{
  "schema": "vedokrok.public-item.v1",
  "release_id": "MHC-RPUB-20260920-75ad787a",
  "url": "/knowledge/distinguish-an-unfinished-task-from-an-unfinished-decision",
  "id": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-0938",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "title": "Distinguish an unfinished task from an unfinished decision",
  "summary": "Sometimes the open loop is not the work; it is the missing commitment about the work.",
  "kind": "question",
  "body": "Ask whether the remaining discomfort comes from missing execution or from not deciding what happens next. If the decision is clear, write the next action. If the decision is not clear, schedule the decision and the evidence it needs. This prevents an ambiguous 'open task' from surviving as continuous mental rehearsal.",
  "limits": [
    "This is a practical decomposition inferred from unfinished-task research, not a separately validated intervention."
  ],
  "topics": [
    "union-execution-rhythm"
  ],
  "intents": [],
  "source_ids": [
    "RS-1A0D4CE84208014E"
  ],
  "evidence": [
    {
      "claim": "Unfinished work is associated with continued off-job cognition, supporting explicit closure of both action and decision loops.",
      "source_id": "RS-1A0D4CE84208014E",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "This is a practical decomposition inferred from unfinished-task research, not a separately validated intervention.",
      "locator": "See source record"
    }
  ],
  "use_when": [
    "Work keeps returning to mind even though the physical task is not large."
  ],
  "avoid_when": [
    "This is a practical decomposition inferred from unfinished-task research, not a separately validated intervention."
  ],
  "example": "A document may be nearly finished, but uncertainty about whether to send it today can keep the whole task mentally open.",
  "check": "The open loop is classified as execution or decision and receives the appropriate next step.",
  "question": "What physical work remains? · What decision about that work remains unresolved? · What evidence or person is needed for that decision? · When will the decision be made?",
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "RS-1A0D4CE84208014E",
      "title": "Unfinished work tasks and work-related thoughts during off-job time: meta-analysis of the Zeigarnik effect in a work-recovery context",
      "url": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41554526/"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [],
  "collections": [
    {
      "id": "RC-86F22D8037A34580",
      "title": "Turn goals into work that finishes and stays finished after hours",
      "url": "/collections/turn-goals-into-work-that-finishes-and-stays-finished-after-hours"
    }
  ]
}