Have you ever "zoned out" during a routine activity?

[Michie]

I have always wondered about this. I bet some of you have as well. Really interesting & reassuring too!

Why You Don't Remember Your Commute

We've all been there before: you snap out of a daze, look around, and realize you've driven all the way to your destination without really noticing it. It's a bit scary when you think about it, but it happens to all of us at some point.

Here's what's going on.

The idea that we can forget about large chunks of time is unsettling, but it really just boils down to how we perceive time in general. In this particular case, it's about how time and memories are formed together. Neurologist David Eagleman uses this common example of the workday commute:

And that's of course what happens during a typical workweek or when you drive to work. You’re doing something that you do all the time. Time shrinks retrospectively. But if you go off for the weekend to some novel vacation, a place you’ve never been before, then you look back and you think, "Wow, that was very long weekend!"​

The reason is simple: the longer it takes for our brain to process information, the longer the period of time feels. So, when the brain isn't doing a lot of processing, like, say, on your commute to work that never changes, the time it took to do so doesn't feel that long. One study from the Journal of Consumer Psychology suggests that the more attention we pay to an event, the longer the interval of time feels. Another study from the Journal of the Association for Psychological Science had similar findings.

Continued-
Have you ever "zoned out" during a routine activity? It happens to all of us at some point. Here's what's going on...

 

[Luther073082]

As long as you don't have a time when you convulse and lose track of what you where doing. If you have that then get checked by a doctor. It's a type of seizure.

 

[Lovely Jar]

I left my body during a particularly grueling dental appointment. Something about a nerve being lost after a wisdom tooth extraction.
And I've left my body once long after that and just a couple of weeks ago while walking across the parking lot of a shopping center.

Half way out on both occasions. The dental I was up and looking down on the dentist and his assistant. I keep my eyes tightly shut while in the chair and grip the arms for dear life. Just a thing I have about dental visits and that posture is standard.

The parking lot stroll and lift off was only part way out through the crown of my head and when I realized it I slowly settled back to place.

Why do you ask?

 

[Michie]

As long as you don't have a time when you convulse and lose track of what you where doing. If you have that then get checked by a doctor. It's a type of seizure.

Well yeah. But think we all have had times of arriving at destination & not remembering crossing stoplights & signs. It's a freaky feeling.

 

[Deli Do3]

yes

 

[Michie]

I left my body during a particularly grueling dental appointment. Something about a nerve being lost after a wisdom tooth extraction.
And I've left my body once long after that and just a couple of weeks ago while walking across the parking lot of a shopping center.

Half way out on both occasions. The dental I was up and looking down on the dentist and his assistant. I keep my eyes tightly shut while in the chair and grip the arms for dear life. Just a thing I have about dental visits and that posture is standard.

The parking lot stroll and lift off was only part way out through the crown of my head and when I realized it I slowly settled back to place.

Why do you ask?

But it's not about out of body experiences.

 

[Luther073082]

Well yeah. But think we all have had times of arriving at destination & not remembering crossing stoplights & signs. It's a freaky feeling.

I was never that freaked out by that feeling. But ok.

 

[Michie]

I was never that freaked out by that feeling. But ok.

Different strokes & all that. I thought the article was interesting. You should read it.

 

[Memento Mori]

I can zone out pretty badly. Today at work I finished an order that was about $130, and the last item was a watermelon for $4.88, so I said (completely seriously), "OK, your total is $4.88" and didn't realize what was wrong when the customer was staring at me in confusion. Lol. I try not to be the cashier who is off in la-la-land and not paying attention to people, but on longer shifts I will sometimes let my subsconscious take over because I would go crazy if I didn't pray or daydream about Jesus... you've got to keep your spirit up somehow when you're in retail

 

[Michie]

I can zone out pretty badly. Today at work I finished an order that was about $130, and the last item was a watermelon for $4.88, so I said (completely seriously), "OK, your total is $4.88" and didn't realize what was wrong when the customer was staring at me in confusion. Lol. I try not to be the cashier who is off in la-la-land and not paying attention to people, but on longer shifts I will sometimes let my subsconscious take over because I would go crazy if I didn't pray or daydream about Jesus... you've got to keep your spirit up somehow when you're in retail

LOL! I had a cashier do that to me one. I just said, if you insist! Snapped her out of it.

 

[Dylan Michael]

I pretty much live in La-la land. It's unusual for me to Not be zoned out.

 

[Memento Mori]

LOL! I had a cashier do that to me one. I just said, if you insist! Snapped her out of it.

I wish I could say this was my first time doing that. It's so embarrassing.

I'm also famous for reading numbers backwards, even at the height of alertness. I don't think I'm dyscalculic, but for some reason I'm constantly reversing numbers when I read them to customers.

 

[Michie]

I wish I could say this was my first time doing that. It's so embarrassing.

I'm also famous for reading numbers backwards, even at the height of alertness. I don't think I'm dyscalculic, but for some reason I'm constantly reversing numbers when I read them to customers.

That is strange.

Curious question Jared. I only ask because cashiers always mention it to me.

If I have a large items or heavy bags of pet food, whatever it is, I always flip the item so the the scanning number is at the top so they can just scan it.

They make such a big deal out of it that I was curious if you guys end up having to do a lot of heavy lifting just to scan an item?

 

[Memento Mori]

That is strange.

Curious question Jared. I only ask because cashiers always mention it to me.

If I have a large items or heavy bags of pet food, whatever it is, I always flip the item so the the scanning number is at the top so they can just scan it.

They make such a big deal out of it that I was curious if you guys end up having to do a lot of heavy lifting just to scan an item?

Yeah, there's a lot of lifting because people don't always think to place the items in the cart the way you do with the barcode accessible, but that doesn't really bother me. It's more of a problem for older or more "delicate" cashiers. What is inconvenient for me are the things lodged under the bottom of the cart like 12-packs or laundry soap, which I often have to yank out anyway to scan, so I often wonder why the customer couldn't pull them out in the first place (either to put on the belt or hold up for me to scan). I just try to think of it as a courtesy service, because it doesn't seem necessary like leaving the bigger things in is.

 

[Michie]

Yeah, there's a lot of lifting because people don't always think to place the items in the cart the way you do with the barcode accessible, but that doesn't really bother me. It's more of a problem for older or more "delicate" cashiers. What is inconvenient for me are the things lodged under the bottom of the cart like 12-packs or laundry soap, which I often have to yank out anyway to scan, so I often wonder why the customer couldn't pull them out in the first place (either to put on the belt or hold up for me to scan). I just try to think of it as a courtesy service, because it doesn't seem necessary like leaving the bigger things in is.

Well that's too bad. I arrange my cart for the most efficiency of getting in & out quickly & easily. I'm sort of weird about certain things. It was just mentioned so often it got me curious. I don't think many of us realize the lifting involved with the job.

 

[Memento Mori]

I'd probably like you as a customer Michie.

 

[Michie]

I'd probably like you as a customer Michie.

I try not to be too much trouble.

 

[Deli Do3]

my socks are clean!

 

[Deli Do3]

yep.

 

[Deli Do3]

great story bro!