by Chris Bailey
There are two ways your mind wanders: unintentionally and intentionally. Unintentional wandering takes place without your awareness, when you don’t choose to enter into the mode. This is where I draw the line between mind wandering and scatterfocus. Scatterfocus is always intentional.
It may sound odd to release your grip on your attention intentionally. But in practice, there are other mental states in which you have even less control over your attention—including in hyperfocus.
Two of the most preeminent researchers in the field of mind wandering are Jonathan Smallwood and Jonathan Schooler, and they both agree on this point. When I chatted with him, Smallwood gave the example of watching a movie: “Let’s say you sit down to watch Pulp Fiction. Quentin Tarantino has organized the entire movie to constrain your thoughts. You don’t need to do anything as you watch the film—this is what makes the experience so relaxing. He controls your train of thought.”
Research also suggests that we notice where our mind wanders around half of the time. We don’t work with nearly this much awareness when focused on something. Schooler goes even further than Smallwood, arguing that one of the biggest misconceptions we have about mind wandering today is that “all mind wandering goes on without awareness, without intention.”
Intention is what makes scatterfocus so powerful. This mode is always deployed deliberately—and involves making a concerted effort to notice where your mind goes.
I’ve found it helpful to distinguish among a few different styles of scatterfocus:
Capture mode: Letting your mind roam freely and capturing whatever comes up.
Problem-crunching mode: Holding a problem loosely in mind and letting your thoughts wander around it.
Habitual mode: Engaging in a simple task and capturing the valuable ideas and plans that rise to the surface while doing it. Research has found this mode is the most powerful.
Of the three styles, capture mode is best for identifying what’s on your mind; problem-crunching mode is best for mulling over a specific problem or idea; and habitual mode is best for recharging and connecting the greatest number of ideas.
Capture Mode
As I mentioned in chapter 5, clearing your mind of open loops is a powerful productivity tactic. The fewer to-dos, calendar appointments, and unresolved commitments you keep stored in your mind, the fewer things there are to fill your attentional space as you try to focus.
For years I have been scheduling one or two fifteen-minute chunks of time each week to let my mind wander freely, during which I capture any valuable and actionable material. This practice is as simple as sitting with coffee, a pen, and a notebook and waiting to see what rises to the surface of my consciousness. By the end of the process, my notebook is invariably full: I’ve scribbled the names of people I should follow up with, stuff I’ve been waiting to do (and also follow up about), a list of people I should reconnect with, solutions to problems, tasks I’ve forgotten, house chores, intentions I should set, and more. I usually feel energized at the end of this little ritual because I’ve given my mind a break.
As discussed in chapter 4, unresolved tasks, projects, and commitments weigh heavily on our mind, perhaps because our brain views them as threats. In capture mode, any unresolved ideas or projects move to the forefront of your mind, ready to be written down and acted upon later. Our mind’s propensity to wander toward these unresolved ideas is, in part, what makes scatterfocus so valuable—the open loops become much more accessible.
By way of example, I just put my computer to sleep, set a timer for fifteen minutes, and captured everything that rose to the surface of my mind. In that short period I noted the following to-do items:
Map a time line of when I’ll be done writing Hyperfocus.
Contact my editor about adding a name to the acknowledgments section of my previous book.
Remember to pick up my police check today (for a summer camp I volunteer for).
Bring that police check to Ottawa this weekend.
Complete the next module of the coding course I’m taking this evening.
Book a massage for later this week.
Make a list of the big things I need to wrap up today: finish this section of the book, do an hour of boredom experimentation, and write a quick newsletter for my website soliciting ideas for that experiment.
In addition to capturing these tasks, my mind mainly wandered to places you’d expect: mostly to the future and to the present, with some time pondering the past too. It’s worth noting that I repeated this same capture ritual only a few days later and still managed to fill a few pages.
Of the three styles of scatterfocus, you’ll probably find capture mode to be the most aversive—at least initially. Many people find the process boring, but this is precisely what leads your mind to wander and creates the space for ideas to rise to the surface of your attentional space. Cutting yourself off from distractions naturally turns your attention inward, as your thoughts become more interesting than anything in your external environment.
Problem-Crunching Mode
Problem-crunching mode is most useful when you’re brainstorming a solution to a specific problem.
To enter this mode, hold a problem in your mind and let your thoughts wander around it, turn it over, and explore it from different angles. Whenever your mind ventures off to think about something unrelated or gets stuck on one point, gently nudge your attention back to what you intended to think about, or the problem you intended to solve.
