Why You Can't Stop Thinking About Creative Work episode artwork

EPISODE · May 19, 2026 · 9 MIN

Why You Can't Stop Thinking About Creative Work

from Keep the Flow

If you've ever snuck away from a family vacation to work on an idea... or spent a board game mentally somewhere else entirely – this episode is for you.I left my laptop at home on a ski trip. Took the iPad "just for movies." By day two, I was writing this episode on it. That moment of self-awareness... putting it down, choosing the board game, then spending the next 20 minutes pushing the podcast out of my head... is exactly what I want to talk about. Why is it so hard for creative people to actually switch off? Not just physically step away, but mentally be somewhere else? It turns out there's real science behind this: identity fusion, the default mode network, the incubation effect. And understanding it doesn't automatically make it easier – but it does make it feel a lot less like a character flaw.🎧Check out my music: https://scottmclemore.bandcamp.com/🤟Join the Patreon community: https://patreon.com/scottmclemore Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published May 19, 2026

If you've ever snuck away from a family vacation to work on an idea... or spent a board game mentally somewhere else entirely – this episode is for you.I left my laptop at home on a ski trip. Took the iPad "just for movies." By day two, I was writing this episode on it. That moment of self-awareness... putting it down, choosing the board game, then spending the next 20 minutes pushing the podcast out of my head... is exactly what I want to talk about. Why is it so hard for creative people to actually switch off? Not just physically step away, but mentally be somewhere else? It turns out there's real science behind this: identity fusion, the default mode network, the incubation effect. And understanding it doesn't automatically make it easier – but it does make it feel a lot less like a character flaw.🎧Check out my music: https://scottmclemore.bandcamp.com/🤟Join the Patreon community: https://patreon.com/scottmclemore Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Why You Can't Stop Thinking About Creative Work

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This episode was published on May 19, 2026.

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If you've ever snuck away from a family vacation to work on an idea... or spent a board game mentally somewhere else entirely – this episode is for you.I left my laptop at home on a ski trip. Took the iPad "just for movies." By day two, I was...

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