April 2011
Beginner
256 pages
5h 40m
English
You’re at work reading a report that a colleague has written and you realize that you’ve just read the same sentence about three times. Instead of thinking about what you were reading, your mind wandered.
Mind wandering is similar to but not the same as daydreaming. Psychologists use daydreaming to refer to any stray thoughts, fantasies, or stories you imagine, for example, winning the lottery or being a celebrity. Mind wandering is more specific: it refers to doing one task and then fading into thinking about something unrelated to that task.
People underestimate mind wandering; according to Jonathan Schooler of the University of California, Santa Barbara, people ...
Read now
Unlock full access