Digital daydreaming

Three ways to zone out (remotely)

It’s Tuesday.

2019.

I wake up at a reasonable time, shower, and make a quick cup of coffee on my way out the door.

I walk a few blocks to BART and then hop off at the Embarcadero station.

I make my way up to the office, directly to a second cup of coffee. While it’s brewing, I stare out the window watching people find their way through their day.

Meetings and emails pass and I head to a bar to meet a friend for a drink. I’m early, but don’t mind finding a spot to sit and wait.

Pre-now, my day was dotted with moments of daydreaming: commuting to work on BART or by bike, staring out a window for a moment, sitting somewhere, waiting…

Now, like many folks, my day exists within a tiny bubble of my apartment (/ office / gym / sewing room / therapy office / club); the time previously spent daydreaming now filled with questions of whether or not I should eat breakfast on zoom.

While this new, small reality I exist within is the result of a great deal of privilege (to be alive, to be working, to have a home to isolate within), it has also created a space in which to find new ways to disconnect and seek moments of pause and daydreaming.

Why daydream? Well, it’s good for your mind and helps build social skills and offers methods for coping with the stressful realities that we’re swimming within.