Daydreaming

Summer is the perfect time of year for daydreaming. Warm weather, time off, a change in routine,
or even making coffee on a summer day can be conducive to contemplation. It’s an opportunity I
relish.

Learn from the experts
First, to clarify. I’m not just talking about those precious moments of doing nothing that we enjoy
on a summer day. I’m also referring to casual reflections or, as Merriam Webster defines it, “a
pleasant, visionary, usually wishful creation of the imagination.”

I wondered if there was any science to support the contributions of daydreaming. The authors of an
article in Forbes write that daydreaming at work can boost innovation and creative problem solving.
In the New York Times, expert Jonathan Schooler suggests that “mind wondering”, as he calls it,
may be an opportunity to “come up with novel…approaches that you hadn’t thought of before”.
Research, according to this article, shows that “letting our minds wander…can give us joy, serenity,
and even make us more creative.”

More benefits
I find that daydreaming can:

• Help get me out of a rut.
• Spark out of the box thinking.
• Set me up for a new project.
• Create a pleasant pause for thought in an otherwise hectic day.

Daydreaming and Short Takes
Many of my ideas for Short Takes articles have come to me while I’m daydreaming. Most often they
just pop into my head and I jot them down to help jump start my first draft. For me, daydreaming
draws on various influences, even, for example, the backyard breezes I’m feeling right now as I
contemplate this article.

Here’s my thinking
When it comes to daydreaming, be flexible. You might have a fantastic idea for a proposal or a
conversation with a donor while you’re listening to music, walking your dog, or standing in line for
ice cream. Make a note of your daydream-inspired idea, and revisit it over the coming days. If it
sticks, go with it.

So don’t get annoyed with yourself when your mind wanders. Enjoy this quiet, perhaps unexpected
moment in your day, and see what happens.