Why Your Best Thinking Is in the Shower (2014)

I have become addicted to having long thinking session in the shower. I probably shower too much.

I often go in there. Make sure all lights are off. Usually sit or lay in bathtub with just shower on. Close eyes and relax and think(and daydream). It's sorta like a combination massage / isolation chamber effect for me. Spending time doing this daily keeps me centered, focused, clear minded, and lastly reduces any temporary stress I have.

When you learn things, you do so in a focused mode using working memory. Working memory can be thought of as a re-wipeable white/black board. The information,skill,idea is called a CHUNK and is encoded into a weak neural loop . You strengthen loose understanding through practice and repetition.

A chunk has no context. Context is how a chunk fits into the big picture of what you already know. At a neural level, context means neurons are making new connections. Think of a chunk as the WHAT. The context as HOW you use the chunk you are learning.

For a learned chunk to be useful, you need to know HOW a chunk is useful. You need to know the CONTEXT. Context is knowing the HOW and WHEN to use what you have learned. If you change from focused learning to relaxation, you can let your un-focused mind create these connections. [0]

By letting the brain drift into diffuse mode (unfocused attention), you are making connections between chunks, creating context. The brain is doing this at a lower level of conscience by sleeping or relaxing or changing focus. You use a bath, Darwin had his ^thinking path^ for the same reasons. [1],[2]

Reference

[0] https://www.brainscape.com/blog/2016/08/better-learning-focu...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin

[2] "Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects" ~ https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn

Google tells me the average bath uses 35-50 gallons of water, while the average shower uses 2 gallons per minute. Which puts the breakeven point at say 15-25 minutes.

Although if you live in the midwest like I do, we have infinite water. Use more water? it goes back to lake Michigan and recycled. The gas to heat the water is the only "waste", but you could offset with a solar panel.

Maybe it is just me being "arty" as a person, but this stuff seems like second nature. If I'm going to paint and draw surrealist or otherwise unique artwork, I gotta have ideas... or start painting portraits and landscapes from pictures. I find it quite interesting to find out why.

There is a link in the article to some words from John Cleese where he talk about creativity being a "mood" - and I find this to be true. [1] The hardest part, I think, is probably finding the activities that really do it for you. And that is really just practicing a bit of mindfulness while doing things.

For me, showers and baths bring a different sort of creativity than walking a well-walked path, doing a repetitive task (even if it is part of another creative endeavor), or simply listening to music. Combining music to the other things seems to help as well.

[1] http://www.openculture.com/2013/09/john-cleeses-philosophy-o...

A nice long bath, laying down with a full length album, or driving in the hills. Those are my daydreaming states.

I have also begun to note a new state that I let go missing, and that is being thoughtless. It is really hard for me to achieve but I can in situations like focusing on music or on the opposite spectrum, motorsport. I always think so much more clearly afterward.