Scientific Definition
Interrupted tasks generate a pull to resume them.
Plain-English Definition
Interrupted tasks generate a pull to resume them.
Feynman Explanation
The unfinished thing wants to be finished.
Core Principle
Interrupted tasks generate a pull to resume them.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Interrupted tasks generate a pull to resume them.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
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Strategic interruption can be a feature, not a bug — if used deliberately.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
The unfinished thing wants to be finished.
Examples
- Designers who can't sleep until they close the open file.
- Strategic interruption can be a feature, not a bug — if used deliberately.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Engineer 'resume cues' for high-leverage work. Reduce them for distractions.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Engineer 'resume cues' for high-leverage work. Reduce them for distractions.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
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What people expect of themselves shapes what they achieve.
Children who delay gratification at age 4 show better outcomes across nearly every metric decades later.
Unfinished tasks stick in working memory more than completed ones.
If-then plans dramatically increase follow-through on intentions.
Contrast vivid future success with concrete present obstacles to drive action.
Wish → Outcome → Obstacle → Plan. A goal-setting protocol from Oettingen.
Preferring options with known probabilities over options with unknown ones.
We accept vague, general statements as personally meaningful.
We come to like people we've done a favor for, more than people who've helped us.
A color appears different depending on adjacent colors.