Ovsiankina effect

unfinished tasks are the more memorable, hoarding attention so they can be performed and dispatched successfully. Once completed, attentional resources are diverted from the undertaking to other pursuits; but while the initial activity is under way, a heightened level of cognitive focus must be reserved for it.

The attention residue left by such unresolved switches dampens your performance.

the Zeigarnik effect, after Bluma Zeigarnik,

What’s more, engagement and flow tend to prompt a virtuous cycle of sorts: we become more motivated and aroused overall, and, consequently, more likely to be productive and create something of value.

it is difficult for people to transition their attention away from an unfinished task and their subsequent task performance suffers.”

Sophie Leroy, a business professor at the University of Minnesota, discovered in experiments that when people switch tasks, attention doesn't immediately follow. Part of the attention remains stuck on the prior task, resulting in worse performance on the next task. She called this effect attention residue, which becomes stronger in these instances: