My best ideas kind of sneak up on me. I might be thinking about a certain project, but I often have to let it sit and just percolate in my mind for awhile. And oddly enough, the “winning” ideas often come to me in the shower.
For me, the shower is a relaxing place with no distractions, where I energize for the day or wind down for the night. I let my mind wander, ticking through my mental checklists on auto-pilot. Somehow bouncing around thoughts and ideas in the little space is therapeutic to me. I enjoy this quiet time each day.
I first realized “the power of the shower” my freshman year of college. I may have worked on a project for hours, but when I finally stepped away, relaxed and let my mind just play with the concepts, I’d come bursting back into our room with a grand idea in tow. My best friend and roommate at the time laughed that if I ever owned a company, I needed to install an awesome shower in my office to speed my brainstorming along.
I remember a specific occasion in my first job after college. We had just purchased a national ad with an incredibly short deadline, and we needed copy immediately. I pounded text all day, brainstorming with our group to try to find a concept that worked, but nothing was dynamic. I asked to let it rest overnight, and even when I went home that evening, my mind was spinning. Sure enough, I hopped in the shower the next morning and the headline and idea came to me. With a little tweaking and an in-house photo shoot, our ad was out the door to the publication.
Granted, the shower is not an instant fix for me, but I think it’s important for everyone to have a place or space where your mind is free to test things out. Commanding creativity may not be realistic, especially on a deadline, but allowing inspiration to flourish and learning to tune in to that inner “idea spigot” is always valuable.
Here’s one of my recent crafting projects that came together in my mind during my morning shower. Check it out on my Etsy site!
