Is a Wandering Mind More Effective?

About a third of the time we are awake our mind is wandering. We are not focused on the topic at hand, we are zoning out. Not really in a full day dream just having thoughts unrelated to the tasks we are trying to do.  We slip in and out of focus rapidly and often. It is worse if we are drinking or are having a craving.

For those interested in improving cognitive performance and brain function it seems that mind wandering presents a major opportunity.

Even 10% less wandering during the day would mean 30 minutes or so more mental time on task! This puts a premium on using techniques, such as mindfulness, that naturally nudge the wandering mind back on task.

Unfortunately the case is not that clear. There has been research that suggests a wandering mind is critical to enhance creativity. More recent research even suggests it may improve decision-making. Point being that our mind likely wanders for a reason and that reason is likely essential for high performance.

For a good (and short) article on this topic check out Discovering the Virtues of the Wandering Mind. Interested to hear from readers on their view. Especially interested in any techniques for minimizing it or getting better cognitive performance from it.