When was the last time you truly drifted? No goal. No app. No deadline. Just stared at the sky and let your brain go where it wanted? Remember anything?
Yeah. Me neither.
Modern women have killed daydreaming.
The Death of Daydreaming — and Why We Need It Back
In our chase of proving people wrong and literally trying to have it all, we have stopped getting bored and sitting mindlessly, in favor of over scheduling our lives with socializing, work and kids. Oh, and creating IG and Pinterest-worthy homes and meals.
With packed calendars, constant "catch-ups" and "check-ins", endless to-do lists, and the omnipresent lure of social media "breaks," we’ve accidentally bulldozed our free mental space. And in its place? Meetings, meal preps, ‘must-attend’ events, and a TikTok scroll that feels like relaxation but is really just noise.
I’m not just pointing fingers - I’m guilty too. A few weeks ago, I tried to take a "slow Saturday." No plans. No tasks. Just vibe. Within an hour, I found myself reorganizing the pantry, updating the family calendar, and texting three different group chats to "make plans this evening!" The idea of just sitting on my porch and watching clouds felt... wrong. Like I was "wasting" time. (Spoiler: I ended up bingeing Instagram Reels for two hours instead.)
A friend of mine, a Montessori teacher, put it perfectly:
"Children naturally drift into daydreams. We trained it out of ourselves."
And she's right. Somewhere between ballet classes, book reports, and now "boss babe" culture, we learned that empty time was dangerous. Wasteful. A threat to productivity.
In fact, even those who practice mindful living and quiet quitting at work find themselves without any free-free time, even me-times have converted into doomscrolling in the last couple of years.
Modern Life has Sidelined Daydreaming & Creativity.
But science screams otherwise. A 2022 study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that daydreaming enhances creativity, future planning, and emotional resilience. Meanwhile, researchers at the University of British Columbia discovered that "mind-wandering" activates brain regions associated with problem-solving and self-reflection. Disconnecting and drifting can lead to a happier, more balanced life.
Let’s be real: We’re not "living our best lives." We’re overbooked, overstimulated, and starving for real mental freedom.
Here's my unpopular opinion: Modern women need to stop glorifying busy. Stop weaponizing self-improvement. Stop treating every spare second like it's a productivity contest.
Want to be truly radical in 2025? Don't hustle harder. Don't "optimize" your Sundays and evenings.
Sit. Stare. Wander.
Because the real luxury isn't a curated social feed or a color-coded planner. It's an unstructured afternoon with nothing - and I mean nothing - on your mind.
Bring back cloud-staring. Bring back doodling. Bring back slow.
It's not laziness. It's life.
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