Did you know that ideas are born not when you are thinking, but after you stop thinking?

Hello, this is T.

This may be sudden, but when you are thinking about something, have you ever had the experience of
"I couldn't think of anything while sitting at my desk, but for some reason, I came up with it in the bath or on the toilet"?

Actually, this can be explained scientifically, and it has often been true in my own experience, so I'd like to share it with you 📝✨

First, let's start with the conclusion.
Ideas don't come when you are thinking, they come when you are not thinking.

That is the topic for today ✨

I can hear you asking, "I don't know what you're talking about!" but first, please listen to what the teacher has to say lol

Let's begin 🎓

In the world of brain science, it has long been said that the places where ideas are born are often:
🥇 1st: In the bath

🥈 2nd: On the toilet
🥉 3rd: While walking
🎖️ 4th: While commuting by train or bus
🏅 5th: Before bed or right after waking up

Apple founder Steve Jobs was also famous for preferring "walking meetings" 📱🖥️

Speaking from my own experience, such as when I'm thinking about article topics or my next actions, I find that I have flashes of inspiration overwhelmingly often during those 1st to 3rd places 💡

It still doesn't quite click, right? lol So, I'll write about the example of the bath, which is number 1!

While bathing, your brain's "daydreaming mode" becomes easier to activate.
📌 No work pressure

📌 Not looking at a smartphone
📌 Repeating simple actions

In brain science, this state is called the Default Mode Network (DMN).

When the DMN becomes active, it starts to automatically combine:

📖 Past experiences
🧠 Memories
💡 Ideas

on its own.

To give concrete examples,

📝 If an elementary school student is writing an essay
→ They were struggling because they couldn't write about "summer vacation memories." But while washing their hair in the bath, they suddenly thought, "That's it! I'll write about catching bugs with my grandfather!"

→

💡The brain organized memories by stepping away from studying 💡

👔 If you are a company employee
→ You were worried because you couldn't organize the structure of a meeting document. While in the bath, you suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "It might be easier to understand if I follow the order of Current Situation → Issues → Countermeasures → Effects."

→

💡The brain rearranged information on its own 💡

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 If you are a parent raising children
→ You were troubled because your child wouldn't do their homework. While in the bath, you thought, "What if I try doing it with them for just 5 minutes instead of making them do it first?"

→

💡A new idea was born by distancing yourself slightly from the problem 💡

Like this, there are similar examples for the 2nd place and below, but what is common to the 1st through 5th places is that

"they are born during times when you are not trying hard to think, but are just daydreaming"
is the point 💡

Even if it looks like your brain is resting, it continues to combine memories, experiences, and knowledge in the background.

That is why things like:

💡Elementary school students coming up with essays in the bath
💡Office workers getting project ideas during their commute
💡Parents thinking of childcare solutions while bathing

happen.

So, when you can't come up with ideas, taking time to:

・Take a bath
・Go for a walk
・Change your environment
・Sleep

will help your brain reorganize scattered thoughts and generate new ideas🛁🧩✨

However,
ideas disappear quickly!
Seriously, they vanish in seconds lol

When you think of something,
even if you think, "That's not a great idea,"
it often happens later that you think, "Wait? I thought of this a few days ago. What was it?"
and you can't remember.

Therefore, the specific practical method for when you have an idea is:

1) Just write it down within 30 seconds
　→ The most dangerous thing is thinking, "I'll remember this."
　　 "I'll write it down later" means you will 100% forget it lol

2) Keep it as "keywords" rather than a finished form
　❌ Bad example: Organizing the challenges that office workers face regarding side jobs...
　⭕ Good example: Side job / Anxiety / Can't take action / Childcare
　→ Right after a flash of inspiration, the idea is still hot.
　　 If you try to polish the sentences at this moment,
　　 the inspiration will escape.


3) Decide on one idea notebook (only one storage location)　❌ Bad example: LINE / Memo app / Spreadsheet / Paper
　→ If they are scattered, you won't look back at them later.
　⭕ Good example: iPhone default Notes / Google Docs
　→ Just one. It is important to eliminate the "Where did I write that?"
problem.

Since it will become meaningless when you look back at it later,
the "reason you thought of it"should also be recorded in one line to make it easier to reuse.

By the way, I have developed the habit of immediately taking notes on my smartphone when an idea pops up,
but sometimes I act like a klutz
and don't have my phone with me.

In those times,
I might come out of the bathroom half-naked, or suddenly run into the house while hanging laundry,
so it's a secret that my family (including the cat) looks at me with cold eyes lol

T's background / communication philosophy / achievements, etc.,
are written in the self-introduction article.
Please, take a look🌈

T