Ever been in a meeting, and while someone is explaining Step 2 of a plan, your brain makes a brilliant leap to Step 7 after it accidentally solves Step 5?
You see a potential problem, connect it to a different project from six months ago, and suddenly see a new, faster solution for this project.
You try to explain it, and everyone just... stares at you.
They look at you like you're "scattered." Like you're "all over the place" and "can't just follow the plan."
For years, I thought this was one of my biggest flaws. I was told to "just focus" and "think linearly." I tried to force my brain to go from Step 1 → Step 2 → Step 3, and it was painful. It felt like swimming in peanut butter.
Here's the truth I had to learn: You're not "scattered."
You're a "spider-web thinker" living in a "straight-line" world.
And that difference is everything.
The "Straight-Line" Lie
The entire "Neurotypical Productivity Complex" is built on one myth: the Myth of the Straight Line.
It's the idea that all productive work happens in a clean, predictable, linear order. It's the spreadsheet. It's the instruction manual. It's the corporate "5-Year Plan."
It's clean, predictable, and, for our brains, boring as hell.
Your Brain is a "Spider Web" (And That's An Advantage)
Our brains don't work like that. They're not spreadsheets; they're spider webs.
We're built for connection, not for isolated steps.
When you're "supposed" to be on Step 2, your brain is already scanning the whole web. It's connecting Step 2 to an idea you had in the shower, which reminds you of a solution from last week, which solves a problem no one else has even seen yet.
To the straight-line world, this looks like a flaw. They call it "distractibility."
It's not.
It's creative problem-solving happening in real-time. It's pattern recognition. It's the reason you're the one who thrives in a crisis while everyone else is still reading the manual.
The problem isn't your thinking. The problem is you're trying to force your spider-web brain into a straight-line system.
It's like trying to shove a giant, complex web into a tiny, narrow tube. It just gets bunched up, stuck, and makes you feel like a failure.
How to Actually Use Your Spider-Web Brain
So, stop. Stop trying to force it. Give yourself permission to externalize your web.
Instead of a rigid, top-to-bottom "To-Do" list, I want you to grab a blank piece of paper (or a whiteboard, or a new note in an app).
This is the "Brain Dump.”
Write your main project or problem in the middle of the page. Now, just let your brain do its thing. Draw lines. Connect ideas. Write notes in the margins. Jump from one thought to another. Don't worry about order. Just get the entire web out of your head and onto the page.
Once it's all out, then you can look at it and find the 1-3 things that are actually urgent.
This is the whole philosophy behind the Three-Pile System in the Human AF app. We don't force you into a list. We give you a place to dump your entire web first, and then we help you triage it into HOT, WARM, and COLD piles, all without the shame.
Stop feeling guilty for having a creative, non-linear brain. You're not "scattered"; you're a dot-connector.
The Human AF apps were designed for spider-web thinkers. It gives you a place to dump your web and then helps you find what's next. You can try it right now.
When does your "spider-web" brain work best? Are you a crisis-solver? A creative brainstormer? Tell me about a time your "scattered" thinking actually saved the day.