“Unfortunately,” I replied, “I have to do something whose time comes in short units, like browsing the Web or watching short videos, because I might become able to work again at any time, and I can’t predict when—”
I had a similar problem during my PhD. Basically I had to be a workaholic in order to get through it. However, I still wanted to have some kind of life and occasionally relax my brain. I found that when I tried to watch a DVD, I would either have an idea, or I would start feeling guilty about not working. And then I’d stop watching the DVD. Gradually this made me not want to watch films any more, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to sit through the film in a single sitting without having either workaholic guilt, or a distractingly useful idea.
My solution was cinemas. Whenever I felt like I needed a distraction, I would go the cinema with some friends. By paying actual cash and having only a fixed time available to ‘enjoy myself’, my brain somehow decided ‘well, I’m not going to waste this money by walking out to do some work!’. So, I was able to enjoy full length films without considering the possibility of working.
I took a notebook in my pocket, of course, in case a truly amazing idea came mid-film, but thankfully it never did. Besides, the shower room proved to be a reliable source of ideas … I just wish someone could invent a decent waterproof notepad :-)
I can also recommend vigourous exercise such as martial arts. Although you sacrifice time, you gain improved health and mood, and that’s important for the long run...
Although it has been years, and Anonymous may never see this, I just want to point out to any future readers that have their best thoughts in the shower that decent waterproof notepads now exist. “AquaNotes” is one I have tried, and it works exactly as advertised. And the paper isn’t unreasonably thick either...
You need a good pen too, since most won’t write underwater. Divers use the same sorts of space pens that NASA does, or similar designs that take the same ink cartridges. They can write in boiling water or in Antarctic temperatures, or even upside down. I have one, but have not tested these claims yet.
As a side note, it’s a common misconception that the space pen was developed by NASA. There’s an old joke that NASA spent millions or billions to develop a pen which would work without gravity, while the Russians used a pencil. In reality, pencils were used by both space agencies, but they create lots of graphite dust which damages sensitive electronics and clogs air filters in the life support system. The Fisher space pen was developed on their own dime, and they were sold to NASA for $6 apiece. After the deaths in the Apollo 1 fire, NASA was eager to remove all flammable materials such as pencils from high oxygen environment inside space capsules.
I had a similar problem during my PhD. Basically I had to be a workaholic in order to get through it. However, I still wanted to have some kind of life and occasionally relax my brain. I found that when I tried to watch a DVD, I would either have an idea, or I would start feeling guilty about not working. And then I’d stop watching the DVD. Gradually this made me not want to watch films any more, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to sit through the film in a single sitting without having either workaholic guilt, or a distractingly useful idea.
My solution was cinemas. Whenever I felt like I needed a distraction, I would go the cinema with some friends. By paying actual cash and having only a fixed time available to ‘enjoy myself’, my brain somehow decided ‘well, I’m not going to waste this money by walking out to do some work!’. So, I was able to enjoy full length films without considering the possibility of working.
I took a notebook in my pocket, of course, in case a truly amazing idea came mid-film, but thankfully it never did. Besides, the shower room proved to be a reliable source of ideas … I just wish someone could invent a decent waterproof notepad :-)
I can also recommend vigourous exercise such as martial arts. Although you sacrifice time, you gain improved health and mood, and that’s important for the long run...
Anonymous.
Although it has been years, and Anonymous may never see this, I just want to point out to any future readers that have their best thoughts in the shower that decent waterproof notepads now exist. “AquaNotes” is one I have tried, and it works exactly as advertised. And the paper isn’t unreasonably thick either...
You need a good pen too, since most won’t write underwater. Divers use the same sorts of space pens that NASA does, or similar designs that take the same ink cartridges. They can write in boiling water or in Antarctic temperatures, or even upside down. I have one, but have not tested these claims yet.
As a side note, it’s a common misconception that the space pen was developed by NASA. There’s an old joke that NASA spent millions or billions to develop a pen which would work without gravity, while the Russians used a pencil. In reality, pencils were used by both space agencies, but they create lots of graphite dust which damages sensitive electronics and clogs air filters in the life support system. The Fisher space pen was developed on their own dime, and they were sold to NASA for $6 apiece. After the deaths in the Apollo 1 fire, NASA was eager to remove all flammable materials such as pencils from high oxygen environment inside space capsules.
Every scuba diver has a plastic plate and pencil for communicating anything more complicated than what ordinary hand signs will do...
Alas, I fear that the very presence of such a notepad would eliminate whatever feature it is of showers that make them such frequent idea-generators.
You’d think so, but it’s quite the opposite for me!
Although it has been over a decade, decent waterproof phone mounts now exist, too.