Do you generate some of your best ideas while taking a shower?

I bet a lot of us have had this experience of being in the middle of a shower and all of a sudden we’re hit with this great idea. Of course, we’re in the shower, so there’s nowhere to write it down, and from there it becomes a scramble to hold onto it long enough until we can finish our sudsing and put the idea to paper.

Have you ever wondered why this is? Or do you just chock it up to Murphy’s law and being unlucky with the timing?

You’re not unlucky.

Here are three ways that a shower can help you generate or refine your ideas and give you an instant creative boost:

Relaxation

The first and most powerful force is the effect that a shower has on our brainwaves and state of consciousness. Without going too much into details at the moment, our brains produce certain brainwaves in varying levels while we’re sleeping, relaxing, and frantically working. Alpha waves keep us alert and focused, while beta waves bring us into a state of calm consciousness.

Meditation and similar mindfulness practices promote beta waves which is why they are such relaxing and restorative activities. The shower setting encourages an almost meditative state. Water itself is meditative, rhythmic, and natural, focusing your mind on the here-and-now. The added benefit of feeling the gentle tapping of the water droplets on your skin helps to keep you in the present moment, contributing to the effect.

Solitude

Another major factor is that a shower is a time of solitude. We live in such a distracting world, from all of these notifications and emails to calls, texts and scrolling through the feed. While we think we’re the consumers of this content, it begins to consume us. What we need from time to time is a little bit of healthy, restorative solitude.

Without these distractions we’re able to finally unplug, if only for a few minutes, and allow our brains the space to think, feel, and create.

Automation

And finally, by this point your shower routine is likely automatic. You probably don’t have to think too much about what order you’re going to do things in, which products to use when, etc, because we tend to just nail down what works and then repeat the same routine everyday. Because of this, the cleansing part of the shower is running on autopilot while your brain is free to wander and do other things, aided by the first two effects we discussed above.

How to Use This

Now that we know why this works, how can we best take advantage of this creative boost? Here are a few things to try:

• First, if you’re bringing your distractions into the shower somehow, be it with a waterproof phone/case, speakers, etc, try removing those. See if you can create just a few precious minutes of distraction-free time for yourself in the shower.
  
• Next, try not to think of anything too specific. If we force thoughts, inspiration will elude us. Instead, try to have an open mind and just see what comes up. If you’ve ever tried to meditate and been frustrated with thoughts always creeping in, then that’s exactly what we’re trying to do here. Let things pop into your mind, chew on them a bit, and let them drift if they’re not worth pursuing. Others will come along and perhaps one of those will be worth exploring further.
  
• Finally, consider keeping a notepad in the bathroom so that you have somewhere to write down all of your new, brilliant revelations once you get out of the shower. Don’t lose those ideas!

What are your experiences with generating ideas in the shower?

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