Good ideas rarely come to us exactly at the time that we need them. Normally it takes some time and reflection. Often we even need to “let it soak” by stepping away from the problem and changing our focus to something unrelated, and then brilliance can hit us with valuable ideas we have been searching for.

Have you ever discovered great ideas for solving a problem when you were focused on something else, like taking a shower, preparing a meal or just waking up in the morning?

Taking time to live life will only inspire your work. — Unknown.

This happens to me quite often and I have learned to take advantage of this by stepping away from problems when I get stuck looking for good ideas for solutions. I do make sure I can capture the ideas when they surface because they often come when I am not expecting them.

This works because sometimes our mind needs to be able to dip into the sub-conscience part of ourselves to find brilliance. We need to be relaxed for this to happen and when we are focused on a problem and stressing ourselves to solve it, we get stuck, frustrated and effective thinking is hindered.

Watch this Ted presentation about the power of slowing down and reflecting by Carl Honoré.

Carl Honore: In praise of slowness https://youtu.be/UhXiHJ8vfuk

I also think this works because when we get stuck, we are working on a level of thinking that will not provide the kinds of ideas we need for a solution. We need to get to a different level of thinking or approach the problem from a different angle. This often will allow us to find the ideas that was alluding us.

We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we did when we created them.

– Albert Einstein

If I had 60 minutes to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes defining it, and 5 minutes solving it.

– Albert Einstein