
Why you get ideas in the shower - ecaron
http://www.scottberkun.com/blog/2011/why-you-get-ideas-in-the-shower/
======
onan_barbarian
My wife claims that I should charge my company for showering time given the
number of times I emerge from the shower and start taking notes on an idea.
Usually a shower follows two enormous cups of coffee.

I'd be curious to see a bit more detail on the physiological basis of this. I
do plenty of things where you're able to zone out a bit, but none of them have
remotely the same idea-generation rate as being in the shower. Can't help but
wonder whether a big pile of warm water all over the body does something to
blood flow in some useful way. If I could remember any physiology this would
be the point to use an impressive word like vasoconstriction or vasodilation
or some such. :-)

~~~
Mz
_I'd be curious to see a bit more detail on the physiological basis of this._

My reply to your remark was placed under the wrong comment (that's what I get
for posting at some ungodly hour while suffering insomnia):

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2531927>

------
blhack
One of the most mentally productive times of my life so far was when I had a 1
hour (each way) commute in a car with no CD player. I was alone in my thoughts
for an hour a day with absolutely 0 distractions. Driving was just enough to
keep my brain awake, but could get a low enough thread-priority to let me
think.

I've replaced the driving with biking (I live a lot closer to my job now), but
it honestly isn't quite as good. Some of the stuff I came up with then (this
was about a year and a half ago), I'm still fleshing out now.

Another thing that's close to driving, but not quite as good is yard work.
Something about the sound of lawnmowers and weed whackers is really conducive
to thinking.

~~~
tzs
Similar for me for several years when I lived in Seattle, but had a job across
Puget Sound in Kitsap County. Each way each day I had anywhere from 30 minutes
to an hour on a ferry (depending on which ferry I decided to take that day). I
could just sit in my car, with some music on, and either technical material I
needed to read, or a pad of paper and a pen working out design ideas.

No distractions, and if I needed a break to let something turn over in my
mind, I could simply step out of the car watch the ocean, or go up to the
passenger decks and have a seat or get a snack from the cafeteria. If it was
the morning, they had nice breakfasts available.

------
ChuckMcM
Early on I learned that Juggling was a great way to get my conscious mind out
of the way of my subconscious so that I could actually retrieve information
from it about solutions to problems.

Like a lot of people I know, my brain works on coming up with solutions to
'problems' 24/7, whether I want it to or not (much to my spouses dismay
sometimes) And while effective getting those solutions out of the queue
require either isolation (camping is great, the shower is ok if a bit short)
or to have my conscious brain not focused on trying to pull the answer out.

Juggling (and as it turns out for me piano playing) has the property of
applying a temporal focus to my brain which prevents it from interfering with
my subconscious. Weird I know, but folks I know who study such things consider
it fairly normal. I know a guy who plays FPS video games when he has a really
hard problem he's working on, same sort of thing.

~~~
Swizec
The problem with inspiration-based problem solvers is that it's always
extremely difficult to predict when they will solve a problem.

This has been a real issue for me and the fact that my off-focus activity of
choice is arsing about on the internets and pretty much everyone I ever work
with thinks all I ever do is slack off.

------
dreeves
Related is Paul Graham's essay, "The Top Idea in Your Mind"
[<http://www.paulgraham.com/top.html>]. He doesn't address the question of
_why_ but proposes shower-taking as a litmus test for finding out what the top
idea in your mind is (or your ambient thoughts, as he dubs it).

First paragraph:

    
    
        I realized recently that what one thinks about in the 
        shower in the morning is more important than I'd thought. 
        I knew it was a good time to have ideas. Now I'd go 
        further: now I'd say it's hard to do a really good job on 
        anything you don't think about in the shower.

~~~
hammock
_I'd say it's hard to do a really good job on anything you don't think about
in the shower._

That's so true. My morning shower is where I think about what my goals are for
the day- it's also usually where and when I come up with the seeds of the best
strategies for achieving said goals. If I haven't found a executable solution
by the end of my shower, it usually won't come to me until 3am later that
night when all other distractions are gone.

------
pstack
Oh, great. As if I don't have enough things on my to-do list. Now I have to
try this "shower" thing.

