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What Is Mind-Wandering and How You Use It to Your Advantage?
- trevyn 6y agoRelevant Thomas Metzinger talk: https://youtu.be/9UPuhr35rUg?t=30m38s https://youtu.be/9UPuhr35rUg?t=30m38s
- Kaze404 6y agoInteresting article. Ironically, while reading it I started to think about how I didn't have this problem when I was younger. I could hyperfocus on a book or video game for 12 hours straight, while today I can barely read a chapter without thinking about what I have to do the next day. Makes me wonder if it's a fact of age, bad memory, the depression I went through at the time or just fewer responsibilities.
- ravi-delia 6y agoDid you frequently use a smartphone or the internet when you were younger? I know I started focusing less once the modern internet took root.
- nicbou 6y agoI struggle with this. For me, computer is the issue. There's always something to do on the computer, and the reward always comes faster than for any other task. There's no such thing as doing a single thing with it, then moving on. There's always an email, a notification, a feed. My computer-free days feel a lot like the old days.
- bosie 6y agodo you have fixed days that are computer free? does computer free mean any computer is not used for the whole day (laptop, tablet, phone)?
- nicbou 6y agoNot a fixed day, but it's usually after I feel like I've wasted the whole day on the computer. I'll spend that evening finding a place to ride my bicycle or a museum I'd like to see, and generally make it easier to go right out the door.
- eloisius 6y agoSame with me. I’ve had my computer prominently in my living space for my whole adult life. Try doing a prolonged activity that makes computing impossible. I went bike touring for a month a few years ago and felt like I had reconnected with a missing sense of thoughtfulness in the absence of constant interneting. The feeling lasted for a while afterwards. I just wasn’t as enticed by the box of lights with words on it. It’s about time for me to do it again.
- nicbou 6y agoYep, riding a bicycle works great. That's one of my favourite part of bicycle/motorcycle travel too.
- catchmeifyoucan 6y agoHey - I’ve been working on software called Amna. And it can totally help with this. You’ll write a task and get to focus on one item You’re welcome to try it: https://getamna.com https://getamna.com
- kranner 6y agoDavid Allen, the inventor of the popular Getting Things Done (GTD) task/time management system, stressed the importance of a "trusted system" in keeping one able to relax and focus on one thing at a time, even as a grown-up with lots of responsibilities. If you keep your task management system absolutely up to date, i.e., it stores everything you plan to do eventually, then you really can trust it and relax in the knowledge that you don't need to track TODOs in your head. It becomes an extension of your brain, leaving your primary brain free to relax and focus on whatever you're currently doing, even if -- especially if -- you're not doing anything in the present moment. But this doesn't happen if the system is leaky, i.e. you slip up and start tracking some TODOs in your head.
- Kaze404 6y agoMaybe I should read that book, but my experience with tracking TODOs just made me even less productive because after a certain point I could feel my fight-or-flight response kicking in when I looked at my TODO list. But I guess that's a different problem :p
- MperorM 6y agoThat was my experience with every todo system I have ever implemented. I finally found a todo system which worked for me, namely writing up every todo in a list. On Sundays I distribute the tasks to different days of my next week day. If I don't get the task done for a weekday, it's completely fine. I just move it back into the long list, so it gets distributed next sunday. If I notice a task has been cycled like that a few times, then I delete it, it wasn't important enough for me to overcome the guilt associated with the task. I'm not sure if the system I came up with was what actually fixed my todo anxiety, but in case it was I figured I would share it.
- miccah 6y agoI agree, I always feel like tracking every single TODO takes more time and effort than actually doing some of them. It was a bit too rigid for me - that sort of system is designed for a computer, except I was the computer doing the task. What works for me now is writing my most important TODOs on a whiteboard and not erasing it until I complete it. The limited space forces me to prioritize. It's also obvious which items have been there the longest, either indicating lower priority or mental blockages. It helps that the ink is harder to erase the longer it sits there too :)
- bserge 6y agoYeah it's gotten worse over the years for me, too.
- FailMore 6y agoPerhaps relevant: A Suggestion for a New Interpretation of Dreams: Dreaming Is the Inverse of Anxious Mind-Wandering. https://psyarxiv.com/k6trz https://psyarxiv.com/k6trz HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19143590 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19143590 [I am the author]
- echelon 6y agoMy ADHD mind-wandered away from this article. I often wonder what the lives of people without ADHD are like. What is not mind wandering?
- nicbou 6y agoMedication adds some stickiness to your focus. So does coffee. The problem is that it can stick to the wrong things.
- Kirth 6y agoRun or exercise for an hour and then sit down, and you might find out :)
- jereees 6y agoThis is incredibly insulting.
