I’ve been inspired by the recent blog posts of my colleagues (Ashley, Jen, and Steph) which have focused on finding and establishing a healthy balance in our busy lives. I too have found myself a bit over committed recently, and often struggle to carve out time for myself on a daily basis. A once avid daydreamer, I crave having time to myself…time to think…time for creative thought.
But where is that time now? When I think about where/when my best ideas happen it is either in the car, the shower, or while rocking my kids to sleep. In other words: times when I don’t have a screen to distract me and I’m by myself. Hmmm…
A few times a week, I hop on the treadmill super early in the morning before the day gets going. This typically involves me dragging myself out of bed, sneaking downstairs without waking anyone up, grabbing my iPad to turn on Netflix, and starting my routine. When I started my workout yesterday, I thought “what would this be like if I didn’t watch something while I did it?” So, I gave it a try.
What did I find? First- as any new mom will tell you- time to be with yourself is a huge gift. It was rejuvenating to let my thoughts and ideas bounce around with no real agenda. As I walked, I started daydreaming. Some of my daydreams were work related, others not, but I found a sense of freedom in this experience. Gradually I felt that some of my daydreams became ideas so good that I didn’t want to “lose them” so I grabbed my phone, did some “speech to text” emails to myself, and kept on daydreaming. When the workout ended I felt centered, creative, and excited to start the day.
This experiment got me thinking more deeply about the correlation between physical movement and creative thought, something I’m now more curious about. Does carving out time for yourself + movement = creative thought? For me, I think so!