(Also, I seem to be really sparse in the idea department. Or rather, in the
interesting idea department. I've spent most of the last decade stumbling onto
ideas that I could immediately dismiss as being too obvious to be interesting,
whether or not they could be financially rewarding, or already done by someone
else. There needs to be some sort of affordable R&D/think-tank outsourcing you
can do if you're a one or two man job looking for ideas - heh.)

~~~
akkartik
I worked full-time on readwarp.com for 8 months. When I started I was
terrified that I'd run out of money. But when I finally gave up I found I had
more runway than I'd projected. What I ran out of was ideas. I'm hoping next
time that having a cofounder will help keep up a stream of ideas.

\---

It's not about finding an interesting idea fully formed. It's about constantly
generating new things to try, new trails to blaze.

\---

 _"As if I don't have enough things on my to-do list."_

If it's closing you to new ideas your todo list is too much baggage. I've
grown _super_ sensitive to this; I prune my todo list all the time[1].

It's hard to be open to new ideas all the time, of course. Being too open can
interfere with actually doing anything. The author of "Flow" says successful
people tend to alternate between being open and exploratory, and being
closed/focussed on getting something out the door. I imagine it as weaving
alternately on either side of the ideal line. It's impossible to perfectly
balance both sides, but you don't have to be perfect.

[1] My todo list is in version control for many years now, and every now and
then I check out what it looked like a month or a year ago. It's amazing to me
how rapidly items turn over. Most ideas form and die within 2 weeks.

------
aphyr
Every few weeks I become so distracted by thinking about a problem in the
shower that I'll rinse, lather, and repeat three, four, or far more times
without realizing. Only seems to happen in the morning, which makes me think
it has something to do with the problem-solving activity of my subconscious
during sleep. When it occurs, though, what a fantastic window of creativity
and focus!

------
RandallBrown
It makes sense that the shower is somewhere you can really relax and think.
It's the one place where you really can't be doing something else that is more
important. You can't check your email, you can't be thinking that you should
be writing a paper for some class. You can't do anything but shower and think.

In college there were multiple times that I came up with solutions to
programming problems while I was in the shower because my mind actually had
time to take a break.

------
corin_
Not that it's really related to the actual substance of the article, just to
the title, but personally I've never had any ideas, or even done any real
thinking about current ideas, while in a shower, whereas when having a bath, I
have.

I don't know if that's completely random, whether it's something specific
about me, whether it's because I will spend longer in a bath than a shower, or
because I enjoy having a bath more, and tend to relax more. Or some other
reason.

~~~
bluekeybox
If showers are not a part of your routine, then, when showering, your mind
will be preoccupied with things like "how to shower," "how not to slip," "how
not to get burned with hot water," "how to control water temperature," etc.,
and will not be able to achieve the state of relaxation necessary for
generation of new ideas.

The key is that the activity has to be both relaxing and routine (double
"r"...). For you, it's bathing, for others it's showering, yet for others it's
walking in the woods. If the activity is not relaxing, you will be preoccupied
with how to control it and with resulting stress. If the activity is not
routine, you will be focused on its novelty rather than letting your mind
wander on its own.

~~~
corin_
Maybe subconsciously it's more stressful for me to have a shower, but I have
far more showers than baths, and certainly I don't need to really think about
any aspects of it, consciously.

It's just that in a shower I never decide to relax and enjoy it, it's always a
method of cleaning, or of waking up, or of heating up, not an activity for the
sake of enjoyment.

------
bkudria
Diving Slate: [http://www.amazon.com/Scuba-Dive-Underwater-Writing-
Slate/dp...](http://www.amazon.com/Scuba-Dive-Underwater-Writing-
Slate/dp/B001O041F0)

Get one of these, and jot your ideas down in the shower. (Don't forget to buy
cleaning fluid: [http://www.amazon.com/Biodegradable-Dive-Slate-Cleaner-
Refre...](http://www.amazon.com/Biodegradable-Dive-Slate-Cleaner-
Refreshes/dp/B001F916N0))

------
ben1040
My work day is usually 8 hours of implementing whatever idea I came up with
while in the shower that morning. If nothing comes to me during the morning
routine, I'll have a really crummy, unproductive day.

I _might_ be able to take an hour for a walk around the neighborhood to clear
my head to get ideas, but generally even walking around trying to not get hit
by vehicles or other pedestrians still distracts me.

------
epo
I get ideas while out walking, no iPod and preferably no other people about.
Exercise too (of a sort).

------
marvin
It's not about taking a shower - it's about disconnecting from active
stimulation for a few minutes. A consequence of our information society or
"information addiction" is that a lot of people are really scared to just sit
down and do nothing. A lot of people are afraid of being alone in their head
with their own thoughts.

When you're taking a shower, this is often the only time during the day when
you're not actively engaging your mind. Just taking a walk (no iPod allowed)
or just lying down on the couch staring at the ceiling, or sitting in your car
after you've parked will give the same effect. Guaranteed. You might
experience a few minutes of discomfort as your consciousness grasps for
something to hold on to.

------
dgeb
I've always found the shower to be effective for thinking because the
combination of white noise and the routine of washing occupy the mind so well
that deeper thoughts can emerge.

Taking showers to mull over problems is one more advantage to working from
home :)

------
heed
Sensory deprivation is also a safe way to have an intense psychedelic
experience, without having to ingest chemicals. Go float in a tank for an hour
or two, and you'll be astonished at some of the crazy thoughts you'll have.

