IdeasInTheShower

It always seems to happen that the first useful thought of the day happens while I'm in the shower. Three quarters of these thoughts get displaced by less useful thoughts by the time I'm out of the shower and dry enough to start writing. Some thoughts, like "need new shampoo", have to happen several days in a row before my brain will retain them long enough to dry off and acquire pen and paper.

I've heard several techniques for capturing ideas in the shower, including using a grease pen (messy) or using kids soap crayons (doesn't live up to billing). Someone, and I wish I remembered who so I could thank them, suggested getting a . What a marvelous idea. It's inexpensive, waterproof (duh), reusable, and has a clip that I hook to the soap dish. When I've captured a useful thought, I toss the slate onto the bathroom carpet where I'll see it later while getting dressed. Problem solved.

--DaveSmith 2006.1.30

I tend to remember things that somehow escaped my todo list. I have a pad of paper next to my bed so I can generally remember when I get out the shower.

However, I am violating Jerry's idea from the writing workshop that I should be able to write something whereever I am. --JohannaRothman 2006.05.02

This would be great for swimming, when ideas do pop into my head, and I do sometimes forget them. Jerry mentioned something like it in WoW, and I'd been meaning to ask. (That's on the mornings when I want to think something besides: 37...37..37...38...6 more to go...38...39...gotta be done by 8:00...39...)

Surely not quite everywhere? Writing while driving is a bad idea, for example, whatever good ideas you want to capture. If anyone is planning to do it, could you please tell the rest of us what highways you'll be on and when?

--FionaCharles 2-May-2006

For driving, when I'm alone, I have a small had-operated recorder. Operating it is easy: press a button to start and a button to stop.

And, I have children :-) It's easy if I'm driving a child somewhere to say, "Please take one of those cards and a pen and write this down: ..." I don't remember what I did before my kids could write. -- JohannaRothman 2006.05.03

Damn! I knew there was a reason to have children, and I just forgot!! Oh well -- another opportunity lost. (-:

--FionaCharles 3-May-2006

Maybe those people who don't have very many ideas need to shower more often. - JerryWeinberg 2006.05.14

Updated: Sunday, May 14, 2006