The Creativity Challenge: Practice “Intentional Daydreaming”

Day 3 of the Creativity Challenge is dedicated to daydreaming.

It may seem like a quaint pastime when we all have phones at the ready. But I still do it. Quite a bit, actually. I can quickly get lost in thought while vacuuming or walking to the grocery store, and those thoughts can lead to new ideas or weird musings.

Sometimes, I miss my subway stop. But on the whole, daydreaming is a positive thing, a portal to more happiness and innovative thinking. We could probably be getting more out of it, though, said Madeleine Gross, a research scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who studies curiosity and creativity. “Our minds wander for a substantial portion of the day, and we’re often passive passengers,” she said. “That feels like a missed opportunity.”

People who are inherently creative tend to daydream more. Higher rates of daydreaming go hand in hand with performing well on divergent thinking tasks, Dr. Gross said. (Remember the circle activity from Day 1?)

But it works both ways. “Daydreaming can also make you more creative,” she said. The key is following a few rules. That might sound nuts — it’s daydreaming! — but think about how often your mind wanders right to your stressful to-do list.

Dr. Gross encourages what she calls “intentional daydreaming,” which is nothing more than doing it purposefully, with a few preparations to set you up for success. In the best-case scenario, it can lead to a eureka moment that gets you past a sticking point in your life or work. Research shows that taking time away from a problem to let your thoughts “incubate” in the background can prompt surprising solutions.

But more broadly, intentional daydreaming helps to make you more curious. “Curious people tend to enjoy their daydreaming more,” she said. “They have more engaging, more meaningful and more novel thoughts.”

Ready for your next exercise?