I’ll never forget a moment early in my career at an IT research firm.

I’d been there a few months. Quiet, observant, still figuring out my place.

Then one day, sitting in a meeting, I had an idea. In my mind, I was already imagining myself sharing my genius idea and looking at all the impressed faces.

So I waited for the right moment, and I said ...

Most people treat a wandering mind like a defect. They see it as a leak in their productivity bucket.

“Time to get back to work.” “Stop daydreaming.”

We’ve been conditioned to believe that if we aren’t staring at a screen or checking off a to-do list, we are failing.

But Daniel Goleman, the psychologist who popularized Emotional Intelligence, argue...