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