The Zeigarnik Effect 😀

How to finish what you started

Jan 12, 2026

Hey hey. Welcome to another dispatch of NDZ letters, where we bring you the latest SOS updates, job opportunities and insights on digital skills and remote work.

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1. State of Skills → #stateofskills

2. Resources → #remoteresources

3. Freelance Formula → #freelanceformula

4. Founder Files → #founderfiles

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6. Recently on NDZ → #recentlyonNDZ

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12. FootNews → #news

ICYM the last issue, read here

Founder’s Note

Don’t bother trying to pronounce the headline above. I’m also struggling not to bite my tongue.

If you’re a fan of Stranger Things series like me, you’d see that the producers are masters at leaving the audience hanging. Just when you’re waiting for what’s to happen, they end the episode. And you’d have to wait till next week. 😠

Even when you know what they’re doing, you’d still go back to watch it when it drops. What am I driving at?

The Zeigarnik effect is the psychological tendency to remember what you didn’t finish, rather than what you did.

But I’d go one step further, that when you’re working on a long or complex project, you want to give yourself a cliffhanger, i.e, suspense, that makes you want to go back to complete that thing.

For example, if you’re working on a data entry project, after compiling the data and cleaning it up, you can take a break by not turning it into a beautiful graph yet.

Or you created some nice content that you can’t wait to share. You could take a break between.

2 things happen here. You go back to see errors in what you did, or you complete that task powerfully because you started with fresh focus.

So, give yourself an excuse to take a break, so you can complete more projects.

BTW, happy new year, friends.

~ Thanni

State of Skills

Ways you can prevent AI from rendering you jobless 📌

You have to be ahead of the curve 📍

1/2

2/2

For engineers 👨🏾‍💻

Learn something ‼️

5 Project ideas that forces you to think like a backend engineer 🎯

1/2

2/2

Remote Resource Worth Sharing

10 Fintech Case Studies for Your Study — A curated list of 10 fintech case studies on Behance that shows how top designers build real financial products, from wallets and loan apps to full fintech branding. Ideal inspiration for UX/UI designers in finance.

Freelance Formulas

If you’re serious about landing global roles this year 📌

Culture intelligence is important 🤏🏾

What you need to break forth into the big money bracket 👇🏾

How to get your first client in 72 hours or less 🚀

Omoalhaja has this to say 🤔

Send that DM today📍

Invest in knowledge and communication ‼️

Founders Files

Founder and Co-founder Dynamics ✨

Send that cold email ‼️

Mhd has this to say 👌🏾

1/2

2/2

The most important founder’s skill 👇🏾

Jobs

Recently on NDZ

NDZ Hub is launching across campuses, and we’re building a strong community of students driven by purpose and possibility. Our mission is simple but bold: to empower Nigerian students with the skills, mindset, and opportunities they need to thrive, lead, and create real impact, starting from their campuses and extending to the nation at large.

Be more than a student. Be a builder of the future.

Join the movement → https://join.ndz.ng