 Why does it work better than a meeting?
First off, no, we’re not saying that brainstorming in the shower is a group activity. Wrong blog. But we will compare it to traditional group activities—meetings, teleconferences, vid chats—and see how it stacks up. But before we do that, 1) let’s define just what “brainstorming in the shower” is, and 2) extol some of its many benefits. You want me to what? If you’re faced with a creative challenge—anything from taglines to product names to creative concepts—you can often do a far better job, well, underwater. Next time you’ve got one of these items on your to-do list, make the effort to pair it with your daily ablution. It can be a shower. It can be a bath. The important thing is that it’s private, uninterruptable, and relaxing. Bring a diver’s slate. We’ve talked about these before. It’s a little piece of waterproof plastic with a roughened surface that you can write on with an ordinary pencil, even underwater, and then easily erase afterward. Get the water going—and then get the creative juices flowing. Ask yourself what the challenge is. Then start thinking up answers, and jotting them down on the diver’s slate. Simple as that. What’s so great about it? There are basic tenets of successful brainstorming, such as “Don’t pre-judge” and “Go for quantity.” But both predicate upon coming up with that quantity of ideas in the first place that you shouldn’t pre-judge. We live in a world of distractions. Phone calls, text messages, meetings, traffic, co-workers, radio and television… it’s an onslaught. To underscore that point—right after penning that sentence, we got a phone call, followed by a text message. Honestly. So where were we…? Oh, right. Avoiding distractions! Sure, you could try to escape to your own Walden Pond/writer’s retreat, but why try and carve out the time and expense for that when you have your own solution right in the master bath? The idea here is simply to repurpose the venue. If it’s not obvious, here are the big advantages of brainstorming in the shower: You get no interruptions. No distractions. You’re as relaxed as you can be. (And you end up clean! Such a bonus!) It might not seem like much, on paper, but once you’ve tried it, and seen, firsthand, just how amazing the results are, you won’t appreciate it. Contrast: Traditional brainstorming meetings We don’t want to say that these have no merit or purpose. They do. But a group setting necessarily falls prey to personality bias—the extroverts will drown out (or downright intimidate into silence) the introverts, quashing perfectly good ideas before they can air. The distractions—even in a walled-off conference room—can still intrude, whether it’s loud conversation leaking in from an adjoining room, or someone else in the room talking while you’re trying to think and free-associate. And the relaxation factor? Forget it. You’re still dressed and primped for a meeting, you’re still burning energy trying to observe meeting etiquette, you’re forced to accommodate the meeting’s rhythm (not to mention cut-off time) and not your own. It simply doesn’t compare. Time to lather up! This is such a great, fun, risk-free, and productive technique that you simply have to try it. It will also make you think twice the next time you see that brilliant ad campaign, commerical, concept, or tagline… do you think it was created there? Let us know what you think!
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