How Often Are We in the Here and Now?

Abstract

There is a conflict between humans’ need to focus on the present circumstances and their ability to plan and reminisce, which often results in mind wandering. Contemporary techniques with ancient roots, such as mindfulness, are useful in solving some of the problems associated with excessive mind wandering but largely fail to recognize the importance of planning and reminiscing. This lack of recognition means that research has by and large ignored the need for a balanced approach, incorporating a focus on both the present local circumstances and elsewhere. Here, I scrutinize time use data to classify contemporary human activities, with an emphasis on leisure but also relevant in a work context. I classify activities according to their temporal and spatial profiles, while also noting any social components involved, which may further remove the activity focus from the self. A visual summary of this classification indicates that our activities, whether societally imposed on us or performed by choice, cover the full range of time-and-place focus profiles available to the human mind more or less evenly. This contradicts the prevalent paradigm, suggesting a dichotomy between present time-and-place focus and mind wandering. I suggest that individual differences in temporal and spatial focus profiles require both broad and in-depth study, such differences having the potential to help optimize not only individual well-being but also the functioning of society, and that mind wandering may be (at least partly) unnecessarily vilified.