- bserge 6y agoThat's not how it works for me, sadly. After a good run, my mind still wanders, I literally daydream about random stuff for up to an hour (or even more)... I hope other people have a better experience.
- Assossa 6y agoHave depression? Just try being happy. Have ADHD? Just try focusing. /s
- jtsiskin 6y agoIt would be more helpful to phrase this as “For me, I find running for an hour really helps me focus immediately afterwards”
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- catchmeifyoucan 6y agoI’m working on a tool called Amna - and it can help with this. For example, I always have too many tabs open, or sometimes I forget why I opened a new tab. Amna pins the current task you’re working on up top, and saves your browsing session by task, so even if I wander it can all come back. Feedback appreciated: https://www.getamna.com/ https://www.getamna.com/
- ithkuil 6y agoIronically, while reading it I started to think about other things and fit distracted
- zuhayeer 6y agoThis reminded me of PG's essay on the top idea in your mind: http://www.paulgraham.com/top.html http://www.paulgraham.com/top.html
- 0x008 6y agoI mean it is an interesting article and all, but I miss the scientific evidence? It is a lot of statements that are clearly derived from the author‘s experience, but can they be applied to everyone?
- bonniemuffin 6y agoI've been into mindfulness and meditation for quite a few years, and this article is squarely in that arena. However, something that bothers me about this article is its emphasis on work-related productivity as the primary goal of mindfulness and focus. Cultivating this kind of brain change is a big undertaking, and I find it demotivating to think that the main beneficiary should be the capitalist goal of increased productivity in a workplace setting. Think bigger! I prefer to think that the primary goal of increased focus/mindfulness is increased happiness, joy, and life satisfaction. Any work-related productivity increase is a convenient side-effect. Work will come and go, but you have to live with your brain every day for the rest of your life. Imagine what it would be like to be able to happily focus on spending time with your child, or reading a good book, and really be present in that moment.
- hungryforcodes 6y agoThere are alot of people that really love their work, and want to experience it more deeply. In fact for many people, a working situation aligned with their values and life goals can really give them meaning. Your situation might be different. As someone who loves their work and who's mind wanders, I quite appreciated the article :)
- nottorp 6y agoI love my work too, but I don't let it define me completely. I have other interests besides work.
- reaganjohnwayne 6y agoWhen my mind wonders I use my elastic band around my wrist to shock myself. It's super effective. I've always wondered if others do this too?
- hi41 6y agoI have a particularly difficult time with mind wandering. My kids and wife complain often that my mind wanders too much and I don’t pay attention to the conversation. Has anyone had this issue and solved the problem. In my mind wandering, I usually am the protagonist of some story. It has become problematic to the point where it has become a problem and is affecting my life - can’t get anything done.
- malux85 6y agoPractice focus with gradually increasing duration. Eliminate distractions through willpower (or configuration if you must). Deliberate, spaced, repetition of focus duration. There are no quick fixes.
- tikhonj 6y agoDeliberate and repeated practice is a great idea, but in my experience trying to use "willpower" to focus is actively counter-productive. Instead, I've found that practicing mindfulness meditation and "letting go" of thoughts when I notice my mind wandering works far better. I've been using Headspace[1] as an introduction to meditation and it only took a few weeks of regular meditation, working up from 5 minutes a day to 20, for me to feel a real difference. I didn't know what to expect going in—I was a bit skeptical of the whole idea, to be honest—but I'm glad I stuck with it. [1]: https://www.headspace.com/ https://www.headspace.com/
- bitdizzy 6y agoYou might have AD(H)D. It is underdiagnosed in adults. CBT can help many cases by practicing focus and attentiveness.
- tikhonj 6y agoYes, absolutely! I would talk to people, have my mind wander a bit then have to guess what they just said. 99% of the time I was really good at guessing, but it led to some awkward situations. In my case, it turned out to be undiagnosed ADHD. In fact, "Do you have trouble focusing on conversations you're having?" is one of the regular screening questions psychologists use for it. When my therapist first suggested I might have ADHD, I actually didn't believe her. It took a bunch of reading about ADHD to change my mind; in hindsight, my understanding of ADHD—based on popular culture—was pretty far from reality. Doing a bit of research and reading about ADHD from the perspective of people who had it (as opposed to the perspective of, say, teachers dealing with ADHD students) really helped. I found Driven to Distraction[1] a particularly good overview, with a lot of insights and stories that resonated with me 100%. Since getting diagnosed, things have gotten much better. Just knowing about it was a real relief and let me start building habits to deal with it more effectively. Later on, stimulants and meditation have both helped even more. [1]: https://smile.amazon.com/Driven-Distraction-Revised-Recognizing-Attention/dp/0307743152/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=driven+to+distraction&qid=1604850669&sr=8-3 https://smile.amazon.com/Driven-Distraction-Revised-Recogniz...