# When your mind wanders, where does it go? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 7, 2011, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868 "2011-10-07T04:25:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/1 "2011-10-07T04:25:06Z")
Obvious jokes, jabs, and jibes aside… 😉 What do you think about when you take a mental break from whatever project or task you’re actually supposed to be working on? As for myself, I’ve usually got a hobby that I’m working on and I’m visualizing some aspect of the project. Tearing down and rebuilding an engine or some part of the car I’m rebuilding. Designing some mechanical component of another project I’ve started. Other times it goes into the kinds of threads you’d encounter on the Dope. What would I do in the event of the zombie apocalypse. What would I do if plucked up and tossed a few hundred or thousand years into the past or future. And of course the usual forays into stuff only suitable for Penthouse Letters. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/2 "2011-10-07T05:45:16Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > And of course the usual forays into stuff only suitable for Penthouse Letters. 😛 No seriously. I’d say about 5% is annoying earwoms running through my head but the other 95% is having sex with famous people. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/3 "2011-10-07T05:53:45Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > What do you think about when you take a mental break from whatever project or task you’re actually supposed to be working on? Usually I think about the settings & characters of various fantasy/sci-fi books I’ve read. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/4 "2011-10-07T06:35:32Z")
Excellent question. My husband is thrown by how completely I can disappear mentally when I’m bored. Usually, I’ll revisit a favorite memory or work through the intricacies of the plot of a book I’ve read or movie I’ve seen. Then of course there’s the internal time I’ve spent with Colin Firth, otherwise known as ‘my children’s future stepfather.’ ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/5 "2011-10-07T15:22:02Z")
I plan my next SCA outfit or steampunk project. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/6 "2011-10-07T15:23:13Z")
Always sex. I get caught looking all the time. Can’t help it. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/7 "2011-10-07T15:26:23Z")
Latest model (hobby) project, or sex. About 60/40. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/8 "2011-10-07T15:29:46Z")
If I’m not day-dreaming about sex, then my mind will ponder the deeper mysteries of the universe. Both are insufferably frustrating. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/9 "2011-10-07T15:30:01Z")
When my mind wanders, I’m probably daydreaming about being out hiking somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/10 "2011-10-07T15:32:15Z")
Sigh. Usually, it’s my to do list. I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about the things I need to get done. I also have a long list of home renovation fantasies. Most of them involve trying to figure out where we can squeeze an extra bathroom in the house. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/11 "2011-10-07T15:33:45Z")
Sex, whatever books I’m reading, and an embarrasing amount of Walter Mitty type scenarios. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/12 "2011-10-07T16:03:16Z")
It used to wander to my writing projects, just getting lost in them, trying to figure out interesting plots and such, but I have hit a very long writer’s block dry spell (one that I’m not entirely sure I am going to recover from) so not so much any more. My model horse hobby sometimes, what color I’m going to paint this one or that one. Mainly, right now I am struggling with a deep trek into depression and honestly don’t really do any recreational thinking at the moment. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/13 "2011-10-07T16:21:20Z")
Usually I make up stories. Which are porn 50% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/14 "2011-10-07T16:24:25Z")
You guys work so hard when your minds wander. I’m a slug in my dreams. When my mind wanders it’s to a pristine stretch of beach with the sun on my face and a slight breeze. If I really need the break I stay until I can smell the salt in the water. The only actual thought involved is “Ahhhhh” ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/15 "2011-10-07T16:26:30Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I plan my next SCA outfit or steampunk project. How convenient. One of my current projects is steampunk inspired and I’m looking for some assistance with design elements. PM or email me if you’re interested. 🙂 That goes for anyone else that wants an honorable mention in the project blog. > [@PapSett](#): > > Mainly, right now I am struggling with a deep trek into depression and honestly don’t really do any recreational thinking at the moment. ☹ Sorry to hear about your issue, but ‘recreational thinking’ is exactly the term I was looking for when I started this thread. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/16 "2011-10-07T16:55:47Z")
I’m trying to be aware of when my mind wanders and try to bring it back into focus. But lately I’ve been mulling over rules to games. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/17 "2011-10-07T17:01:13Z")
Generally space traveling (it would take a book as thick as JK Rolwling’s). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/18 "2011-10-07T17:22:49Z")
Sorry, what was that again? ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/19 "2011-10-07T17:27:48Z")
> [@BetsQ](#): > > Sigh. Usually, it’s my to do list. I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about the things I need to get done. > > I also have a long list of home renovation fantasies. Most of them involve trying to figure out where we can squeeze an extra bathroom in the house. Both of these things (though replace the bathroom with storage space). I actually keep my to-do book (far too long for just a list) beside me at work. That way, I can make sure I have written it down. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868/20 "2011-10-07T18:44:44Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > embarrasing amount of Walter Mitty type scenarios. This is it 98% of the time for me. The other 2% I’m thinking about my to-do list. If I’m not engaged in a task that requires my full-concentration, I’ve tuned out to some degree so I can pretend I’m living another life. That’s not as sad as it sounds, honest. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-your-mind-wanders-where-does-it-go/598868.md?page=2)