~~~
semerda
Yap yap yap.. my favorite of the lot. Better then meditation. The word
"psychedelic experience" might be stretching it but you do get minor visual &
auditory hallucinations that are basically your conscious mind observing your
subconscious.. stuff monks train for years to achieve in standard meditation
while in a tank - bam! Here's a 2 part blog post I wrote on Isolation Tanks ~
[http://blog.ernestsemerda.com/2009/09/03/floatation-
isolatio...](http://blog.ernestsemerda.com/2009/09/03/floatation-isolation-
tank-fringe-science/)

------
trustfundbaby
This happens so much to me that I got a dry erase marker and write down my
ideas on bathroom mirror as soon as I get out of the shower ... naturally,
everyone who uses my bathroom thinks I'm crazy.

------
TillE
I tend to do my best thinking when out for a walk. There's a greater chance of
interruption, though, so I find myself increasingly heading towards less
populated areas with fewer streets to cross.

------
fredoliveira
People who are into this kind of thing will probably like "Your brain at work"
by David Rock. It covers this topic and a few more - it's pretty interesting
stuff for developers and knowledge workers. There's also a tech talk here:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeJSXfXep4M>

Also, get Pragmatic Thinking and Learning by Andy Hunt. Also covers these
topics and helps people understand learning, creativity and how to exploit the
way you work and think to, well, learn better.

------
jochu
For more specifics into the cognitive science behind why this is - another
good book, which has lots of wonderful references to studies on this topic
(amongst other things), is "Your Brain at Work" by David Rock. Or, for the
general overview you can watch the Google Talk at
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeJSXfXep4M>

------
jodrellblank
For those commenting that the White noise is a factor:

<http://www.simplynoise.com> and also their downloadable thunderstorm
soundscape recording: <http://simplynoise.com/download.php?key=18336dd65313>
(Google result, not sure why it thinks a donation has happened).

------
dkl
I've written todo lists backwards on the sliding glass doors, on the steamed
up glass doors, so I could write them down when I get out of the shower. That
particular day, I had like 5 ideas I really didn't want to forget, and this
was the only way I could think of... it worked, mostly. The lower I got on the
door, the harder it was to read.

------
tyng
It's just amazing to know everybody is getting ideas in showers - I used to
think I was the lonely weird one...

------
andrewcooke
while i don't disagree with the article, i always assumed the shower was
particularly potent because it's first thing in the morning, after a full
night's sleep. so you've got a whole 8-10 hours of subconscious activity to
catch up on.

~~~
Aqwis
Not everyone showers in the morning, and those of us who don't also get ideas
in the shower.

~~~
andrewcooke
hmmm. do you get as many, or as good ones?

[also, maybe i'm just jaded, but the way i read your reply sounds as though
you're indignant - as if i've committed some terrible (almost racist) offense
by making assumptions about other people. if you are offended, i apologise,
but i mention it more because i wonder if it's just a curious consequence of
the kind of society we now live in. i have no idea how you would phrase what
you said to avoid giving that idea, for example...]

------
ck2
If you are crazy extreme, the Motorola Defy (android phone) is waterproof
(they only claim "water resistant" but people have used them underwater in
swimming pools, check youtube).

------
grimen
I get the best ideas when I'm not trying to come up with an idea, which is a
paradox. Though never had an idea in the shower that I remember. :)

------
ameyamk
I get ideas when I am sleeping.... all the time...

------
chopsueyar
I often take 20 to 40 minute showers in the morning. This is my meditation.

There isn't too much going on to distract me.

------
m0dE
I get ideas right before i fall asleep.

------
georgieporgie
When I started carrying a notebook around, I noticed that I seemed to have
more ideas. In actuality, I think that I had ideas pretty regularly without
the notebook, but I foolishly tell myself, "ah, that's good, I'll have to
remember that." Ten minutes later, I've forgotten the idea. An hour later,
I've forgotten that I've forgotten an idea...

------
HockeyBiasDotCo
Most of the ideas I get in the shower aren't appropriate here! :)

------
kevwood
I just took a shower................nothing.

