Where do you come up with your best ideas?
Our recent survey found that the shower or bath is the top place for creative thinking! I think this shows that sometimes your best ideas happen when you’re not trying too hard to be creative and instead just let your mind drift and wander.
I find that getting out into the fresh air helps me to think about things from a different perspective and often come back from a walk in the park charged up with ideas and plans. Wherever it is that you do your best thinking, just make sure you’ve got a pen and paper handy so that your moment of genius doesn’t slip away!
The Big Green Challenge is about groups and communities taking action together, so once you’ve got an idea, share it with other members of your group. It’s often easier to build on an idea that’s already on the table than to think up something completely new. Take a look at these tips on how to get your community organised from our Green Angel Dick Stawbridge.
Where do you come up with your best ideas? Leave a comment to tell us what sparks your creativity.
I find I quite often need to distract myself or ‘empty my head’ completely by doing something that is completely unrelated to the problem - preferably repetitive or not involving much thought - such as running, or playing air guitar(!) or even doing the dishes. When I switch back ‘on’ I often find something clicks into place as if by magic….
I get my ideas just before I fall asleep. There’s something about my mind as it’s switching off…now i keep a notebook and pen in my drawer so I can sit up and jot things down - it drives my husband crazy!
When I’m not thinking - this usually happens when I’m dozing in the middle of the night. I have to write them down though, or I forget!
I sometimes get ideas when I’m looking at something completely un-related to the problem I’m trying to come up with an idea about.
Here’s an example of what thinking in this way can do - Great Ormond Street improved the way it runs intensive care by talking to Ferrari about the way it runs pit-stops.
Vicky - me too! Aside from bedside, I also enjoy letting my mind wander off while I’m sitting on the bus staring out the window. I’ve had some of my best ideas on the 59 bus.
I get ideas either when I’m in the situation I need the idea for (or and idea comes to my mind when I feel something is missing) or when I am relaxed and am thinking about anything else but the problem in question.
The other day there was a lot of wind an rain and I looked out of the window and thought: ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if I could have a colourful pinwheel on my balcony that makes use of the energy from the wind and rainfall?’
I find that I do a lot of my thinking on the bus after work, I think it works so well because it’s the finally can stop and just take a moment. It’s the in between, free space between work and home.