Daydreaming is the drift into imagined scenes, possibilities or stories while awake, often away from the task immediately in front of you.
A future conversation. A different life. An idea that arrives while doing something much less interesting.
What keeps getting invited into the daydream?
Perhaps the picture contains recognition. Rest. A room of your own. The freedom to spend a morning making something nobody has assigned to you.
The imagined scene can help you notice a wish. It doesn’t mean every detail is a plan you should follow. You may want the freedom in the fantasy rather than the particular job, city or relationship.
The Creative Hero’s Journey explores that distinction in I Was Born for More: what attracts you to a possibility, and what giving it a real chance would involve.
Fantasy looks at the wishes an imagined scene can hold. Creative direction asks which part you want to bring into the days you actually live.
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s entry on imagination considers imagination in several forms. It is useful background for taking a daydream seriously without treating it as either a command or a waste of time.