Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that if you get your best ideas in
Speaker 1: the shower or another inconvenient location, you can find a
Speaker 1: way to capture them. Time away from your computer can
Speaker 1: be conducive to creative thinking, but you need a way
Speaker 1: to make sure your ideas can be acted on when
Speaker 1: you find your way back to your computer. Many people
Speaker 1: have some of their best ideas while showering, driving, running,
Speaker 1: or doing some other task that is not intellectually demanding
Speaker 1: and is not conducive to taking notes. This isn't just
Speaker 1: the universe's way of tormenting us, though it can feel tormenting.
Speaker 1: Creativity and innovation are more likely to happen when we
Speaker 1: let our minds wander for a while, free from the
Speaker 1: steady stream of words, numbers, and tasks to be done
Speaker 1: that defines most of our days. But for your shower
Speaker 1: ideas to be more than just daydreams, you need to
Speaker 1: find a way to capture them. And when you are
Speaker 1: wet and soapy, or behind the wheel of a car
Speaker 1: or dodging waves in the ocean, this is easier said
Speaker 1: than done. I know there is a small market in
Speaker 1: waterproof notepads or bathcrans. I guess the idea for the
Speaker 1: non toddler set is that you could write your brilliant
Speaker 1: idea on the shower wall. But you really don't need
Speaker 1: to do that. You probably already have either the physical
Speaker 1: or mental tools you need at your disposal to put
Speaker 1: your thoughts somewhere that you will be able to act
Speaker 1: upon it. My guess is that you almost always have
Speaker 1: your phone with you if you are out walking or running,
Speaker 1: it's in your pocket. So when you get a brilliant idea,
Speaker 1: pause and send yourself a quick email with your idea
Speaker 1: as the subject line. It will be there when you
Speaker 1: process your emails later. If you are stuck in traffic
Speaker 1: to the point where you can put your car in park,
Speaker 1: then you could send yourself a note this way too.
Speaker 1: But if not because you're moving some use your phone
Speaker 1: or your car's voice assistant, Hey Siri, send a text
Speaker 1: to say your own name. Then tell your unnerving little
Speaker 1: robot helper your big idea. Now it's captured as well.
Speaker 1: You can do the same thing in the shower. Yes,
Speaker 1: I am guessing your phone is sitting outside the shower,
Speaker 1: maybe on the counter or on top of your pile
Speaker 1: of clothes. I know I hear from people that they
Speaker 1: listen to this podcast while putting on makeup or getting dressed.
Speaker 1: If that is the case, just open the shower door
Speaker 1: and tell the phone your big idea now it's waiting
Speaker 1: for you. Of course, it's possible that you don't bring
Speaker 1: your phone into the bathroom, or if you're out jumping
Speaker 1: waves or something else, you won't have it, in which case,
Speaker 1: good for you. Your best bet in these cases is to
Speaker 1: try some little mental trick to commit your idea to memory.
Speaker 1: Strange associations tend to work best if you are in
Speaker 1: the shower. Try an association with shampoo or soap, or
Speaker 1: a towel or a razor. To use an example from
Speaker 1: my line of work, Let's say you just got an
Speaker 1: idea for a column on how to kick a screen
Speaker 1: time habit. You might picture little bottles of shampoo looking
Speaker 1: at screens and then doing whatever you had in mind
Speaker 1: in order to get off the screens. Because this mental
Speaker 1: image is so weird, you will remember it as soon
Speaker 1: as you get to your phone or a piece of paper.
Speaker 1: In a few minutes, you can write it down and
Speaker 1: release those little shampoo bottles from their labors. Now, of course,
Speaker 1: all of these ideas require that there be a time
Speaker 1: when you collect and process these inputs. It does no
Speaker 1: good to send yourself an email if you then don't
Speaker 1: go through your primary inbox with a planner or calendar
Speaker 1: in hand. Similarly, maybe you put things in a notes app,
Speaker 1: which sounds great, but if there is not a time
Speaker 1: when you reliably process those notes, then they won't do
Speaker 1: you any good. So make sure you have a collection
Speaker 1: and reflection time. But if you do, then you can
Speaker 1: capture your ideas whatever you are doing. And hopefully, once
Speaker 1: you know you can capture your good ideas, you will
Speaker 1: start to have more of them in the shower, in
Speaker 1: the car, in the ocean, or wherever. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b the number
Speaker 1: four then Breakfast Pod. You can also shoot me an
Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot Com that
Speaker 1: before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters, thanks
Speaker 1: so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts
Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.