Ahhh… the shower. It’s one of the best places in the house, in my opinion. I love it so much that, as a teen, my parents accused me of single-handedly lowering the water table.

When you’re in the shower there are several factors that make it prime idea-generating territory:

For one, it’s quiet.

The hiss of water drones out all kinds of distractions. And the fact that steamy water is cascading over you is soooo relaxing. You can’t hear and you feel good. Nice.

Plus, your brain is switched to auto-pilot mode. Did you ever notice that you wash the same way every day? I mean, how often do you ask yourself, “Hmmm… Should I go for the left ear first or the right one?” You don’t process, you just soap up, get clean, and rinse off. All of this happens without much participation from the frontal lobe.

Lastly, provided that you don’t tolerate intruders, you are left completely uninterrupted for 10, sometimes 20, decadent minutes. With no interruptions from the phone, tv, radio, spouse, kids, dogs, it’s “all you, all the time.” Ahh! Because of this, your brain is free! It can roam freely over terrain it might not traverse otherwise.

What you get

While you’re washing, you might come up with things like:

• A plausible interpretation for a dream you had this morning
• The name of that woman you want to call
• Something you want to put in your will
• Pick up milk and broccoli while you’re out
• A new service that could generate income for your business

The bottom line is that, in the shower, all the conditions are right and your brain is having a field day. Some of the stuff that pops up has the potential, if put to use, to directly benefit you, your business, your clients, your financial status, and so on.

So take a moment to appreciate your grey matter and modern plumbing. What a team!

How to keep your ideas from going down the drain

If you’re like a lot of people, ideas must get written down so you can remember to follow up on them later.

But, practically speaking, it’s hard to record when you’re soaking wet. Do not bring your new iPhone into the tub.

The trick is to duplicate the uninterrupted time you get in the shower when you have a dry, accessible recording device handy.

One way to do this is to just take a pen and notepad into bathroom, lock the door behind you, and jot down your thoughts before you hop in to get clean. Or, you can do this immediately after the shower. No one will ever know.

Before your day begins, even just once a week, you can indulge in a decadent moment with a fancy journal, a fountain pen, and a cup of tea.   One of my clients thought she might try using kids’ bathtub crayons on the tile to record her ideas. Go wild! Whatever it takes to get the ideas recorded.

Whatever you do, commit to writing down your thoughts so you can put them to use. It doesn’t take much extra time and, when your brain knows you’re taking it seriously, it will reward you with even better, more plentiful ideas.

Your turn! What tricks do you use to capture your ideas on the fly? I’d love to hear from you!

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