Shower Time!
If you’re like most small business owners – whether you’re solopreneur or commanding scores of employees – you’re consumed with business of running your business.
Doesn’t leave a lot of time to contemplate your biz. Let alone strategize, plan or deal with any of the tasks necessary to grow.
And you need that time. That “creative time.” When you deconstruct problems, reason out solutions and plot strategy.
Making Time for Marketing
When it comes to time management struggles, marketing in particular is a task that often falls to the bottom of the pile. Plus, it’s an area of your business that requires real thought. It’s by no means a rout, repetitive task can you just breeze through on auto-pilot.
The key, of course, is to set aside time in your busy schedule. No matter how busy your schedule might be.
But this still presents a challenge…
It’s Tough to Schedule Creativity
You can’t necessarily schedule a “time to be creative” appointment into your daily calendar. These things don’t work in such a rigid fashion.
Imagine checking your Outlook calendar… “Oh it’s 10:30am on Wednesday, time to BE CREATIVE!” It’s just not an approach likely to generate much inspiration.
How to Find Time to Be Creative
More than likely, you engage in regular activities that allow your mind to wander, as the Beatle’s said in Fixing a Hole, “where it will go.”
You can increase your “creative output” by working more of these “mind wandering” activities into your schedule. And then taking advantage of the mindset that results.
Allowing Your Mind to Wander
Shower Time… These activities are different for each person. For example, the title of this post isn’t literally suggesting you need more shower time to grow your business. It’s actually a reference to the fact that I do some of my “best thinking” in the shower.
The shower in particular has been lauded for its free form thought stimulating powers. The warm water cascading over you puts your body and mind at ease. And the uncluttered, neutral colored space is distraction free. It’s a clean slate that allows you mind to wander (where it will go) and assemble the puzzle pieces floating through your consciousness.
Runners High… Of course the shower’s not the only place that allows your mind to wander. Many, myself included, find similar mental release in running and other exercises.
Sleep Learning… The moments before falling asleep, when you mind is the most open to suggestion, and right after waking up, when your mind is the clearest of any point in the day, are also prime creative moments.
These are just a few things examples that work for me. The point is I’ve learned to capitalize on these moments — I tune in, take note, and record the results.
Tune Into Your Creativity & Record the Results
Here’s a formula that can help you increase your creative output…
=Figure it out what activities or moments in your day let your mind of the leash and start paying more attention to your thoughts during those times.
=Hang on to the gems that bubble up.
=Keep a notebook or your phone tucked into the pocket of your gym shorts, on the toilet tank outside the shower, or on your bedside table.
=When something really strikes you, write it down in your notebook or record a voice memo on your phone.
The more you free your mind to wander, the greater it will expand, and the more gems you’ll excavate.
When do You Do Your “Best Thinking?”
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