29. Minds Wander 30 Percent of the Time
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.
Mind Wandering is a Very Common Phenomenon
People underestimate mind wandering; according to Jonathan Schooler of the University of California, Santa Barbara, people ...
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