Yes! The no headphones rule is SO important! I often slide into the terrible habit of listening to "useful" podcasts while I walk, thinking it makes me doubly productive but it really doesn't!
I read something somewhere once, (wonderfully scientific from me there!) that humans need to see or be near/around water. It genuinely boosts all of the happy chemicals in our brains! Maybe there is a fundamental connection between humans and water. Whether that’s the sea, a river/stream or a shower!
For me seeing the ocean has this effect on me for sure, and I’ve never really thought about it but I guess I do have ideas in the bath or when I’m having a shower.
Also at the gym which is weird! I guess I’m so in the zone doing one task it allows for other things to come into my brain rather than being forced out.
Against popular opinion, I walk WITH headphones to clear my mind. I think I actively need music to disconnect. The phone stays on ‘do not disturb’ and the music has to be gentle - lo fi kinda vibes and never with any lyrics. It’s a bit like thinking in a lift I guess. I quite like not being able to make notes - instead letting ideas sit and brew for weeks. Sometimes I have to listen to the same piece of music to trigger what I was thinking about 😂
I do get what you mean about using music without lyrics to block the world out. When I'm doing final artwork I have to have headphones and techno to keep focus, it's bizarre what makes a brain concentrate!
Yes I hadn’t thought of wild swimming but I can absolutely see the connection and how that would have the same effect. The gym is one of those annoying “I don’t want to go, but I know it will be good for my brain” things…I swear on my way there and think about all the ideas I’ve had on the way back! Utterly irritating, but good.
Ideas come to me at nighttime before sleeping, or when stretching! I've noticed I have a big influx of sparks after a few days of doing absolutely nothing / letting my brain languish while watching silly TV in bed, something I usually don't cave to.
Yes, I think the letting my brain languish is the key but it's so hard to give in to a good languish! I love the thought of having ideas while stretching, that makes total sense and it's a real win-win!
The subtitle made me cackle so loud it woke the dog! Have you read Wired to Create by Scott Barry Kaufman? He did some research on those shower ideas and it's intriguing! I think you'd like it!
My creative ideas come out to play when I'm walking dogs our dogs. 🐕
Oooh, I don't know Wired to Create! I'm going to go in search of that straightaway! Thanks for the great tip Beth! I loved reading in an interview you did, about how your whole concept of your substack and it's promo came from walking your dogs!
It's true! My dogs are always inspiring some silliness. Especially when neighborhood cats and critters taunt them. We've met armadillos, moles, mice, and raccoons on those walks, so I have to be alert and make sure my dogs don't pull me over I save podcasts for driving and boring housework now! Thank you for reading!
haha! definitely an appropriate term Amy! Forest bathing does sound like a relaxing and focusing thing to do, there's probably bonus inspiration from all the things you can observe in a forest too!
I have my best ideas (or at least the ones I enjoy more) during insomnias 😬 which may be terrible because a good night of sleep is fundamental (everyone says it!). I feel that the world right now is too much (not only social media), it's so hard these days to find a place where we can feel the silence and just be with ourselves 🤍
I can totally relate to this, things can get so noisy at times, it’s so important to seek out those quiet times and keep going back to get the creative flow going!
I totally relate to this - I’ve had so many great sparky moments in the shower. I’ve also felt similar whilst going for a jog, or going for a long walk.
Always when I'm out walking! My feet must have magical powers. Add in music that transports me and I'm in my own little world... except there's nothin' little about it! 💙
It's the shower for me too! Oh and also those nights where sleep doesn't come easily or I wake in the middle of the night and words for my next book decide to spill out.
It’s running for me. It’s where I sort everything out and new ideas come. I have to stop to write them down in notes but I’m going to start dictating them!
I remember my mom reading that book to us when I was younger. It’s one of the few that I still remember. That one and one of the Otto (I think the dog is called Spot in English?) books. It stuck with me and I now ask my own kids for that 5 minutes of peace to have a cuppa.
I also do my best thinking in the shower. The downside though is that I loose track of time and end up showering way too long. Oops. Sometimes a walk in the woods work. And doing an observational drawing in the woods while listeing to the birds also does the trick for me.
Walking in woods seems to be a really popular one for getting your mind clear! Going to the woods when my kid was a toddler meant a lot of looking closely at interesting sticks and bringing home the best ones 😆
Going for a walk does it for me! Strictly no headphones, just a stubby pencil and scrunched up paper in my pocket…
Yes! The no headphones rule is SO important! I often slide into the terrible habit of listening to "useful" podcasts while I walk, thinking it makes me doubly productive but it really doesn't!
And you miss out on good eavesdroppings! 😂
Oooh, I love a good eavesdropping! 😆
I read something somewhere once, (wonderfully scientific from me there!) that humans need to see or be near/around water. It genuinely boosts all of the happy chemicals in our brains! Maybe there is a fundamental connection between humans and water. Whether that’s the sea, a river/stream or a shower!
For me seeing the ocean has this effect on me for sure, and I’ve never really thought about it but I guess I do have ideas in the bath or when I’m having a shower.
Also at the gym which is weird! I guess I’m so in the zone doing one task it allows for other things to come into my brain rather than being forced out.
That's so interesting about water! That adds extra weight to the wild swimming phenomenon I guess?
