Most people treat delusional thinking as a handicap. They see it as a leak in the productivity bucket.
- “Time to get back to work.”
- “Stop imagining.”
We were conditioned to believe that if we weren’t looking at a screen or checking off a to-do list, we were failing.
But psychologist Daniel Goleman, who popularized emotional intelligence, argues the opposite in his book. Attention:
“The wandering of the mind is the source of creative ideas … The problem is not that our minds wander, but that they are away from the important things.”
This line is important because it exposes a modern lie: You can’t be “on” all the time.
But if you’re trying to be “on” 24/7, you’re not actually getting much done.
You’re just mentally exhausted, less creative, and cynical, which means you can’t really focus.
Your brain has two gears
Neuroscience shows that the brain works in two main modes.
- Task-positive network (TPN): This is your “focus” device. He is active when solving a math problem or writing a report.
- Default Mode Network (DMN): This is your “cheat” device. It starts when you relax, dream or think about the future.
The DMN is where the magic happens. It is responsible for “autobiographical planning” – making your life meaningful and connecting different ideas.
“Free time” is not wasted. This is integration.
It is the process by which your brain integrates the information you feed it. If you never allow such a seam to appear, you will achieve a common modern result: you will be busy all day, but will never “click”.
There is a famous study at Harvard titled “A lost mind is an unhappy mind.” It found that when people’s thoughts wandered, they often reported feeling less happy.
Most people use this as an excuse to kill the dream. But these exercises are bad because your muscles seem to be sore.
The problem is not the wandering itself; this uncontrolled walking.
An anxious mind running in circles of “what ifs” feels terrible.
But the mind that wanders quietly produces concepts. It’s the same behavior, but with a different fuel.
One of them is energized by stress; and the other is of interest.
Marcus Aurelius wrote about this about 2000 years ago:
“A man finds no place more peaceful or quiet than his own soul.”
But Seneca added an important caveat. He said: “Leisure without study is death – it is a grave for a living person.”
That’s the secret willful wandering.
Don’t let your mind just get caught up in the vortex of worry. Give him space to explore important ideas.
Post-pandemic overcorrection
Why do most of us feel restless all the time? Why do we get nervous as soon as we go for a walk?
I think Covid has played a big role in how our brains have evolved over the last few years.
2020 and 2021 have been a long time. We have a wrong idea about the past 6 years.
Yes, six years!
Most countries spent 2 years under siege. and then gradually came back from 2022 and then by 2023 it was almost normal. But we don’t want that anymore because we are forced to do nothing and wander around
I think most of the population is stuck in this constant “on” state because we still feel the pain of being turned off.
With the restrictions gone, we wanted to do as much as possible
And so our brains have changed.
We cannot slow down because it reminds us of the fear of 2020 and 2021.
It’s almost like PTSD
I still hear people talking about Covid like it was yesterday. It’s almost as if they’re still struggling to make the most of their time before entering the next lockdown.
Until now, people are always trying kill boredom.
But when we kill boredom, we kill the wandering mind.
And when we kill the wandering mind, we kill our ability to innovate.
How to restore a more natural rhythm so you can be more productive
You can’t focus 24/7 for the same reason you can’t hold a board 24/7. Attention is a limited resource.
in psychology, Attention Recovery Theory (ART) Our “directed attention” (TPN) indicates fatigue.
To fix this, we need “gentle charm,” meaning that the environment, like nature, gently holds our attention without any effort.
If you want to concentrate, you need more time. Real “off” time, not “cheap distraction” (social media).
The goal is not to become a monk. The goal is to teach the “key”. You want to be 100% “on” when it’s time to run, and 100% “off” when it’s time to charge.
How to teach this skill:
- Restore one “dead zone” per day: Choose an activity – a classic example is walking to your car, waiting for coffee or doing the dishes. Do this by entering zero. No phone. There is no music. Just let your mind wander.
- “Idle Walk”: Three times a week, walk silently for 20 minutes. He feels uncomfortable in the first five minutes. This is the “itch” of digital addiction that leaves the body.
- Set “Input Trimming”: Select the time when you stop consuming new data (for example, 20:00). No news, no podcasts, no “learning”. The brain needs time to digest what you learn during the day.
- Keep a Literary Journal: Keep a small notebook or single note on your phone. When you have a great idea in your “off” time, jot it down immediately and then go back to wandering.
Today, the final status symbol is “busy”. We believe that being available and informed 24/7 makes us valuable.
In fact, it just roasts us.
Traveling is not the enemy of focus. This is its basis. If you want to create better work, you don’t need more hustle. You need more space.
Your brain doesn’t work at intensity. Works on rhythm.