Problem-crunching mode enables you to solve complicated problems more creatively—providing nonlinear solutions you wouldn’t necessarily arrive at while logically brainstorming with a pen and a sheet of paper. Since you’ll experience the same problem-solving benefits (and then some) when scatterfocusing on a habitual task, I recommend using the problem-crunching mode sparingly—save it for the largest problems you’re processing. For example, it may be worth deploying when you’re
pondering whether to accept a new job and leave your current one;
crafting a thoughtful email to your company’s leadership team;
considering a difficult relationship decision;
brainstorming how you’ll expand your business;
deciding among three different homes to buy; or
choosing between several potential hires for your team.
I went into problem-crunching mode constantly when coming up with the structure for this book; I would do so while canoeing, or I would walk around town with only a small notepad in my pocket. Once I had my structure, and before pitching the book to my publisher, I had around 25,000 words of research notes that weren’t organized in the slightest. In my head the ideas were just as jumbled. I decided to put the research to the test and scatter my attention, hoping to give my mind the space it needed to connect the ideas I had captured. I printed my research notes—it’s helpful to review problems before entering into problem-crunching mode—and then let my mind wander around them for an hour or two at a time on nature walks, while listening to music, or on airplanes. I slowly untangled my notes over the course of several weeks, shaping them into something that resembled a book.
Problem-crunching mode gives your mind the space and freedom to make these large leaps in your thinking. Try entering this mode if you haven’t been able to solve a specific, nonlinear problem in a traditional way. I usually enter problem-crunching mode for thirty to sixty minutes at a time—I get restless if it’s any longer. Test it and see what works for you.
Habitual Mode
Habitual scatterfocus is the most powerful style of this mode, and it’s the one I recommend practicing the most often. (I’m covering it last in case you’re tempted to gloss over the others, which are fruitful, but in different ways.)
As with the other modes, habi
tual scatterfocus is fairly easy: you simply do something habitual that doesn’t consume your complete attention. This gives your mind space to wander and connect ideas. Doing this is beneficial for countless reasons.
For starters, scatterfocus mode is actually fun when you’re engaged in a habitual activity you find pleasurable. Wandering your mind around one idea or capturing your thoughts can sometimes feel tedious, but when you do something habitual that you enjoy—like walking to get a coffee, woodworking, or swimming laps—scatterfocus becomes significantly more enjoyable. The happier you are in scatterfocus mode, the more benefits you’ll reap. An elevated mood actually expands the size of your attentional space, which leads you to think more expansively. Your attentional space is just as essential in scatterfocus mode as it is in hyperfocus mode—it’s the scratch pad your brain uses to connect ideas. A positive mood also allows your mind to wander more productively, as you’re dwelling less on the negative past. You also think about the future more frequently when doing something pleasing—your brain’s prospective bias grows even stronger. In addition, since doing a simple, pleasurable activity takes so little effort (and self-regulation), you can recharge at the same time you scatter your attention.
As well as being more fun, habitual tasks have been shown to yield the greatest number of creative insights when compared with switching to another demanding task, resting, or taking no break whatsoever. This holds especially true when you’re stepping back from a problem—whether you’re stumped on how to conclude a short story or considering the phrasing of an important report. It’s also easier to stay aware of your thoughts when doing something habitual, as there’s greater attentional space available to house your intention of being more aware of your thoughts. Again, this awareness is key: a creative thought is useless if it goes unnoticed.
Habitual tasks also encourage your mind to continue wandering. When you let your mind rest and wander, chances are you’ll want to continue this scatterfocus exercise until you’ve finished whatever you started. A habitual task acts as a sort of “anchor” that guides your mind until you’ve completed the work. This enables you to keep going for longer.
To practice habitual scatterfocus, pick something simple that you enjoy doing. Then carry out that one task—and nothing else—until your mind wanders. The simpler the task, the better—going for a walk will unearth greater insights and connect more ideas than listening to music or reading a book. Good ideas will rise to the surface of your mind so long as you have attention to spare.
If you notice your mind has wandered to the past or to another unproductive place, allow it to wander (or, if you want, guide it to think of something else if it has gone to an unproductive place). This is where problem-crunching and habitual scatterfocus differ: in problem-crunching mode, you bring your thoughts back to the problem you’re tackling; in habitual mode, you pretty much let your mind roam free.
You can also practice habitual scatterfocus with mandatory tasks that are already part of your day. There is a beautiful simplicity in doing one easy thing at a time, like drinking a cup of coffee, walking to work, or doing the laundry. Scatterfocus becomes most important in the moments between tasks. Stimulating devices and distractions don’t only derail our focus—like water, they seep into the gaps in our schedule, stealing the valuable time and attention we would normally spend planning for the future and connecting ideas.
A primary reason many of us feel burned out is that we never give our attention a rest. Try this today: don’t bring your phone with you the next time you walk to get a coffee or eat your lunch. Instead, let your mind wander. The effect of this simple decision alone is noticeable. If you don’t check your phone each time a dinner date gets up from the table to go to the restroom, that meal will become more meaningful and memorable. By giving your attention a break, you’ll have the attentional space to reflect on the conversation you’ve been having and what the other person means to you.
