Have you ever sat down to brainstorm some ideas and end up hearing cricket sounds in your brain instead? But the moment you get in the shower, great ideas flows non-stop but by the time you are dressed and get to your desk and start writing, everything vanishes.
Or during the time when you are about to doze off, some wonderful ideas comes into your mind and you quickly get up to write it down. By the time, you get a notebook and a pen to write it down, you just forget what you were supposed to write or there was only one thing that you could capture.
I used to wonder why it always happen to me and I even thought that I’m starting to have early symptoms of Alzheimer. To my relieve, there’s nothing wrong with me. But it involves two key ingredients.
Why it happens during shower?
The creativity flows happen only during shower because of two key ingredients which is dopamine and distraction.
According to Alice Flaherty a renowned neurologist, dopamine a neurotransmitter that gives us pleasure and motivation is released when we’re relaxed and comfortable. This means the more relaxed we are, the higher the dopamine is released.
When you sit down and trying to squeeze your brain for ideas, you are not in relaxed state because you are forcing yourself to pump out ideas. In addition to that, tension about work and personal life makes it even harder for you to really think. For example, you might be worried about time restriction to come up with some content ideas and worried that you will not be able to submit it on time. These stressful situation supresses the dopamine from your system and blocks your idea flows into your brain.
However, the moment you get on to do something habitual, such as showering, your mind is relaxed and dopamine is released which enables the thoughts to flow freely. This is the distraction that is needed which is away from your forced thoughts. Now, you know how it happens.
What is the best way to ensure you retain those ideas instead of letting it flow down the drain. The following 3 steps will help you to capture your brilliant ideas during shower.
3 Best ways to capture your ideas
- Have a notebook available at all times — Having a notebook in your bathroom or by the bed is really helpful because you are able to write down your thoughts the moment it comes to your mind. If you have Echo dot within the room, then just ask Alexa to record your thoughts.
- Meditation — Relaxing your mind through meditation helps you to connect with your subconscious. In fact, it has actually helped me a lot with my thought process. Create a habit to meditate daily. You can start with 5 minutes every morning.
- Create time away from distraction — Let’s be honest here, distraction is a common thing now. Setting time away from all those Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp notification does bring peace to your mind. Make it a ritual in your life for a Distraction-Free period. Mine is every Saturday from 7am to 8am. I sit and write down every thought that comes into my mind. No phone, no computer and no email. Just me, pen and my notebook.
Let me know how these 3 ways helped you to capture your ideas.
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This article was originally published in Medium by author.