Spacing out

[DeafEars]

I find it very hard to stop spacing out... it happens to me most of the time when I'm, reading, programming, listening, walking, sitting, talking, eating, drawing, and riding the bus. anybody has the same problem?.:thinking:

[lordrrr]

TOTALLY bro, I actually made a separate thread about it. My Hon. Geo. teacher approached me after school about my spacing out. Apparently it's really obvious.


But yeah happens all the time to me. I'm always off in my own little world.

[Lagawrd]

I space out only when there is nothing to do, like riding the subway. I space out because there is nothing interesting going on, so i believe it is safe to retreat. However, this is bad since I become oblivious to the things around me. Something might happen suddenly and I will be most unprepared.

usually when I am doing something, or trying to get to something, I work very hard without distractions. I would even overlook the distractions as they come. So I cannot really say I have a 'problem' with this.

Zoning out can be easily cured by training your will. Defeat your desires. If you have something to study, and find yourself saying, "Agh... I will do it later... I still have time". That is the time to get up, let go of everything, and study, even if this may be annoying or difficult. Doing this repeatedly with everything you try to sneak away from, will help you. It certainly helped me in some cases.

Develop your will.

[acyckowski]

The trick is to control your zoning. I prefer to zone by blocking out everything and retreating into my mind, sometimes not even aware of what I'm thinking. Not very good in a school or work environment, so I've learned to keep just enough attention to my surroundings to express appropriate facial expressions and body language, while not really having to process whatever it is I'm blocking out in the first place.

[Jakalwarrior]

I tend to do it a whole lot while driving. I find myself at my destination and cant remember any of the trip or even whether or not I stopped at red lights etc... I often find myself driving a bit aggresively just to hold my attention.

But yeah, any time I let my self trail off into thought the world slips away.

[bubbles]

I zone out a lot and it has decreased my productivity. It's just hard to focus on something for a continuous period of time. I try not to multitask anymore so I can let my brain get used to focusing all of my attention on one thing to get it done quickly.

[malefide]

I zone out when the outside ceases to interest me. But I also have developed my ability to focus when I need to, and I automatically do so when I am interested by something.

[Serpent7]

Not only do I space out, I do it OFTEN. And as an added bonus, I am OBVIOUSLY talking to myself! Sometimes, I even accompany my internal life with hand gestures!

[lordrrr]

Not only do I space out, I do it OFTEN. And as an added bonus, I am OBVIOUSLY talking to myself! Sometimes, I even accompany my internal life with hand gestures!

Heh, I do that too. When it gets really out of hand I'll accidentally slip out a few words of what I was thinking even!

[sora]

try uncrossing your eyes

[EsoteriEccentri]

Oh yes. ^^
Definitely.

[Rei]

try uncrossing your eyes

LOL
That's what I noticed myself doing.

[Doppelbock]

Heh, I do that too. When it gets really out of hand I'll accidentally slip out a few words of what I was thinking even!

Heh, glad to learn it's not just me!

[DeafEars]

I usually do that too, with a matching hand gesture :), a bit embarrassing though.

[True Rune]

Bad thing to do in a crowd.. I was at this outside concert thing and well, I decided to "space out" as you say then someone who was in our group came behind me and unexpectedly picked me up, don't think eyes ever got wider.. either way, I know this issue well, even when I was a kid. It's a pain when going on a thought train in the middle of reading a sentence when you're cramming for a test, but I kind of like it.

[Rei]

Bad thing to do in a crowd.. I was at this outside concert thing and well, I decided to "space out" as you say then someone who was in our group came behind me and unexpectedly picked me up, don't think eyes ever got wider.. either way, I know this issue well, even when I was a kid. It's a pain when going on a thought train in the middle of reading a sentence when you're cramming for a test, but I kind of like it.

