It happens to us all, some more than others. After a long, exhausting day where we feel we have accomplished nothing at all, the best idea has hit us. And you may not have just one great idea. It can be three, four, or five!
Why Does This Happen?
The best ideas come when you rest because your mind is finally open. You are no longer worried about perfections and every idea can be a great one. You are not multitasking and pushing ideas and plans to the back burner because you are simply too busy to deal with them. Once you lay down, it’s playtime for your brain.
So What Do You Do?
You know this will happen, so be prepared. Should you:
- Get out of bed and work furiously on organizing your thoughts?
- Or should you lie in bed wide awake wishing this had happened four hours sooner?
I have two methods for those great idea nights. I keep a sticky note pad on my nightstand. I know if I keep a journal of some type, it’ll disappear to my desk and not make its way back to my room. A sticky note is perfect because I can write just one or two keywords down and know exactly what I meant the next day. I also don’t need to turn the light on just by sticking to a few words. When I get up, I can stick the note on my laptop and continue with my morning until it’s time to work.
My second method is my trusty phone. My phone knows more about me than I do. If I’m conscious enough, I’ll either send myself an email with my thoughts by using the voice command on my phone. I also have my organizer, Trello, on my phone, so I can “assign” something for myself to do in the morning.
So, you can find a way to prevent yourself from getting out of bed and losing your REM state totally. You can get off your mind that wonderful thought and get back to sleep.
