#ThinkfullyHabit: Stretch your legs, stretch your mind
Take more walks. Leave all distractions behind. Don’t think about anything in particular, but once you’re back, consider what ideas crossed your mind.
It can be really helpful to mull ideas over to help prime for 'ah-ha' moments.
WHY?
Exercise is a great way to get the blood flowing to your brain. Take a look at these brain scans* after sitting quietly for 20 minutes compared to walking for 20 minutes where the brain is firing with neuro-electrical activity;
And it can be important for getting to new ideas.
Stanford researchers Oppezzo and Schwartz** asked people to think of new ideas while sitting at a desk or walking on a treadmill at a comfortable pace. They found that people came up with more creative ideas while walking rather than while sitting. That’s not all – the benefits of this carried on for a while afterwards, meaning that even when people sat down after walking, they did better than those who sat the whole time. So even if you don’t have great ideas in the moment while walking, you may well do afterwards!
“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”