The biggest problem is when you do it in the middle of an exam.
It happened to me today... I was in the middle of answering a question, and then the answer for another question popped in my head... and then it just as quickly went away and my head just went blank.
It's so frustrating!!! Then I have to sit there for 5 seconds trying to remember what I was thinking.

[True Rune]

The biggest problem is when you do it in the middle of an exam.
It happened to me today... I was in the middle of answering a question, and then the answer for another question popped in my head... and then it just as quickly went away and my head just went blank.
It's so frustrating!!! Then I have to sit there for 5 seconds trying to remember what I was thinking.

Never happens to me, unless it's like essay questions. It's like I have an "exam" mode.. XD

[sriv]

Sometimes the multiple choice is hard to keep constant attention on because it is so repetitive and simple.

[Rei]

Sometimes the multiple choice is hard to keep constant attention on because it is so repetitive and simple.

It's NOT SIMPLE!
Two of my midterms were entirely MC. One was math, the other was genetics.

Downside of math MC: no part marks, you have no clue even if you get it wrong because they think of all the possible mistakes you can make and put it as a choice.
Downside of biology MC: it's so detailed that if you misread/don't pay attention to ONE WORD, you're screwed. They also enjoy putting REALLY LONG ones and make you choose how many of the statements are right... which means you're screwed if even one of them is chosen wrong.

Come to think of it, my physics FINAL was 20 multiple choice questions, worth 50% of my total mark. I did well, but I shudder to think what would happen if I didn't.

[acyckowski]

Sometimes the multiple choice is hard to keep constant attention on because it is so repetitive and simple.

Brace yourself, kiddo, wait'll you see some of the crazy-ass s#@! coming your way in the future. Some of these test designers are downright evil. A recent test I took, 25 questions, covering four chapters at eighty pages apiece. 15-20 "key terms" per chapter, at least 5-8 "big concepts," and these whackers asked 4 questions about minute details that were mentioned ONCE.

But yeah, I've been in the middle of a test, think of the answer to another question, go back to find it, change the answer, then come back to where I left off....and that's when it hits. I sit and stare at the problem I was just working on, and have no idea WTF I was doing.

[Rei]

Brace yourself, kiddo, wait'll you see some of the crazy-ass s#@! coming your way in the future. Some of these test designers are downright evil. A recent test I took, 25 questions, covering four chapters at eighty pages apiece. 15-20 "key terms" per chapter, at least 5-8 "big concepts," and these whackers asked 4 questions about minute details that were mentioned ONCE.

But yeah, I've been in the middle of a test, think of the answer to another question, go back to find it, change the answer, then come back to where I left off....and that's when it hits. I sit and stare at the problem I was just working on, and have no idea WTF I was doing.

*nods in solemn agreement*

[dandylion]

I do space out often. Last week, I went to the bathroom at 7:00 AM to brush my teeth and wash my face and I could've sworn only four minutes had passed, but when I came out the clock read 7:40 AM. :huh:

[lordrrr]

I think the one cause of spacing out is ideas from whatever activity you're doing sprout questions and of course those interest you and you seek to answer them, so you drop what you're doing to answer those questions.

[Vardigon]

I used to space out every time I got into the shower. It only took me a few minutes to wash, but my showers extended into the 30 minute mark always. lol.

[EsoteriEccentri]

Yes I do that too. ^^ I spend over an hour in the shower, then all of a sudden realise how long it's been and wash and do my hair in about five seconds. ^^

[Rei]

I used to space out every time I got into the shower. It only took me a few minutes to wash, but my showers extended into the 30 minute mark always. lol.

I still do that. My top speed is something like 8 minutes.
My usual "fast" is 15 minutes, but I generally spend around 30 minutes. If I really let myself go, there goes 50 minutes...
I'd honestly walk in and walk out expecting only 30 to have gone by =/

[sriv]

Wow, same here. I wake up at x time. Go to the bathroom, take a shower, and walk out at x+30min time plus or minus one minute. I seem to have formatted how long I space out in the shower.

