I have a reminder on my phone to let myself daydream and it's surprisingly hard. Not so much because I'm distracted, although that's definitely a factor, but more because my adult brain shuts down my daydreams with "That could never happen" or "That's not healthy" or whatever at lightning speed. I really have to make a point to brainstorm wild and weird ideas because I feel like my regular daydreaming brain is broken right now.
YES I totally get that too, about your regular daydreaming brain being broken! Where I used to come up with wild ideas, my brain now does shut those down sometimes. (Or is like "how about...would you be interested in...INSTAGRAM???")
Is the reminder on your phone for the same time each day?
It's a 7 am reminder, so theoretically I can do it while I get ready in the morning. Right now it's more an exercise in noticing what I might want to daydream about than actually getting very deep in the daydreaming, but baby steps...
One thing I'm noticing is that (for me, at least) I'm not sure daydreaming can be SCHEDULED, but I do think it can be PLANNED FOR. Like, I can't say, "I have to make sure I get an hour of daydreaming in today," but I can say, "Time to meditate," or "time to go for a walk" or time to do literally anything without my computer/phone.
I think my reminder is training me to actually let myself daydream at other moments when opportunities arise. So I might not schedule it but it becomes a default more naturally. Hopefully!
I spent the last week with my phone in a drawer all day every day and it was wonderful. Normally my brain will fill that space with ideas but it was very quiet. And normally that would scare me but I’ve realized how tired I am after finishing the illustrations of a book and how much I needed nothingness. It goes to show our brains often give us exactly what we need when we give them the space. I’m trying to embrace this time of quiet without forcing myself to work on books or generate new ideas.
This speaks to me so strongly! A few years ago I actually started scheduling what I called "writer's naps." I would take 20 minutes every afternoon to lie down on the couch or hammock and close my eyes and let my mind wander. No devices, no books, no bothers. If I fell asleep - great! Sleep is awesome. But mostly I ended up thinking of weird things, wandering into solutions for problems in my stories, or mentally messing around with a line of poetry I actually wanted to write. I have been CRAP about doing it this past summer, but it is back on my agenda now. I also felt SO GOOD about listening to podcasts and audiobooks while pulling weeds or folding laundry...until I recognized that that took away from my "daydreaming" time. Still working my way back in to that openness. Thanks for the confirmation that it's not just me!
I have a reminder on my phone to let myself daydream and it's surprisingly hard. Not so much because I'm distracted, although that's definitely a factor, but more because my adult brain shuts down my daydreams with "That could never happen" or "That's not healthy" or whatever at lightning speed. I really have to make a point to brainstorm wild and weird ideas because I feel like my regular daydreaming brain is broken right now.
YES I totally get that too, about your regular daydreaming brain being broken! Where I used to come up with wild ideas, my brain now does shut those down sometimes. (Or is like "how about...would you be interested in...INSTAGRAM???")
Is the reminder on your phone for the same time each day?
It's a 7 am reminder, so theoretically I can do it while I get ready in the morning. Right now it's more an exercise in noticing what I might want to daydream about than actually getting very deep in the daydreaming, but baby steps...
One thing I'm noticing is that (for me, at least) I'm not sure daydreaming can be SCHEDULED, but I do think it can be PLANNED FOR. Like, I can't say, "I have to make sure I get an hour of daydreaming in today," but I can say, "Time to meditate," or "time to go for a walk" or time to do literally anything without my computer/phone.
I think my reminder is training me to actually let myself daydream at other moments when opportunities arise. So I might not schedule it but it becomes a default more naturally. Hopefully!
I spent the last week with my phone in a drawer all day every day and it was wonderful. Normally my brain will fill that space with ideas but it was very quiet. And normally that would scare me but I’ve realized how tired I am after finishing the illustrations of a book and how much I needed nothingness. It goes to show our brains often give us exactly what we need when we give them the space. I’m trying to embrace this time of quiet without forcing myself to work on books or generate new ideas.
I LOVE THIS. I love your brain being quiet and you realizing that was exactly how it needed to be! Let's normalize leaving our phones in drawers!
Yes! It made it easier that I was on vacation so now I need to integrate that habit with every day life
This speaks to me so strongly! A few years ago I actually started scheduling what I called "writer's naps." I would take 20 minutes every afternoon to lie down on the couch or hammock and close my eyes and let my mind wander. No devices, no books, no bothers. If I fell asleep - great! Sleep is awesome. But mostly I ended up thinking of weird things, wandering into solutions for problems in my stories, or mentally messing around with a line of poetry I actually wanted to write. I have been CRAP about doing it this past summer, but it is back on my agenda now. I also felt SO GOOD about listening to podcasts and audiobooks while pulling weeds or folding laundry...until I recognized that that took away from my "daydreaming" time. Still working my way back in to that openness. Thanks for the confirmation that it's not just me!