Thanks to the Zeigarnik effect, we store any and all problems currently stumping us at the front of our minds. Any open problem—an unfinished report, a decision we’re in the middle of, or an important email we’re responding to—is an open loop that our brain is desperate to close. As a consequence, we connect each new experience to these unresolved problems in order to unearth novel solutions. Habitual scatterfocus brings these connections into our attentional space.
