woolgather
Let thoughts drift
To woolgather is to indulge in idle daydreaming or aimless thought, letting the mind wander rather than focusing on the task at hand.
The image is of someone wandering fields to collect tufts of wool caught on bushes—a leisurely, unproductive activity: I caught myself woolgathering during the meeting.
The noun woolgathering describes this habit of absent-minded reverie.
Abstracted, pleasant daydream
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
- musingReflective contemplation
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
- dreamscapeImagined realm during sleep
escapism · whimsy · trance · visualization · vision · fantasize · wistfulness · fancy
Inattentive to immediate surroundings
- preoccupiedMentally elsewhere, not present
- unfocusedWithout clear direction
- inattentiveNot paying attention
- scatterbrainedLacking mental focus
spacey · dreamy · lost in thought · vague · bemused · heedless · unmindful · oblivious
Linger without purpose
- loafBaked bread shape
- driftGradual movement, no direction
- potterMaker of clay vessels
- fritterFried batter cake
dillydally · laze · waste time · stall · lollygag · twiddle thumbs · piddle · mosey
reverie
Abstracted, pleasant daydream
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
- musingReflective contemplation
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
dreamscape · escapism · whimsy · trance · visualization · vision · fantasize · wistfulness · fancy · abstraction
absentminded
Inattentive to immediate surroundings
- preoccupiedMentally elsewhere, not present
- unfocusedWithout clear direction
- inattentiveNot paying attention
scatterbrained · spacey · dreamy · lost in thought · vague · bemused · heedless · unmindful · oblivious · zoned out
dawdle
Linger without purpose
fritter · dillydally · laze · waste time · stall · lollygag · twiddle thumbs · piddle · mosey · putter
woolgatherconcentrate
Reduced, potent form
focus · pay attention · attend · heed · zero in
woolgatherwork
Effort toward a goal
labor · get down to business · toil · knuckle down · apply oneself