"Honey i am Thinking..errr Shaving!!"
I am in my most potent mode of thinking when i am doing the morning shave for getting ready to leave for office. This fact about a very normal morning chore has intrigued me for several years now. It is the moment of the day when i am 'forced' to look at myself in the mirror (i know there exists a breed of men who can do it without a mirror) and reflect on many things that either come randomly or are immediate priorities. Let me explain this phenonmenon in a little more detail and you may have to visualize this in your own context in case you also go through similar feelings.
I wake up on a regular monday morning and as usual there are tasks lined up for me for the day - things that i have to accompolish, achievements i have report, pick up the car from the service station, prepare for the final consulting presentation, pay my rent etc etc etc....and yeah do something special for my wife while i get a day older in my life!! Obviously enough, the content for each day can be different and there could be many things to think about or just a couple of pressing issues that need the focused devotion of the grey cells. But whatever be the content, the mind is working fast in trying to solve the issues. It is as if it realizes that it needs to get the puzzle solved within 10 minutes (lets say a man takes an average of 10 minutes to shave). And yes...i am convinced that i am able to organize my thoughts better and my action plan for the day in those 10 minutes than when i am sitting in my office desk or waiting for boarding at an airline gate. Even in my growing up years when i was waiting for the first signs of my beard i used to observe my Father (he is no more now..). It used to be a dreadful time....I have been brought up in a strict parenting environment where it was important to get up early in the day and do the right things. My father would let out the instructions to the entire family with his half shaven beard and with the foam still on. I never got it then as to why would he take almost half an hour just to shave his beard. The real reason as i understand it now has to be related to the thinking angle.

I am not the first genius in the planet to say this...i have heard and also read at some places that many people do their best thinking while taking a shower or sitting on the throne (toilet). Some hypothesize that it has something to do with "thinking better" when your body is free of constrictions (clothing)? Well....i am usually not in my birthday suit when i am shaving..so this does not answer my question. I have also heard of some research on ideas and creativity where it was found that most people have their most creative ideas away from the job environment. When asked, they said that they do their best thinking while in the shower, while shaving, while in bed early in the morning or just before drifting off to sleep, in the car and when out walking. Few people mention that they have great ideas while at work. The central theme from such empirical evidence is that the mind in a job location or any other scenario is either too busy or not relaxed enough.

Again, it is not what i am saying that is any bit interesting as you may be either already knowing this or must have observed these feelings anyway. What is interesting really is how i have been able to leverage this phenonmenon in a deliberate fashion. So now, i actually like to shave every morning and line up my priorities that needs help from the top few inches of my physical existance. It really has been helpful...i am wondering if somehow this can be used by corporations, sports experts, psychologists etc for either treatment or creativity purposes???