Participant Comments about Being Part of This Study

MInd Wandering in Daily Life Study: “Made my 20 out of 30!”

Onboarding: I got confused and emailed the researcher. She told me how to start over so I could get my 20 out of 30. Day 1: I was waiting for the notifications with phone on my kitchen table because I didn’t know how it worked. Then I saw how the calendar helped with that. Day 2: I missed two while I was with customers and couldn’t answer. Glad I can still make 20 even with misses. Day 3: Okay, I missed again in the morning. I was worried. But then I started thinking about worries. I decided to just see how it goes. I didn’t miss any more even when I was watching tv with my kids. Day 4: Rainy day and took kids to school so they didn’t have to wait for bus. Kind of screwed up my day. But I only missed one. It’s weird because I am starting to realize I mind wander a lot and mostly about my family. Day 5: I made my 20 in the morning but I liked the study so kept up. I see how mind wandering is not such a bad thing and how I do it when I am waiting around or doing something boring. The study was kind of fun and hey, I got my e-card. — Participant in Florida

Mind Wandering in Daily Life Study: “Liking how my mind wandering pops up.”

Onboarding: Was surprised I got to pick my own date to start. Overthought the directions but able to do a quick onboarding. Set up notifications. Day 1: The more I answered the questions, the more I got into the groove of picking up my phone to check if I had a notification from Expiwell. Day 2: Getting used to it now. Completed all of the responses without missing one! I felt myself thinking about whether I was mind wandering. Day 3: My workload was more & I missed the first one. I found myself focused on tasks at hand more today than mind wandering. Day 4: When I was doing super demanding work the notifications caught me off guard. I had to think about what I was thinking about. Interesting. Day 5: Started my day wondering when the the notifications would start. Liking that my mind wandering pops up. About being in this study: Seemed like I mind wandered more during simpler tasks or even demanding tasks that I am used to doing. And mind wandered more in afternoon and evening than in the morning! — Participant in Tennessee

Mind Wandering in Daily Life Study: “Easy and kept my interest.”

Onboarding: The directions were okay but I forgot to check my focus mode notifications and went back to it later. Onboarding was quick. Day 1: I missed the first notification because I was driving. I got the next two but missed one when I was on the job site at 430. Day 2: I got most today. Just missed when I was already on the phone and needed to stay on the call. But survey is easy and was thinking about my mind wandering sometimes. Day 3: My two-year-old was sick today and I had to call in sick to work. Don’t know if she has Covid so have to wait. Trying to work from home. Stressed. Missed a couple. Day 4: No fever. Good. And I’m okay. Had my mom come over so I could work. Daycare won’t let her come back for 48 hours just in case. So stressful. My mind wandering was all worries. Day 5: Saturday. So glad not to work today. We’re home. I was mind wandering while doing the dishes and later on cleaning up toys. Kind of fun to know that is what it was. About being in this study: Sometimes I liked the notifications. Like something coming and I didn’t know when. Then my daughter got sick and I thought I might stop responding. But I was close to my 20 completes so I stayed in. Glad to learn more about mind wandering. Study was easy and kept my interest. — Participant in Los Angeles