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This Week: Open the Back Door
Not long ago a reader commented that muscle-memory activities help her tap into her creativity by allowing the more active parts of her mind to rest. I was thankful that she made the comment, as she put terminology to an idea I have been trying to express regarding the process of idea incubation.
I am still researching the scientific foundation for this principle, but it seems that simple activities like folding laundry, mowing, sorting bills, filing paperwork, and even cooking an easy dinner allow the active, problem-solving part of the mind to rest, opening the subconscious “back door,” and allowing creative ideas to develop and work themselves out.
This morning, for example, I was literally turning my house upside down looking for an important piece of paper that I thought my husband had misplaced. Finally, I decided I should let it go, that the world wouldn’t fall apart without it, and I should move on with my day. I started to take out the recycling and then thought, “No, don’t ever take out the trash when you’re looking for something.” So, instead, I began the very mundane task of making a batch of detergent (so homesteader-ish of me, I know).
Thirty minutes later my mind was clear, and the missing piece of paper was at the back of my mind. I needed to throw a box away, noticed again that the recycling needed to be taken out and thought, “Well, I’ll just sort through this now.” And there it was – stuck to the back of a piece of junk mail and torn into five pieces – but there it was.
I’m not saying that my search for the Missing Piece of Paper can compare to any great problem solving task, but I was really racking my brain trying to figure out what happened. When I let it go and worked on a less-intense muscle memory task instead, I was able to really step back and see something I had overlooked before.
And that is what idea incubation is really about – letting your active mind rest and relax long enough to allow your subconscious mind to get to work.
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