wool-gathering
Idle, aimless thinking
Wool-gathering is idle daydreaming or absentminded reverie—the mind wandering aimlessly instead of attending to the task at hand.
The image comes from the old practice of collecting tufts of sheep's wool caught on bushes, a task requiring little concentration.
Sorry, I was wool-gathering—what did you say?
Abstracted, pleasant daydream
- musingsLeisurely contemplative thoughts
- mind-wanderingUnfocused, spontaneous thought
- dreaminessVague, unfocused mental state
- fantasizingImagining desired scenarios
abstraction · musing · stargazing · inattention · preoccupation · distraction · drifting · head-in-clouds
Returned light or thought
- ruminationProlonged, repetitive thinking
- meditationFocused attention practice
- introspectionObserving one's own mind
- thoughtfulnessAttentive care for others
pondering · cogitation · musing · brooding · pensiveness · self-reflection · soul-searching · reverie
Unable to concentrate
- inattentiveNot paying attention
- unfocusedWithout clear direction
- spaceyAbsent-minded, unfocused
- scatterbrainedLacking mental focus
forgetful · preoccupied · oblivious · heedless · bemused · vague · dreamy · lost
reverie
Abstracted, pleasant daydream
- musingsLeisurely contemplative thoughts
- mind-wanderingUnfocused, spontaneous thought
- dreaminessVague, unfocused mental state
fantasizing · abstraction · musing · stargazing · inattention · preoccupation · distraction · drifting · head-in-clouds
reflection
Returned light or thought
- ruminationProlonged, repetitive thinking
- meditationFocused attention practice
- introspectionObserving one's own mind
thoughtfulness · pondering · cogitation · musing · brooding · pensiveness · self-reflection · soul-searching · reverie · philosophizing
distracted
Unable to concentrate
- inattentiveNot paying attention
- unfocusedWithout clear direction
- spaceyAbsent-minded, unfocused
scatterbrained · forgetful · preoccupied · oblivious · heedless · bemused · vague · dreamy · lost · unmindful
- absent-mindednessabsent-minded, forgetfulness, distraction, spacing out, zoning out
- contemplationcontemplation, meditation, reflection, pondering, musing
- idle timekilling time, passing time, wasting time, whiling away, doing nothing
- imaginationimagination, daydreaming, daydreams, fantasies, fantasy
- inattentiondistracted, spacing, absent-minded, distraction, obliviousness
- daydreamsdaydream, fantasy, reverie, dreaming, imagining
wool-gatheringconcentration
Sustained single-minded attention
focus · attention · attentiveness · alertness · mindfulness
wool-gatheringindustriousness
Habitual hard work
purposefulness · diligence · application · studiousness · nose to the grindstone
wool-gatheringindustriousness
Habitual hard work
diligence · application · purposefulness · productivity · practicality