Being in the zone at the gym makes sense, that must be like deliberately putting yourself into a flow state which sounds really good!
Against popular opinion, I walk WITH headphones to clear my mind. I think I actively need music to disconnect. The phone stays on ‘do not disturb’ and the music has to be gentle - lo fi kinda vibes and never with any lyrics. It’s a bit like thinking in a lift I guess. I quite like not being able to make notes - instead letting ideas sit and brew for weeks. Sometimes I have to listen to the same piece of music to trigger what I was thinking about 😂
I do get what you mean about using music without lyrics to block the world out. When I'm doing final artwork I have to have headphones and techno to keep focus, it's bizarre what makes a brain concentrate!
Yes I hadn’t thought of wild swimming but I can absolutely see the connection and how that would have the same effect. The gym is one of those annoying “I don’t want to go, but I know it will be good for my brain” things…I swear on my way there and think about all the ideas I’ve had on the way back! Utterly irritating, but good.
Ideas come to me at nighttime before sleeping, or when stretching! I've noticed I have a big influx of sparks after a few days of doing absolutely nothing / letting my brain languish while watching silly TV in bed, something I usually don't cave to.
Yes, I think the letting my brain languish is the key but it's so hard to give in to a good languish! I love the thought of having ideas while stretching, that makes total sense and it's a real win-win!
The subtitle made me cackle so loud it woke the dog! Have you read Wired to Create by Scott Barry Kaufman? He did some research on those shower ideas and it's intriguing! I think you'd like it!
My creative ideas come out to play when I'm walking dogs our dogs. 🐕
Oooh, I don't know Wired to Create! I'm going to go in search of that straightaway! Thanks for the great tip Beth! I loved reading in an interview you did, about how your whole concept of your substack and it's promo came from walking your dogs!
It's true! My dogs are always inspiring some silliness. Especially when neighborhood cats and critters taunt them. We've met armadillos, moles, mice, and raccoons on those walks, so I have to be alert and make sure my dogs don't pull me over I save podcasts for driving and boring housework now! Thank you for reading!
Forest bathing! (which I thought was such a silly term when I first heard it but is apropos for this post :)
haha! definitely an appropriate term Amy! Forest bathing does sound like a relaxing and focusing thing to do, there's probably bonus inspiration from all the things you can observe in a forest too!
I have my best ideas (or at least the ones I enjoy more) during insomnias 😬 which may be terrible because a good night of sleep is fundamental (everyone says it!). I feel that the world right now is too much (not only social media), it's so hard these days to find a place where we can feel the silence and just be with ourselves 🤍
That's so interesting Teresa. I wonder if it's because everything is quiet when you're awake and the rest of the world is sleeping 🤍
I can totally relate to this, things can get so noisy at times, it’s so important to seek out those quiet times and keep going back to get the creative flow going!
Yes! Seeking out those quiet moments can feel like an indulgence but they are so important!
I totally relate to this - I’ve had so many great sparky moments in the shower. I’ve also felt similar whilst going for a jog, or going for a long walk.
Always a run for me too.
Yes! A long walk can be really good too, though I have to deliberately leave headphones behind!
Always when I'm out walking! My feet must have magical powers. Add in music that transports me and I'm in my own little world... except there's nothin' little about it! 💙
A hearty walk is always a good one! I find podcasts ruin a walk, but you're right music is a great way to focus on your own thoughts and world! 🌎
Thanks for the embedded book recommendation!
It's a great book!
It's the shower for me too! Oh and also those nights where sleep doesn't come easily or I wake in the middle of the night and words for my next book decide to spill out.
That must be amazing to wake up with words spilling out!
Amazing but can those words arrive when I'm awake during the day please? Haha! It's not all that often though. It's mostly the shower for me.
It’s running for me. It’s where I sort everything out and new ideas come. I have to stop to write them down in notes but I’m going to start dictating them!
Wow! Running must be a great way to get into a flow state! I love the idea of you flying down the street dictating your next picture book 🥰
I like that idea too!
I like loving kindness meditation which I shared here recently, a balm for the soul. Also walking in nature every day - my dog is my personal trainer!
I remember my mom reading that book to us when I was younger. It’s one of the few that I still remember. That one and one of the Otto (I think the dog is called Spot in English?) books. It stuck with me and I now ask my own kids for that 5 minutes of peace to have a cuppa.
I also do my best thinking in the shower. The downside though is that I loose track of time and end up showering way too long. Oops. Sometimes a walk in the woods work. And doing an observational drawing in the woods while listeing to the birds also does the trick for me.
Observational drawing is so good for ideas isn't it? Especially once you get in the flow of it, the woods and bird song must really help with that.
Also, you've blown my mind by telling me that Spot the dog is called Otto! I love how book details change like that across countries!
I often have toddler company in the shower, sooo relate to that book! My time is driving or wood walking, a nature mind shower!
Walking in woods seems to be a really popular one for getting your mind clear! Going to the woods when my kid was a toddler meant a lot of looking closely at interesting sticks and bringing home the best ones 😆
We used to have this book when the children were little. It was my favourite one to read to them! Probably because I related so well!
Our shower is rubbish so I don't spend long enough in there to think. A long car journey gets my imagination going. x
It is such a good book! You're right, long car journeys can be so good for getting your brain to unwind!