Oh, flowchart model design! Another few days to spend working out those details!

Especially if the underlying reason for all this is procrastination. :)

Good point Ardiril.

When I'm brooding too much the most effective way to stop it is to something that precludes mental rumination.
Like making music, playing tennis, socialising, etc.

Also: exercising diminishes anxiety.

not quite procrastination but related in a way. I've been really concerned about how the things I've taken (job, side project, self directed learning) on or finally want to follow through with (going out more, exercising) are going to require me to kick things up a notch in terms of active focus and productivity. And I've just been kinda dreading that. I've also just been somewhat tired (and somewhat physically unwell) during last week which I think kinda feeds into it (which goes back to my serious of recent epiphanies about my mindstate being triggered by arbitrary situations)

Anyway the catch-22 with overthinking, moping, worrying, brooding is that I don't want to just "not think about it" because it has a feeling of something legit I need to think through. That's why I'm finding this "okay, what's the point here?" a good approach to stopping the cycle. The kinda things I'm thinking about are like:

(1) going over an interaction that was kinda an argument again and again, even though that interaction has long passed and there's no knock-on effects from it
(2) trying to piece together puzzles from memory (was it tuesday or wednesday I did X?)
(3) more memory stuff like I really want to read X. When I started reading X last time what was my opinion about wanting to read X? Why do I want to read X in general?

just generic insanity!

Anyway, the real answer I think (after stopping it using the "what's the point here?" thought) is activity, either physical or mental: Don't worry about the project, work on the project. Don't sit around worrying, do some physical activity. etc

One solution that has always worked for me is changing up locations. If I hang out around the house, I get nothing done. If I take tasks to a suitable alternate location, then bam, they're done in a jiffy. When I still worked, I would take over an empty desk or an unused conference table just to get away from my office, which had too quickly become more of a sanctuary than it was a workspace.

"brooding extraordinarily"

This sounds like it could be a Kanye lyric.

We went to see the New York Philharmonic lately. I'm no great classical music lover, but I love going to the orchestra because I feel like it gives me thinking time to clean out my brain. My brain is so fresh and clean today :D

Just sat here in the office watching my boss get off a call excited about an opportunity and I look at her and say something like, you know, we're in such special times in the world, and are in such a position in our lives, living comfortable, that if you're just willing to put the work in it's amazing what can happen

brooding mode over for now!