In a thread I read earlier today, daydreaming was mentioned - specifically in the sense that it was something done... more than average, we'll say. Which, of course, got me thinking:
The term "daydreaming" can be inaccurate and really there aren't many synonyms that don't have a negative connotation. In reality, much of my best work is conceived from the time in my head, when I've shutout the outside world and let the ol' brain off the leash.
YET some of that time is laziness or escapist. Because seriously, sometimes whatever is happening in real life is just boring.
Given this, I decided to figure out how much of my daydreaming time is actually productive and how much is just creating a fantasy land/brain movie that is preferable to the outside world.
So I would ask you:
Define daydreaming and compare/contrast with other nomenclatures. What would your preferred word/term be?
On average, how much time would you say you spend daydreaming? Breakdown as you please - hours, percentage, etc.
What situations cause you to daydream?
What is the composition of that daydreaming time? Categorize as you please - I think using your own words will be more illustrative.
How productive do you find this time to be? Factors to consider: how many good ideas come out of it? Do you feel negatively about it afterwards or what is the positive:negative ratio?
My response:
Daydreaming to me means (usually) choosing to divert your attention to what's going on in your head vs the outside world - it does not, imo, designate the nature of what is going on in your head. Most similar words paint a picture of someone who lives in a fantasy land, which comes across as escapist and is attributed to an aversion to productivity and being lazy and unrealistic. I prefer "being in my head" but for this exercise, will just stick with daydreaming.
On an average day I am awake for 15 hours. I would say I daydream up to 5 hours/day, which sounds like a lot when I write it out next to waking hours. Sometimes in large chunks, sometimes in little snippets. No consistency.
A decent portion of my working day is spent waiting for machines to do (or not do) things so that's a prime daydreaming time. When I wake up, maybe the first half hour. As I am trying to fall asleep (though, technically it's night?!) I usually daydream/fantasize until I fall asleep. On weekends, I think I daydream less, actually. I am able to do what genuinely stimulates me when I want to so I don't feel as much of a draw to ignore the outside world. Still, if that stimulus drags e.g. boring section of a book, uninteresting part of a movie, etc., I almost automatically toggle over to my "inner world" without realizing it. I guess I daydream to engage/stimulate my brain because I can be somewhat blase when dealing with the predictability of real life. A good amount of the time, life feels like a rerun and I need to entertain myself somehow.
Composition:
15% Productive work ideas - planning out improvements and alternatives. Second most common at work.
30% Future life planning - not always realistic but imagining what I want and devising how to get there. > 2 years
15% Pure fantasy - things that will likely never happen but it makes me happy to think about it. Most common at work.
30% Wondering about random things + analyzing - what ifs, how comes, internal debates, examinations, etc.
10% Regular life troubleshooting - simulating/tweaking more immediate life situations. < 2 years
It is one of my favorite things. In fact, a lot of times when I'm yanked out of it, I can be a little salty. It's like having cold water dumped on me. Like I said, a lot of my best and/or well-planned ideas come from just being in my head for hours at a time. The plan is mostly hammered out and generally needs to be tinkered with during the execution stage and I love that. I love being able to just go and do and not have to break that momentum/rush I get from achieving/implementing.
The term "daydreaming" can be inaccurate and really there aren't many synonyms that don't have a negative connotation. In reality, much of my best work is conceived from the time in my head, when I've shutout the outside world and let the ol' brain off the leash.
YET some of that time is laziness or escapist. Because seriously, sometimes whatever is happening in real life is just boring.
Given this, I decided to figure out how much of my daydreaming time is actually productive and how much is just creating a fantasy land/brain movie that is preferable to the outside world.
So I would ask you:
Define daydreaming and compare/contrast with other nomenclatures. What would your preferred word/term be?
On average, how much time would you say you spend daydreaming? Breakdown as you please - hours, percentage, etc.
What situations cause you to daydream?
What is the composition of that daydreaming time? Categorize as you please - I think using your own words will be more illustrative.
How productive do you find this time to be? Factors to consider: how many good ideas come out of it? Do you feel negatively about it afterwards or what is the positive:negative ratio?
My response:
Daydreaming to me means (usually) choosing to divert your attention to what's going on in your head vs the outside world - it does not, imo, designate the nature of what is going on in your head. Most similar words paint a picture of someone who lives in a fantasy land, which comes across as escapist and is attributed to an aversion to productivity and being lazy and unrealistic. I prefer "being in my head" but for this exercise, will just stick with daydreaming.
On an average day I am awake for 15 hours. I would say I daydream up to 5 hours/day, which sounds like a lot when I write it out next to waking hours. Sometimes in large chunks, sometimes in little snippets. No consistency.
A decent portion of my working day is spent waiting for machines to do (or not do) things so that's a prime daydreaming time. When I wake up, maybe the first half hour. As I am trying to fall asleep (though, technically it's night?!) I usually daydream/fantasize until I fall asleep. On weekends, I think I daydream less, actually. I am able to do what genuinely stimulates me when I want to so I don't feel as much of a draw to ignore the outside world. Still, if that stimulus drags e.g. boring section of a book, uninteresting part of a movie, etc., I almost automatically toggle over to my "inner world" without realizing it. I guess I daydream to engage/stimulate my brain because I can be somewhat blase when dealing with the predictability of real life. A good amount of the time, life feels like a rerun and I need to entertain myself somehow.
Composition:
15% Productive work ideas - planning out improvements and alternatives. Second most common at work.
30% Future life planning - not always realistic but imagining what I want and devising how to get there. > 2 years
15% Pure fantasy - things that will likely never happen but it makes me happy to think about it. Most common at work.
30% Wondering about random things + analyzing - what ifs, how comes, internal debates, examinations, etc.
10% Regular life troubleshooting - simulating/tweaking more immediate life situations. < 2 years
It is one of my favorite things. In fact, a lot of times when I'm yanked out of it, I can be a little salty. It's like having cold water dumped on me. Like I said, a lot of my best and/or well-planned ideas come from just being in my head for hours at a time. The plan is mostly hammered out and generally needs to be tinkered with during the execution stage and I love that. I love being able to just go and do and not have to break that momentum/rush I get from achieving/implementing.
