29. Minds Wander 30 Percent of the Time

29. Minds Wander 30 Percent of the Time

MIND WANDERING IS A VERY COMMON PHENOMENON During everyday activities your minds wander up to 30 percent of the time, and in some cases, such as driving on an uncrowded highway, it might be as high as 70 percent.

WHY A WANDERING MIND CAN BE A GOOD THINGMind wandering does allow you to switch focus from one idea to another, and then back again quickly.

WHY A WANDERING MIND CAN BE A BAD THINGMuch of the time when your mind wanders, you’re unaware of it. More “zoning out” than mind wandering, this means that you can miss important information.

TAKEAWAYS People will only focus on a task for a limited time. Assume that their minds are wander- ing often. If possible, use hyperlinks to grab onto this idea of quickly switching from topic to topic. People like Web surfing because it enables this type of wandering. Make sure you build in feedback about where people are so that if they wander, it’s easier for them to get back to the original location or go to the next.