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 to let your mind wander. When you give
Speaker 1: yourself the space to daydream, you may boost your creativity,
Speaker 1: increasing the chances that you come up with lots of
Speaker 1: great ideas. And who doesn't need more great ideas these days.
Speaker 1: This week, we've been talking about ways to nurture our brains.
Speaker 1: If we want to take our days from great to awesome,
Speaker 1: being on top of our mental games can help a lot.
Speaker 1: Our brains are the most important productivity tools we have
Speaker 1: now and in the future too, so we want to
Speaker 1: keep these tools as sharp as possible. One of the
Speaker 1: best things sharp brains can do is come up with
Speaker 1: new ideas. Since many of us do need to come
Speaker 1: up with lots of ideas, it's important to pay attention
Speaker 1: to how this process happens. I don't know about you,
Speaker 1: but I come up with a lot of great ideas
Speaker 1: when I am out running. I don't listen to music,
Speaker 1: so my mind can just wander as I'm running through
Speaker 1: my neighborhood or the trails near my house. I think
Speaker 1: it's the lack of inputs directing my conscious attention. I
Speaker 1: often wind up piecing together different strands of things and
Speaker 1: coming up with solutions. Some research has found that many
Speaker 1: of us experience the same thing. One study that tested
Speaker 1: people's ability to come up with novel uses for everyday
Speaker 1: items found that when people were given an undemanding task,
Speaker 1: that is, one that allowed their minds to wander, they
Speaker 1: improved their performance on this creativity test. Indeed, they improved
Speaker 1: more than they did if given a demanding task that
Speaker 1: didn't allow their minds to wander, or if they were
Speaker 1: just allowed to rest and do nothing. It seems our
Speaker 1: brains do our best divergent thinking when we are just
Speaker 1: a tiny bit occupied enough to take the edge off,
Speaker 1: but not so occupied that we can't think about anything else.
Speaker 1: Let your mind wander, and it wanders to intriguing places.
Speaker 1: This seems straightforward enough, and yet many of us don't
Speaker 1: spend a whole lot of time in this mind wandering state. Why.
Speaker 1: I think it's because we can't stand boredom. You sit
Speaker 1: in a chair at home meaning to stare out the
Speaker 1: window at the birds, and next thing you know, the
Speaker 1: phone is out and you are checking email. We listen
Speaker 1: to music or yes, podcasts while running or walking or driving.
Speaker 1: And while this isn't a bad thing, I'm glad you're
Speaker 1: listening to before breakfast. When we fill all our time
Speaker 1: this way, we don't have base for our minds to
Speaker 1: wander to intriguing places. So the solution is to come
Speaker 1: up with situations where you aren't really bored, you are
Speaker 1: just in a mind wandering state. This is why running
Speaker 1: outside is better than running on the treadmill. The treadmill
Speaker 1: is boring, so you need a TV show to get
Speaker 1: through it. Running on a trail through the woods, on
Speaker 1: the other hand, is interesting enough that the miles pass
Speaker 1: without the need for any inputs, so you can let
Speaker 1: your mind wander. I had one of my best ideas
Speaker 1: of recent years while jumping waves in the ocean. I
Speaker 1: couldn't exactly take my phone with me there, but I
Speaker 1: was engaged with the task of keeping the waves from
Speaker 1: crashing over my head. That turned out to be a
Speaker 1: perfect setup for capturing what had been elusive before. I've
Speaker 1: been experiencing a similar feeling recently as I have been
Speaker 1: playing Christmas carols on the piano. Now, learning a new
Speaker 1: piece of music would engage huge chunks of my brain,
Speaker 1: but something like Joy to the World, which I've played
Speaker 1: a hundred times, not so much. My mind wanders. It's
Speaker 1: interesting to see where it wanders too. I haven't come
Speaker 1: up with any great new business ideas yet, but maybe someday.
Speaker 1: It's just a matter of time. So today, try coming
Speaker 1: up with a situation where you can let your mind wander.
Speaker 1: Go for a walk outside without music. Try something like
Speaker 1: a jigsaw puzzle or gardening that takes a little effort,
Speaker 1: but not a huge amount of effort. Don't pick up
Speaker 1: your phone. You might be surprised what comes to you
Speaker 1: in this state, so be sure to keep a pen
Speaker 1: and paper handy. The good ideas may start to flow.
Speaker 1: You've got your brain working well and that is a
Speaker 1: good thing. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod
Speaker 1: that's b E the number four then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: Podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that Before breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters thanks so much. Should I
Speaker 1: look forward to staying in touch Before Breakfast is a
Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.