It seems like everyone had experienced suddenly thought of a really cool idea or plan when they were taking a shower, taking a relaxing walk, or whenever the brain was not in the focus state.
Actually, there is an explanation. Watch this video below. I highly recommend it if you haven't watched it before.
It explains that,
Our brain will come up with fantastic ideas and plans when we relax and aren't thinking about anything.
"Not thinking about anything" is a condition that we usually know as "bored". Yeah, it sounds quiet negative. It doesn't feel very productive, because we think there must be something we can do instead of being idle and just lying on the sofa.
So we keep being busy, keep on opening the laptop, scrolling Twitter for fear of missing out on information, and a myriad of other activities that keep our brains working to avoid being "bored".
Even though, in fact, if our brains are forced to be busy and work continuously, it will not have the opportunity to process the inputs that we have received, and produce ideas and plans that can be useful for us.
I myself really feel the effects of this boredom. Actually, almost all of my writings come from my brain when I'm not using it for challenging tasks, and then suddenly thoughts-that-are-a-pity-to-be-forgotten come, which I finally write and share here.
Once, I was really focused on completing an online course for a month, and in that month, I finally didn't write any single post like this. And I just realized that it is the reason. I didn't give my brain its "me time".
But too much boredom is also not good, for sure. We still need input, such as reading a book, learning new things, or completing an online course. Because our brains need materials to be processed.
Also try to complete our work as much as possible, so that we can set aside time for "boring". Focus. Don't put your cellphone nearby when you're working. Research says that our brain can only focus 40 seconds when a phone is near us.
But why are we so easily tempted to open our phones? Because our brains really like things that are fun and easy to do. That's our natural behavior. But we can try to break free from our phones every now and then to get rid of the reflex habit of opening our phones when our hands are empty.
There is a term scatter focus, which means "bored" on purpose. We can do this instead of keep scrolling our phones, letting our brains wander while generating ideas for us. See also dopamine detox.
If you're stuck doing something, try forcing yourself to go for a walk so that your brain can also go, see your problem from another point of view, and ✨, suddenly the solution is found for you.
Embrace the boredom!