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A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind (2010) [pdf]

greatergood.berkeley.edu

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Re: A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind (2010) [pdf]

#71

Post by lilbobbytables »

dschuetz wrote: post #28

There's a plenty of occasions, causes and distractions to make your mind wander. To me personally the most prominent ones are when reading a book (which is also the most infuriating) and while riding some sort of public transport. The latter one helps me to reduce head buzz which is generated by randomly reading HN posts or working on a demanding task. Reading a book, where I actually need to concentrate on the book,…

Yep, books have typically been a poor way to learn for me, unless they're really good (by the metric of keeping me engaged).

It has always been a frustrating thing.

Re: A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind (2010) [pdf]

#72

Post by npsimons »

keyle wrote: post #14
Apocryphon wrote: post #7

When I'm very sleep-deprived, I tend to be better able to focus on the present, and not worry about ambient anxiety-causing topics. My mind has less resources to wander as much as usual. Between that anecdotal experience, and previous stories about sleep deprivation as a treatment for depression, I wonder if there's something to be set about forcing your mind into a single-threaded mode, to avoid the usual distractin…

Functioning sleep deprive may feel like you're better at focusing on the present. But I believe that it's your inability to give a crap that helps the most and removes the second-guessing and mind wandering; a similar state of mind can be achieved by physical exhaustion, whether it's at the gym or from a run or a swim. Try that, it's far better than being sleep deprived.

> a similar state of mind can be achieved by physical exhaustion, whether it's at the gym or from a run or a swim. Try that, it's far better than being sleep deprived.

It's not complete physical exhaustion, but a heavy session of lifting weights or cardio certainly clears my mind, helps me to to focus on tasks to completion.

Re: A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind (2010) [pdf]

#73

Post by dvtv75 »

snarfy wrote: post #55
dvtv75 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sounds quite similar to my experience. I have a Non-Verbal Learning Disorder, and if I don't sub-vocalize everything, I end up with no idea of what I've just read. Often, I end up with my mind wandering in the same way and I'll have to go back and re-read everything I'd just read. While individual sentences and phrases will seem irritatingly familiar, I still have no idea of what I've read until I re-read it. I'…

You might have success curbing excessive daydreaming with a nootropic like modafinil or even something like ritalin. Some vitamins help too like choline. Also, audio books.

I love the process of reading, but I've found for learning large amounts of material I read it out loud, record and MP3 it, and then listen to it through headphones, so that does work well.

Will look into those vitamins, thanks for the tip!

Re: A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind (2010) [pdf]

#74

Post by dvtv75 »

acorkery wrote: post #53
dvtv75 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sounds quite similar to my experience. I have a Non-Verbal Learning Disorder, and if I don't sub-vocalize everything, I end up with no idea of what I've just read. Often, I end up with my mind wandering in the same way and I'll have to go back and re-read everything I'd just read. While individual sentences and phrases will seem irritatingly familiar, I still have no idea of what I've read until I re-read it. I'…

That's interesting. I suppose the written word is just a visual representation that needs to be parsed, natural that there could be thought processes that overlap and conflict with that process. The only similar experience I have is when I'm learning a new tune on the piano - when following the sheet music my mind keeps jumping ahead and trying to work out where the song is going (and also analyzing how I'm playing),…

I (sort-of) play bass, and when I learn a song from tab, I'm pretty much just wrote learning. I'm sort-of learning to read musical notation, but I don't really have a visual memory which makes it really hard. It would certainly be a lot easier if I had a lot more knowledge of musical theory.

Playing by ear is much harder for me because I know just a few scales, and I can't hold a note in my head long enough to find it on the fretboard. Knowing the scales would make everything a subconscious pattern.

Mind you, I am starting to think that's entirely an anxiety thing.

Re: A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind (2010) [pdf]

#75

Post by Mikhail_Edoshin »

unhappyMinds wrote: post #52

I wouldn't know what happiness is anymore, since I work for a living. I wasn't happy in school because attendance was compulsory, but I do remember summers being okay. It's been decades since I've enjoyed a "summer time" but once, when I lost my job for about 6 weeks, I was almost happy during week 5 until I landed a job offer, and spent week 6 stressing about returning to work. It took me a month to feel like a huma…

You work for a living because you chose to. There's an option not to pay rent and live on the street. You, obviously, have freely chosen another one for certain reasons even if you're not fully aware what these reasons were.

Re: A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind (2010) [pdf]

#76

Post by simonebrunozzi »

dschuetz wrote: post #28

There's a plenty of occasions, causes and distractions to make your mind wander. To me personally the most prominent ones are when reading a book (which is also the most infuriating) and while riding some sort of public transport. The latter one helps me to reduce head buzz which is generated by randomly reading HN posts or working on a demanding task. Reading a book, where I actually need to concentrate on the book,…

> Reading a book, where I actually need to concentrate on the book, some contents generate occasional mind branches. That means, I continue reading, but I think about something else triggered by what's in the book. Then I switch back to the book realizing "Wait, where was I? I have no idea why I'm reading this, and now I skipped a whole page."

I completely relate to this.

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