We managed to get in touch with the creator of 'Shower Thoughts', Krit Verma, who was kind enough to have a little chat with us. The founder of the account revealed that the idea to start the social media project came to him while he was doing his Master’s degree in Human Resources. "I came across a lot of people who had similar feelings, and I realized that I am not the only one to think that way," he told Bored Panda. Once Krit created a post to find out if others share the same thoughts, "BAM… there are way more people like us, I found out."

Ever since the account was created in February 2012, it has been steadily growing and inviting people from far and wide to share their findings and participate in entertaining discussions. When it comes to the community, Krit explained they send over quite a few submissions via DMs and email. "But it was never hard to manage because the thoughts they share are way too hilarious (though sometimes not suitable for the audience)," he added. The creator said he reads all of the messages from devoted fans, but only shares the ones that won’t offend other Twitter users who follow the account, or as he calls it, "our family".

When asked about his opinion on why we are so keen on hearing others’ shower thoughts, Krit told us everyone can relate to experiencing these brilliant ideas that range from mundane to genius, and that many people simply "have the same imagination."

Of course, shower thoughts aren’t exclusive to showers. They can happen under many different circumstances when there are no devices or other people to bother you. Yet, there’s something about the warm and comforting surroundings of the shower that make it the perfect place to have these seemingly fleeting moments of brilliance. "Having the wittiest thoughts under the shower is the perfect place because 'you can't lose any arguments there' and those won arguments have the potential to create some of the funniest tweets (only if you are able to filter them appropriately)," Krit added.

As Nancy K. Napier, Ph.D., a Distinguished Professor Emerita at Boise State University and author of Unfolding Curiosity: Wrinkles and Surprises from Business and Beyond told us in an earlier interview, the power of a shower happens because it’s an enclosed space where you do something you don’t have to think about.

"As you wash yourself for those three or five or ten minutes, you can let your mind wander and that's often when an idea will hit. Also, during these times when we're with our families in shutdowns, it might be one of the few chances to be alone with your thoughts," she explained. 

Unfortunately, people find it hard to allow their thoughts to drift since there’s just too much information (music, podcasts, radio) finding their way into our minds. "To have the experience of a wandering mind, we need to intentionally turn OFF the extra information and think about nothing."

"I read recently that taking a walk is another great place for ideas, but the key is to simply walk. Leave the radio and podcasts at home," Napier continued. "Then, while walking, look in three places and ideas will come: look above eye level (at buildings, trees), look straight ahead and look on the ground. I tried this last week and came away with two new ideas."

But as we all know, reaching a still mind is far from an easy task. The professor pointed out that even when we think we’re doing nothing, our brains just keep buzzing. "I've begun strength training and have learned that you should do it one day and then 'rest' the next, to give your muscles time to readjust, recover, and revive," she said. But when we exercise our minds, we often forget to give our thoughts a breather. "I feel that way when I 'do nothing' in my work or thinking — it gives my mind some time to readjust (to not pushing so hard), to recover (from hard work and thinking), and to revive (and play with something that may not have had a chance to pop up)," Napier explained.

If we allow our minds to rest a bit during work hours, Napier suspects that we'll see benefits and perhaps generate new ideas quickly. "Years ago, I worked with a group of faculty members (five of us, very different fields, ways of thinking) to design a new academic program. We started with an empty whiteboard for every meeting. After a few false starts, we learned to trust that we would have some great ideas by the end of each meeting. By removing the expectation and pressure of being creative, we became dramatically more competent at finding ideas. We allowed 'nothing' to be our starting point and that freed us to generate some great (and many not-so-great) ideas," Napier added.

If you find it hard to let your mind wander, the professor explained that luckily, increasing our creativity doesn’t require much effort. She recommended starting out small, maybe with one day a week or in the evenings on the way home. 

"Now that we're working from home more, however, it seems harder to find that clear-cut quiet or 'nothing time,'" she noted. "I've been trying (not fully successfully, I'll admit) to take 30 minutes after my morning work time to just lie down, go into that semi-sleep mode, and boom, good ideas seem to come then. Once again, by giving my brain a little 'downtime,' it continues to work but maybe goes at its own pace and then drops some creativity on its own time."

To become better at doing nothing, Napier advised you to "find activities that don't require heavy thought and use that as a time to let your brain wander; or have a set routine or habit that builds in some snippets of downtime." Several pockets of time that allow the professor to have a distracted mind and let her imaginations run free are her commute, taking a shower, and making coffee or tea.

Moreover, Napier sets the alarm to work for 40 minutes and then stops for 10, using that as downtime. "Some people lie down on a yoga mat and just meditate or sleep; ironing (20 minutes); laundry folding (5-10 minutes). Then, there are the specific gifts of time I offer to myself — when I declare I'll take an hour in the day to look at the clouds or birds."

"I suspect now, more than ever, we need the self-care of doing nothing now and then, and we need to make it something that happens regularly, not just when we're forced into it (when we get sick, injured)," Napier concluded.