How to \"mind wander\" or \"day dream\" at work?

Okay, I know this may sound really bad but how are there any ways to increase my ability to day dream and forget about what's going on around me while at work?

Most people have jobs where day dreaming is a bad thing, but I work on an assembly line doing the exact same thing for 8 hours straight. I have a computer that checks all my work and gives me a "green light" before my job is complete, so in all reality while i'm at work I'm just a robot... It's so mentally stressful to just do the same thing all day without losing my mind.

Here lately I put my ear plugs in my ear (we can't listen to music), and this helps to drown out all the noise around me.. I then try to drift off into deep thoughts about very random things - anything to forget about time... Does anyone know any techniques to help or any advice?

reply to post by auburn2012


dude. just today i was thinking about the exact same thing. i just got a job in a factory. we also cannot listen to music. im trying to think of a way to use that mental time for something constructive.

Controlling your mind takes lots of practice. And you will never be good at it. Its just a difficult thing to do.

I am an accountant. I have large parts of my job where I just "zone out". Counting cash, updating the income journal....they require such a small amount of thought that I only give about 10% of my brainpower to them while doing them.

The rest of my thoughts are either related to my wife/son, or thinking about what I have been reading lately.


I used to drive 5-7 hours to a job site every monday, then return home on Friday. That was great, as I had nothing but empty country roads, my thoughts, and Tool playing loud on the stereo.