When Your Brain Parks Itself in a Mental Waiting Room
I learned something from World of Warcraft that’s genuinely improved my real life without me realizing what it was doing.
There’s this very specific experience that’s common for a lot of neurodivergent folks (myself included), and it’s called “waiting mode.” It happens when you have something scheduled at a certain time - maybe it’s a Zoom meeting, a doctor’s appointment, or a guild raid - and your brain decides, “Welp, guess we’re done until then.” Even if the event is hours away, it’s like your mind pulls the emergency brake. You can’t seem to start anything else. You just hover. Half-present. Restless. Frustrated. Wasting time, without purpose.
Your brain walks into a mental waiting room, picks up a years old magazine, and refuses to move until the event starts.
In everyday life, this can be maddening. You end up losing valuable hours to scrolling, zoning out, or feeling stuck. Not relaxing. Not productive. Just… in limbo. But here’s where WoW came in and saved the day. I know, how can a game designed to hoover up all your time help with a time problem?
For a long time, I used to treat game time the same way. I’d log in, know I had a dungeon queue or guild event coming up, and then just "stand around in-game" doing nothing. I’d alt-tab. I’d check Discord. I’d lose 30–40 minutes doing exactly nothing but waiting.
One day, I caught myself and asked:
“Why am I okay with my character just standing here doing nothing for 45 minutes?”
Answer: I am not. It actually made me uncomfortable.
So I tried something different. I started fishing. I gathered herbs. I cleared some transmog runs. I crafted. And suddenly, those “in-between” moments were filled with progress. My gold balance improved. My professions leveled up. I felt engaged instead of zoned out. It wasn’t epic but it was transformational. That tiny in game shift shift helped me reframe how I approach waiting in real life.
Now, when I feel the mental waiting room pulling me in, I pause and ask:
What’s my “fishing” right now?
Can I answer an email?
Tidy my desk?
Prep for the thing I’m waiting for?
Maybe even rest, "on purpose"?
Because when we choose what we’re doing - even if it’s small, quiet, or simple - we take back our momentum. That energy builds over time, just like farming mats or crafting in-game.
So if your brain ever benches itself just because something’s happening later…
Remember: There’s always fishing. 🎣