Reclaim Your Focus by Letting Your Mind Wander
Why being alone with your thoughts is necessary for optimal brain function
Many of us are always on the lookout for new ways to boost our productivity. We have long lists of things we “should” be doing — there’s always another habit to take up, another activity to fit into our schedule. When we shift from one task or activity to another, we often try to focus our attention by sheer force of will. Our phone is still at our fingertips, notifications chime in at regular intervals, and our favorite distractions are just a few taps away.
Even if you have the self-control to disconnect from interruptions in advance, you may still spend your day jumping from one thing to the next before setting a timer and saying, “Okay, I’m going to focus on this one thing starting… now.”
Broken down moment to moment, there’s little time in a given day when I’m not juggling various claims for my attention. In the morning, I check my email and other notifications while getting dressed and making coffee. On my commute, I listen to music or podcasts. When I get to work, I bounce between tasks, responding to emails, talking with co-workers, getting more coffee, and taking the occasional social media break.
