When focusing on a project that takes awhile and that I do not want to do, I find my mind wandering to other tasks. Sometimes I allow myself to shift to the other task (as I’m doing as I write this), and sometimes I keep myself on task.

I used to think of this as a bad thing. Why can’t I remain focused? But I wonder if it’s actually part of the process. In meditation, the goal is generally to focus on the breath or a mantra, or something else specific. But the mind wonders, and the heart of the practice is bringing the mind back to the focus when aware that it is wandering. It’s not bad that the mind wanders, it’s simply what happens and then you bring the mind back around.

I think the same might be true for working on projects. We force ourselves to begin the work, then maybe veer, but then we draw ourselves back to the project. My veers are often really productive mini-breaks, and then I dive right back in. It’s like a reward system that may just be helpful to get the “task-I-don’t-want-to-do” done.