At the risk of repeating this too often, the key to practicing habitual scatterfocus is to frequently check what thoughts and ideas are in your attentional space. This is especially important with habitual scatterfocus, since more things are vying for your attention simultaneously. Keep this advice in mind when it’s easy to become engrossed in the habitual task you’ve chosen. Sometimes I’ll enter habitual scatterfocus by playing a simple, repetitive video game on my iPad. The game frees my mind to wander and think positively, and I come up with a remarkable number of ideas in the process. (Who said video games have to be unproductive?) Because I can play the game out of habit, I have some attention to spare—but I absolutely have to remember to continue to check what’s occupying my attentional space, since the game is such a novel and pleasurable object of attention. Without this regular check-in, the experience is largely a waste of time and attention.
As with the other two styles of scatterfocus, make sure you have a notepad nearby when you enter habitual scatterfocus. You’ll need it.
If you haven’t already, schedule time to experiment with these scatterfocus modes. This book is useful only if you try out its advice. Block a time in your calendar to enter capture or problem-crunching mode, or choose something simple you love doing every day, or something enjoyable you have to do, to let your mind wander in habitual scatterfocus mode. Then capture the valuable material that comes up and the ideas you connect. While your mind may already wander throughout the day, chances are most of that time is neither fun nor intentional. Set a goal to enter into the mode intentionally today, even if just for a few minutes. Jonathan Schooler supports this idea. As he told me, “I wish everyone knew how to experiment with the idea themselves. Each one of us has such a unique relationship to mind wandering—and mind wandering can serve every one of us differently. We all need to figure out how it helps us in our own life, so we can take even more advantage of it. The beautiful thing is that it is a private experience that you can watch and introspect on yourself.”
HOW HYPERFOCUS HELPS YOU SCATTERFOCUS
There are numerous ways to guide your mind to wander even more productively when practicing intentional scatterfocus. Luckily, you learned them all in the first part of the book!
In many ways, hyperfocus and scatterfocus couldn’t be more different. Hyperfocus is about focusing on one thing; scatterfocus is about focusing on nothing in particular. With hyperfocus you direct your attention outward; with scatterfocus you direct your attention inward. One is about attention; the other is about inattention. On a neurological level, the two mental modes are even anticorrelated—when the brain network that supports scatterfocus is activated, activation in your hyperfocus network plummets, and vice versa.* All that said, the two modes of your brain reinforce each other—especially as you enter into each mode with intention. This makes it important to deliberately practice both modes.
Practicing hyperfocus—and deliberately managing your attention—provides a host of benefits: expanding your attentional space so you can focus on more tasks simultaneously, improving your memory, and letting you become more aware of the thoughts flying around your head. As it turns out, all three of these are beneficial in scatterfocus mode.
The size of your attentional space is one of the biggest determinants of how fruitful your scatterfocus episodes will be. The bigger the better, as it will allow you to keep more in mind while scatterfocusing. Attentional space is integral to both mental modes: in hyperfocus, what you’re working on fills it; in scatterfocus mode, it lets you construct new ideas and think cohesively about the future.
Deliberately managing your attention also leads you to remember more. This is the second way in which regularly practicing hyperfocus helps: the more information you gather and remember when focused, the better you are at constructing ideas and future events in scatterfocus mode. As a recent review in the scientific journal Nature put it, it’s “helpful to think of the brain as a fundamentally prospective organ that is designed to use information from t
he past and the present to generate predictions about the future. Memory can be thought of as a tool used by the prospective brain to generate simulations of possible future events.”
Remembering the past helps us imagine the future, as it’s impossible to piece together ideas and information we haven’t paid attention to in the first place. The better we manage our attention when we’re focused, the more information we’ll have to draw upon when we’re not. A later chapter is devoted to how important it is to choose what you consume and pay attention to: just as you are what you eat, when it comes to the information you consume, you are what you choose to focus on. Consuming valuable material in general makes scatterfocus sessions even more productive.
A third idea we’ve already covered is the importance of meta-awareness and continually checking what’s consuming your attentional space. This not only enables you to focus more deeply but also helps you to scatterfocus.
As you might have experienced, it can take a few minutes to notice your mind has wandered, even during meditation. A study conducted by Jonathan Schooler found that we notice our mind has wandered, on average, just 5.4 times every hour. Remember the earlier figure that indicated that our mind wanders 47 percent of the time. Taken together, these figures show just how long our mind can wander without our awareness. There’s an interesting reason that it takes us awhile to realize that our mind has wandered. As one study put it, its doing so “can hijack the very brain regions that are necessary for recognizing its occurrence.” This makes a regular check of what’s occupying our attention doubly important.