29. Minds Wander 30 Percent of the Time

29. Minds Wander 30 Percent of the Time

Wandering Mind By Mithiorenithere D934y33 (binary/octet-stream)

Caption: : Image courtesty of https://mithiorenithere.deviantart.com/

What You Need to Know

A wandering mind is a common occurrence. Minds wander on average 30% of the time and can wander as much as 70% when driving.   A wandering mind can be a good thing because it's the closest thing to multi-tasking that humans can achieve. For example, you might be doing your homework but thinking about what to bring to a party you've been invited to attend the following evening.   A wandering mind can be a bad thing because if you zone out, you might miss important pieces of needed information causing you to be unproductive.

Remember...

When creating a design, assume that people's minds will wander and adjust accordingly   Use hyperlinks as a method to help utilize the tendency for the mind to wander.   If you do enable wandering throughout your design, be sure to give clear direction on how to go forward or backward so people can easily navigate and not get lost.