Take a shower when you need a great idea

When I need a new idea or need to brain storm by myself, I usually grab my car and go for a 30 minute drive.

Thanks for the tip!

Anything that requires relaxed focus but not much conscious thought is a good bet.

A shower, a car ride, a shave, a jog, a walk--all of these things have become so second nature to us that in doing them we tune our brains down to lower frequency brainwaves, which allow for creative thought.

The scientific explanation above isn't too stellar; the last thing you need for creative thought is to be jacked up on dopamine (which is precisely what most people would try after reading that explanation).

When we shower or do something like eat or have sex or groom to "take care" of ourselves/prolong our survival (actually or mentally), our bodies release dopamine as a feel-good reward. During a shower or a shave, small amounts of dopamine are released, which is conducive to creative thought.

"A lot" of dopamine is not.

We have water restrictions in our area... does it mean I am going to run out of ideas now as well?

Thanks for the great tip, I am off to the shower right now!

Damn rwyp!

I did as you said (I said I was going to take a shower) and BAM!! New idea!!! It works!

I am going to add a private facebook group to my next offering so people can get more help and I can get some feedback. Why did I not think of I before! But I did think about it in the shower!

It really worked!

And for those wondering about the timing between my two posts, I shower quickly... and we DO have water restrictions so I cannot shower long in anycase... it just means I can only come up with one new idea per day.... thanks rwyp!

Love loooooooooooooooooooooong showers.

Though, it always seems my ideas pop out of my head at the most random times when I'm not even thinking about them!

This is also why I enjoy browsing the Shower Thoughts subreddit on, well, Reddit.

Isn't 5 times a day showering a bit too much? I think any alone time or me time can be productive!

go to a beach if you have it nearby :-)

I find that I get a lot of my ideas after a good workout at the gym. As I am driving home, my endorphins on overload, I have to pull over a couple of times to make a note of the ideas that are coming to me. And, I am in amazing shape.

I can confirm that this works!

As stated above, going for a small drive is a great idea. It seems to help me get better ideas and develop my ideas.

This has actually been investigated and found to work mostly because of the clean air in and around water. The ocean is better than a river, a shower is best of all. A bath isn't as effective but better than stale air plus you're relaxed and focused and that'd help as well.

A shower has running water cleaning the air right around your head leaving more oxygen (less pollutants) to enter your lungs. To prove it, I suppose it would have to be shown that breathing pure oxygen would turn us into idea producers but yeah, being around water (especially running water) does help. Relaxed, high oxygen "alone" time is bound to help in any case.

Here's a tip, have a pen and large pad handy (large because obviously you're going to drip some water onto the paper) for when you get out because now that you know this little mind trick you're going to have brilliant ideas all the time as I believe being aware of this also heightens your senses. I also think going in with the intention of allowing great ideas to come to you would help.

Also make sure you have a pen and paper next to your bedside because waking from and falling into sleep are also great idea generation times.

This explains why a lot of people who mediate like the sound of waterfalls....

My best ideas - "ah-ah" momemts came from either smoking or showering.

Stopped smoking a few years ago. Now i've only got the shower to help me get some great ideas

Cheers,

C.G.

Do some Tony Robbins exercises and eliminate the need to shower for great ideas. He's got great stuff, and if you learn to use physiology and focus you can tap into any state of mind you want at will.

There's definitely a bit of work involved, but worth it! You won't always have a shower nearby when you need some inspiration or great ideas!