I believe you have an experience that a brilliant idea came out of blue when you were doing some unrelated task to it – for example, while you were cooking, walking, driving, watching TV, etc. It seems that ‘A-ha!’ moment comes when your mind is not focusing on the matter.
Many personal development coaches and inspiring leaders mention about the Golden Hour. It indicates the first hour or so when you wake up, typically in the morning.
The research team of Mareike Wieth of Albion College and Rose Sacks of Michigan State University tested 428 students to assess their problem solving ability. They were asked to solve both the problems that required original, creative thinking and the ones that didn’t such as math test. The ones who did well with the non-creative problem solving in the morning, those who identified themselves as morning persons, actually did better in the evening to solve the tasks that required creativity. The ‘night persons’ did the opposite; they did well to solve the math and language test in the evening while performed well in the morning with the “insight”-based problem solving.
This result tells that your Golden Hour is not necessarily in the morning. However, it is clear that the inspiring, creative ideas come almost unexpectedly when you are not so awake and energetic. That’s why the time right after your sleep is one of the best time to find the out-of-the-box answers.
This out-of-the-box thinking is often the breakthrough of a seemingly-impossible problem. Albert Einstein says “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”. We can access the new idea when we are free from the old thinking.
So what can you do?
Find the time you are not productive. Instead of feeling frustrated with it, consider it is a potential discovery time. Write down when the inspiration comes. Do not let IT go.
Personally I try to wake up 30 minutes earlier than the time I need to. This extra morning time gives me a lot of inspiration and energy to go through the day and life ahead.
Be aware of your Golden Hour. It is worth it to pay attention.