If I were to ask you when your best ideas come to you, you would most likely say in the shower, walking, biking on your own or staring into the sunset.
That's because in the shower, or during any activity that puts you 'in the zone', you are free from distractions. You are not polluted by outside influences or bombarded with interruptions.
Since you can't (yet) take your laptop, homework, books or phone into the shower, this is probably the only time you are truly disconnected. You don't even have anyone to talk to. Unless you're sharing your shower. That's a different story. Carry on.
What I'm talking about is that hot, relaxing, totally isolated shower that disconnects you from everything, making you feel alone in a bubble with no sense of time. The kind of shower where ideas keep flowing until you just want to jump out and write everything down.
So when I say we need more shower time, I mean we need more decluttering time for our minds. Time to unplug from everything else and reconnect with ourselves.
There are many moments like this in life that we can benefit from, if we take the time to notice them.
Some will be as fleeting as a shower, others much longer.
I was lucky enough to have one of these longer experiences. On a nearly 1.5 month bike trip across 3 countries, with limited access to phone and internet, I came face to face with the full benefits of disengaging from 'brain clutter'.
As much as I found it discomforting initially, I soon came to realize that I was better off without all the noise. Within a week I had filled a journal with the waterfall of ideas that kept coming to me as the barriers of everyday life fell away.
I could not have done this in my regular environment; in my comfort zones. The need to login and connect would have been too strong. I had to be physically disconnected, unable to quickly check in, in order to fully disconnect my mind. Biking into the unknown demands full concentration. It forces you to truly be in the moment in order to stay on track and get from place to place before nightfall. A cluttered mind is not an option.
Source: Tarek Riman - Park Bik, Quebec, Canada - thenaturetraveler.ca
Totally disconnecting from technology for hours at a time while reconnecting to nature empowers you to open up space for ideas to flow freely. Ideas that would normally get clogged up in the brain clutter of online life. This is what it takes to tap into something greater; to tap into your highest potential.
Here is something I keep telling myself: "It's impossible to hear yourself and listen to your inner genius with all this digital noise around you".
It is hard to feel free when you are anchored. Hard to let your mind flow when you are tethered to the internet and other people's ideas.
Stand up. Leave your phone on the table. Take your clothes off and head to the shower.
Always remember to disconnect... so that you can reconnect.
PS. Guess where I was when I got inspired to write this blog post? 😊
PPS. Don't let these high-tech companies take away your shower time. Reclaim the shower!
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