Hit me with your best THOUGHT!
Posted by PRGirlz Alumni on July 9th, 2007
Apologies for being AWOL lately- thing have been busy! Summer is notoriously slow in the PR world- not so this year! I think I’ve been going non-stop since fall. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about today. Nope, today I want to know where you do your best thinking. You know, the place or time of day that you collect your thoughts, think up new ideas and solutions to problems, take account of what needs to get done and how you could have handled a situation differently.
For me, that place is on the treadmill. I can’t read on the treadmill as I run at a good pace and my gym doesn’t have TVs, so it’s just me, some music and my thoughts. I go to the gym in the evening and this is the time I use to figure out what I need to get done the next day, what I forgot to do that day, what I can do to improve on a project and what new ideas I can bring to the table. I don’t necessarily cover all that ground in one workout, but I have found that some of my best ideas have come to me during a run and some tasks that might have fallen through the cracks get remembered in that time too!
This isn’t a new concept for me either- in university, working out was an integral part of exam prep. I would compile detailed notes that I needed to learn, colour code them, staple them together or put them in a duotang of some kind and bring them onto the elliptical machine with me. The things I read through on the machine seemed to stick with me. My mind was clear, it was 30 minutes devoted entirely to memorization without anything there to distract me, such as MSN, TV, etc. When I started running, the same concept seemed to apply, only without the notes. I remember the things I have reminded myself to do on the treadmill the next day when I get into the office. I can’t tell you what I ate for dinner last night half the time, but I know that yesterday on the treadmill I had 5 things I wanted to take care of first thing Monday morning and they’ve all been done.
So, where do you come up with the good stuff? What’s your thinking place?
P.S. Sorry for the cheesy title. I couldn’t resist;)
Posted to Creativity, Life outside PR
July 9th, 2007 » 2:38 pm
Hi Joscelyn
Nothing beats a long train journey as a good place to collect thoughts. I always carry around a tattered notebook into which I mindmap thoughts and ideas, of which 98% are usually total rubbish. However, I find that 2% of the ideas are pretty good and make their way into my daily to-do list.
I don’t know why, but there’s something quite hypnotic about train travel that you just don’t get in a car or on a bus.
Nice work on the blog, btw – (I am a male gatecrasher!)
July 9th, 2007 » 6:25 pm
In the shower and while shaving. Nothing brings out the subconscious as well as a good rendition of “Singing in the Rain” followed by staring at yourself in the mirror for five minutes.
July 10th, 2007 » 8:36 am
On public transportation. Some of my most inspired ideas come to me on bus rides.
July 10th, 2007 » 10:02 pm
Ideas come in the worst places. While I’m driving I’ll sometimes create a story or column in my mind. Or right when I’m in bed, ready to for some rest – suddenly I’ll have a “brilliant” idea and I’ll force myself to get up.
Thankfully I’ve learned to carry with me a journalist’s best friends; note-pad and tape recorder. Now I at least have a way of trapping those thoughts when they come.
July 10th, 2007 » 10:48 pm
I’m with Joe on the shower thing – inspiration often strikes just as the shampoo hits your eyes. I also keep a notebook and pencil on the bedside table – some of my best ideas and “must blog that” moments seem to strike either as I’m drifting off to sleep, or hitting the snooze button for the third time in the morning.