When the Mind Wanders: Spontaneous vs. Deliberate Wandering

Neurodivergent Notes | Dr. Megan Anna Neff

My mind wanders. Like a lot.
I wish I could tell you that as I sat down to write this essay, I slipped into a steady state of focus, that the words lined up neatly in my head like attentive little ducks. But if I’m honest, I’ve been ping-ponging between tabs, half-drafted projects, an unfinished text thread, and a few personal things taking up mental space. I do have ADHD after all.

Mind-wandering is getting more attention in research lately, and for good reason. It’s such a universal experience — we all drift — but for those of us with ADHD, the drifting can feel more like being swept out by the current. Sometimes it’s energizing, creative, even soothing. Other times, it’s exhausting. It can pull us into rumination, guilt, or that sense of I’m here but not really here.

So today, I wanted to slow down and sit with this question a bit more:

What exactly is mind-wandering? Why does it happen so much in ADHD? And is it something to work with, contain, fight, fix — or perhaps could there be …