What Are You Doing Right Now?

Mind wandering is the phenomenon of having off task thoughts during an ongoing task or activity. The brain was built for distractability, and when we move our attention away from what's happening in the here and the now, that's when we run into trouble. Some studies have paid people to be more focused on their work than they would if they were just doing a boring task with little else going on. But other research has shown that this can actually lead to greater life or death consequences among medical professionals who are constantly monitoring patients' mental health.