I find that inspired, creative ideas usually strike at the most inopportune moments; particularly when I am taking a shower. As I am rushing through the process of washing my body, before I leap into the next task-orientated activity of the day; these creative thoughts will strike.

I am certainly not thinking specifically about them and they may or may not, actually have anything to do with the current project I am working on. There can be a steady stream of thoughts on a particular idea or one thought that can lead off on a completely different tangent.

Still, I need to complete my shower. I am there for a good reason and I can’t let my thoughts continue to stream out of control, else I will forget the other already good ideas. As I wash, I recite the thoughts in my head like a mantra, till I can write them down somewhere. I am not alone in this…

Scott Barry Kaufman, creativity expert, conducted a study that showed “72% of people get creative ideas in the shower”

I find I can usually remember four sentences really well. Then as soon as I am out of the shower, I must write them down, along with the essential essence, of any of the other thoughts that I can grasp. I jot them down on the page as fast as possible, desperately trying to capture as much of the information that has spewed from my mind.

It is comical. There are many of these pieces of paper scattered about the house. I am always finding receipts with writing on it, to do lists with scribbles. I have notebooks full of notes. My phone is full of them. Sometimes the words are a ramble of spelling mistakes and incomplete sentences because I cannot let the crux of the idea and all its words disappear. I have learnt, that if I do not write it down straight away, I cannot recall it later and I can’t lose them: these creative thoughts are inspired.

Apparently, Agatha Christie spent hours in the bath for this reason alone

Inspiration doesn’t only strike when I am in the shower, it often happens when I am going for a walk, when I am in the car, just before I drop off to sleep or late at night; when my children are not sleeping and I am sat at the end of their bed, being as quiet as possible and wishing they would finally sleep, so I could too.

Kaufman “highlights the importance of relaxation for creative thinking”

I realised that I get some of my best thoughts when I am doing something that doesn’t require too much thinking. A time when my mind does not need to be whole-heartily focused on a specific task. I am running on automatic, the activities ingrained in the core of what I do: I subconsciously know how to walk, I know how to wash, I know how to drive my car on the same route every day. I can switch off part of my mind, relax and it is in those moments that the subconscious mind takes over and creativity is unleased and the magic happens.

I am giving my conscious mind a break and my subconscious mind a workout.

I also find a lot of inspiration when I walk. I live near a beach and regularly take my children bike riding on the walking path, at the weekend. Without fail, something will come to me. It can be an emotional reaction to the weather, the view, observation of people or I may need an idea to move a story along: whatever the stimulus; the ideas start flowing. Melissa Burkley, Ph.D. and The Social Thinker states that “walking in nature (or even just viewing images of nature) boosts creativity by as much as 50%.” My phone has hundreds of notes on it from my walks consisting of one or two lines, a whole passage of dialogue or a poem. All are testimony to this statement.

When creative inspiration strikes you have to answer the call, be present and record it, lest it is lost forever.

Burkley’s article, Seven Tips for Unlocking your Creative Genius (which I have attached to this blog) and definitely recommend reading (especially if you are having a creative block) has great ideas for unlocking your subconscious creativity including taking a shower and walking in nature.

Burkley, also suggests alcohol use as a means to unleash the creative mind. When I write, I tend not to drink. It doesn’t seem to help me to write or stimulate ideas. I wish it would. I have concluded I must drink too much and miss that fine line between creative genius and piss head. I can’t seem to get my best ideas from the bottom of a bottle.

But the principal is that: once we allow that part of our mind, that contains acute awareness and focus to slip; we relax and then the ideas, the answers that were there all the time, flow out. We just didn’t know they were there waiting for us and we certainly didn’t know how to access them, but appear they do.

Burkley, describes the unconscious mind as “a treasure trove of forgotten experiences, emotions, ideas and memories.”

I like that. Never doubt it: every ounce of all your unique creativity, has come from some source locked within your own mind and that your inspiration has teasingly unlocked from your subconscious, for you to use.

Your unconscious mind is “a treasure trove of forgotten experiences, emotions, ideas and memories.”

No one else has access to this treasure, only you!

These are unique treasures, gifts just for you to utilise – how exciting is that!

So, the next time you are having a creative mental block in writing or another form of artistic expression go take a shower, a walk, immerse yourself in nature, cook something, drive the car or have a glass of wine…