Why the Best Ideas Happen in the Shower

We get the best ideas in the shower. We all know this - but have you ever thought about why? Seems these days nearly everyone is overwhelmed. We are surrounded by constant streams of information, lists of things to do, productivity tools, life hacks, goal setting guides. We end up feeling the need to do more and be more.Today’s world requires more juggling to keep up, and we are more likely to be solely responsible for keeping those balls in the air or sharing that responsibility with at most a few other people.It takes a village but we only have a household.Surprisingly (and paradoxically) one of the ways to handle this is to slow down. Clear space in your schedule to clear your mind. Just start with finding time without inputs. No music, no reading, no talking, no videos, nothing. You can be still or in motion, whichever works better for you. Let your mind find its own path. Call it meditating or daydreaming or detoxing or whatever description feels right and keeps you doing it.The great news is, this doesn’t have to be a giant chunk of time to be beneficial. Research has shown that even 10 minutes can be enough to clear your brain, slow down your nervous system, and help you regain focus and clarity. Sometimes it can take more (especially at the beginning if you don’t do this very often) but starting with 10 minutes is great.Best also if you can do this without a goal. Just clear your mind. It’s like tidying up your room so that you can see what’s there.So how does this tie in to the shower? Well for most of us, taking a shower is one of the few times that we spend 10 or so minutes alone without any inputs. It’s the time that our brains get to wander. Even having a shower routine helps because we generally don’t have to engage our brains to do what we have to do in there. We can go through the motions without conscious thought.So take a lesson from the shower. Find a routine and let your brain take a rest for a few minutes every day.