[AgentofGaming]

uhh don't you guys get wrinkly from exposure to water that long? :thinking:

Really I try to keep it at 15 minutes.

Avoid philosophizing in the shower... you're wasting water and energy to heat the water.

[Lagawrd]

Showers? I spend almost 15 minutes. You zone out in the shower, or do you do something else? I cannot see myself wasting that much time in the shower... there are so much more interesting things to do.

[AgentofGaming]

There's relaxation too, liquid has that different feel from air.
If you want to count time I've encountered someone who hogged the bathroom for an hour+ just to have a bath.

[Rei]

uhh don't you guys get wrinkly from exposure to water that long? :thinking:

Really I try to keep it at 15 minutes.

Avoid philosophizing in the shower... you're wasting water and energy to heat the water.

No... I don't know why not... but no.

Showers are the best thinking time ever.

[AgentofGaming]

No... I don't know why not... but no.

Showers are the best thinking time ever.

True, but to be honest: what you have to do in showers takes 5 minutes. (I heard a world water shortage is approaching)

The 2nd best thinking time for me is pre-sleep.

The former triggers my creativity for ideas, the latter triggers my memories for ideas. Both make the task longer to complete.

[Rei]

True, but to be honest: what you have to do in showers takes 5 minutes. (I heard a world water shortage is approaching)

The 2nd best thinking time for me is pre-sleep.

The former triggers my creativity for ideas, the latter triggers my memories for ideas. Both make the task longer to complete.

... It takes me 7 minutes, fastest... including washing my hair.

I've learned not to think too much before sleep... because then I simply wouldn't sleep, and I'd end up getting a headache because I'd been lying in bed awake too long.

[AgentofGaming]

... It takes me 7 minutes, fastest... including washing my hair.

I've learned not to think too much before sleep... because then I simply wouldn't sleep, and I'd end up getting a headache because I'd been lying in bed awake too long.

7 minutes? lol when I went to Camp Kearney in Gr. 6, they had a water shortage and they only gave us 2 minutes. Soap! Shampoo! put it all over! and the teachers yank you out...

How do you not think so much during sleep? There's not much choice of thought. Like if I don't want some weird jingle in my head, boy purging it is hard and involves focusing on reality intensely.
You get headaches from not being able to sleep? I'd just get itchy, hot and restless and then a vicious cycle.

Also add in someone else in my room with many thoughts and it's a night talked away.

[Rei]

7 minutes? lol when I went to Camp Kearney in Gr. 6, they had a water shortage and they only gave us 2 minutes. Soap! Shampoo! put it all over! and the teachers yank you out...

How do you not think so much during sleep? There's not much choice of thought. Like if I don't want some weird jingle in my head, boy purging it is hard and involves focusing on reality intensely.
You get headaches from not being able to sleep? I'd just get itchy, hot and restless and then a vicious cycle.

Also add in someone else in my room with many thoughts and it's a night talked away.

... I don't think I'd EVER be able to make it in 2 minutes. You can't even scrub all the parts of your body in 2 minutes!

I don't know. I've learned to block things out over the years. I guess it also helps that I sleep so little that by the time I get in bed, I'm asleep in 2 minutes.
I get headaches... this really weird oversensitivity to anything touching my head unless it's the exact shape of my head. Usually it helped if I cupped a hand around my head. =/

Yeah... I'd forgotten about all the times I'd talked through the night and slept at dawn till now. We'd just keep saying "we should sleep" but something pops up and there goes another 3 hours...

[Snowdragon]

I space out all the time. Everyone tells me I have a space problem.

[Greeny]

Yes I have that problem too. It happens alot when Iam stuck somewhere, I can't leave, and what every is going on is boring. This can cause a problem if someone asked "what do you think?" However, It does come in handy. Someone can be screaming in my face and I can zone out and mentally do a grocery list or something. Sure has a interesting effect on the "screamer".