarnik effect, named after psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik, refers to a proposed memory advantage for interrupted activities. Some early experiments found that advantage. A 2025 review of studies, however, found no general memory benefit. Wanting to resume an activity and remembering it accurately are different outcomes.
An unfinished task can also feel as though it lacks closure, or an ending. Separate research suggests that making a specific plan may reduce distracting thoughts about unfinished goals. For example, “email the revised map to Jo after lunch” gives more direction than the vague word “project.”
A clear next action can help organize work without deliberately leaving it incomplete to improve memory. The useful question is how to resume the task, not whether unfinished work is automatically unforgettable.
The passage is hidden while you answer. It comes back with your result.
Questions
Choose an answer. The explanation appears after you answer.
-
Question 1 of 4
What is the main idea of the passage?
The answer is C: Unfinished tasks can draw attention, but a general memory advantage is not established; a specific plan may help with resuming work.
The passage separates remembering from wanting to resume, reports the review's finding, and describes a possible planning benefit.
-
Question 2 of 4
Why might a clear next action reduce distraction?
The answer is D: It specifies what to do and when, making the unfinished work easier to resume.
The email example names both an action and a time, unlike the vague label 'project.'
-
Question 3 of 4
What does “closure” mean here?
The answer is A: the feeling that something is finished
An incomplete task lacks an ending. Recording the next step can reduce that unresolved feeling.
-
Question 4 of 4
Who is the effect named after?
The answer is B: Bluma Zeigarnik
The second paragraph directly names psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik.
Score: none answered yet.