10 ideas for overthinkers - by George Mack - High Agency
1. Overthinking is a tax on life - The average person spends nearly eight hours per day mind wandering. If you’re awake for sixteen hours per day, that’s half of your conscious existence spent lost in imaginary thought. To appreciate how large this life tax is: it’s the equivalent of January 1st to June 30th each year. If you add sleep into the equation, it gets worse: January 1st to August 30th, unconscious or absent-minded. This leaves you just from September 1st to December 31st for mere scraps of life. Doestovsky described the overthinking trap as an illness: “I swear to you that to think too much is a disease, a real, actual disease.” 2. Overthinking is amnesia - On a typical day, humans have between 30,000 to 70,000 thoughts. Here’s the tragedy: can you remember a single clear sentence of thought from yesterday? If you’re one of the rare people who can, how about last Tuesday? The same thought loops that feel inescapable in the present moment are then deleted from memory — into
10 ideas for overthinkers “I swear to you that to think too much is a disease, a real, actual disease.” - Dostoevsky George Mack Sep 11, 2025 479 33 91 Share 1. Overthinking is a tax on life - The average person spends nearly eight hours per day mind wandering. If you’re awake for sixteen hours per day, that’s half of your conscious existence spent lost in imaginary thought. To appreciate how large this life tax is: it’s the equivalent of January 1st to June 30th each year. If you add sleep into the equation, it gets worse: January 1st to August 30th, unconscious or absent-minded. This leaves
saved by
related reading
- How to spot high agency people - by George Mackessays.highagency.com
- High Agency in 30 Minutes - George Mackhighagency.com
- On not overthinking — Ada Nguyenadanguyenx.com
- Every productivity thought I've ever had, as concisely as possible - Alexey Guzeyguzey.com
- How to Stop Overthinking - Vacha's Garden of Lighttvachaw.substack.com
- The cure for your thinking addictiondeepfix.substack.com
- You're probably addicted to thinkingdeepfix.substack.com
- Advice That Actually Worked For Menabeelqu.substack.com
- The Busy Person's Guide to Thinkingfs.blog
- High Agency | George Mack | Substackessays.highagency.com
- 50 Ideas That Changed My Life - David Perellperell.com
- You're probably addicted to thinkingsubstack.com