It all comes down to the way the brain works. When we're focused, we use a part of the brain called the frontoparietal cortex.
Psychiatrist and brain researcher Dr Srini Pillay, who is the author of Tinker Dabble Doodle Try: Unlock the Power of the Unfocused Mind, describes this part as a flashlight which has a strong, but narrow, beam that allows you to focus on the task at hand. What it doesn't allow you to do, is see the bigger picture - the information that's more easily brought to the brain's attention during periods of unfocus.
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