The science of mind wandering: empirically navigating the stream of consciousness.
Annual review of psychology January 3, 2015 Jonathan Smallwood, Jonathan W Schooler
Conscious experience is fluid, rarely staying on one topic for long. Mind wandering illustrates this, as attention shifts from a current task to unrelated thoughts and feelings. Its content and relation to meta-cognition determine functional outcomes. Mind wandering involves perceptual decoupling to escape the moment, with content arising from episodic and affective processes, regulated by executive control. It carries costs, linked to errors, and benefits, associated with creativity and future planning. Strategies can minimize downsides while maintaining productive aspects.