Driving, sometimes walking or cycling. Something very different about the way the brain works when it is engaged in movement or coordination and receiving dynamic visual/sensory input.

In the shower 🚿 and at 4am when I should be 😴💤 😂😂 I can't say I've had great ideas when I was bathing my kids. We usually had baths not showers and my mind was focused in the moment on play/fun time (lots of bath toys and giggles) so that's not a time when mind would wander. But my own showers and/or bathtime are where great ideas would emerge, for sure. Another time would be long walks in nature.

running, walking, reading, and writing.

i’m starting to write more lately, it’s much harder than reading but seems to generate more actionable, battle-tested ideas for me.

Ultimately God.

It's funny how my best ideas always come to me when I'm about to fall asleep!

Inputs: reading, working on things strikes my fancy without care for an outcome other than learning, and talking to people.

Outputs come all the time.

Work on a problem very hard. Focus on the details.

Then go for a walk. I'll somehow keep thinking about the problem but in a more random way. I'll make unexpected connections and find inspiration.

Sleeping helps too instead of going for a walk.

Did you finish watching the Learning how to learn course? I guess that's what stimulated this question ;)

My ideas mostly come when I'm taking a walk. There are other activities, but walking activates much

After graduate school scrambled my brain, many of my best ideas are things I realize I used to know and understand.

Reading. Especially academic papers or research reports. Often, through serendipity, you’ll read something (some small tidbit) that you never knew before and it will take you on a delightful voyage of discovery.

Funny you should ask just as I've retired to my idea parlor. When I feel like this, I come here to allow my muse to speak. I'm surrounded now by dark polished wood and brass, thousands of books, a solid oak desk, leather couch and recliner and mini fridge stocked with a variety of juices and diet sodas. My muse will be here soon. It never occurred to me that people had good ideas anywhere else!

Mostly around water and listening to music. Ideas have never been a problem for me, I have too many of them. These days just trying to knock out all my childhood dreams I have first. Then will get to the ideas I have in my back pocket.

Doing something mindless - dishes, weeding - while NOT listening to podcasts. And always have a little paper notebook handy, to write down ideas.

(I've temporarily stopped listening to podcasts. I love them, but it was seriously becoming a little bit of an addiction. I'll try podcasts again, maybe while I'm traveling.)

I've never had a problem that sitting alone without distractions for an hour couldn't fix.

lot of inspo on design twitter which i save in my swipe file

Usually when I'm doing something unrelated to whatever I'm trying to accomplish.

You are not alone in having a good idea or insight during a shower. There are some interesting psychological lit and plenty of popular musings about it.

Legend has it that Archimedes had his famous "Eureka!" moment while taking a bath. According to the story, he realized the principle of buoyancy when he observed the water level rising as he got into the bathtub, making him to shout "Eureka!" (Greek for "I have found it!").

For me, driving produces my best ideas. It's a time when I can't be interrupted by others, and the adrenaline of being surrounded by tons of moving death machines keeps me mentally vigilant.

Other than on the road, some of my best thinking occurs as work starts dwindling down. Getting closer to the end of the workday puts my mind into overdrive.

The internet

The woods. Walk a dog or go hunting. Plenty of time to reflect and relax. That's where...

Running in the morning during sunrise.