Your best ideas usually appear once you stop trying so hard.
But first, remember the story of Archimedes, who famously ran naked through the streets of ancient Greece, shouting, “Eureka!”
He’d been tasked by the king of Syracuse to test the composition of his new gold crown, suspecting it may have been laced with silver.
Archimedes had been panicking for weeks about how to do this without breaking the damn thing.
Until one day, he noticed that as he stepped out of his bathtub, the water level dropped.
In that moment, he realised that if he placed the crown in a similar bathtub and it displaced more water than a block of gold of the same weight, it had to be bigger than that block, and therefore couldn’t be made of pure gold.
Having finally solved the problem, Archimedes stormed out of his bathroom and into the city, screaming: “Eureka! I’ve found it!”
Whether the good citizens of Syracuse got to see his crown jewels in the process is still up for debate.
What isn’t up for debate is that he solved a difficult puzzle at the exact moment he stopped trying to force the answer.
The same thing happens when it comes to solving work challenges, career decisions, and moments where you feel stuck in life.
The power of diffuse thinking
Archimedes didn’t suddenly become smarter in his bath; it's just that his brain had switched into a different mode of thinking.
What helped him untangle his thoughts wasn’t putting in more effort.
In a process called diffuse thinking, he did the opposite.
Diffuse thinking, or, as I like to call it, deliberate daydreaming, kicks in once you stop attacking a problem head-on and give your brain some slack.
Activating it requires a routine, low-effort activity that occupies your mind somewhat, but without demanding much of your attention.
In this state of relaxed routine, old ideas can mix with new ones, and unrelated things start to fit together.
Low-level physical repetition is important because steady movement and predictable actions stabilise your attention without consuming it, giving your mind the space to wander.
Showering is a great one, as is ironing, mowing the lawn, knitting, light cycling, a boring commute, or eating lunch on your own without having your phone nearby.
However, scrolling Instagram or listening to a podcast won’t get you there because it takes up too much of bandwidth for diffuse thinking to properly kick in.
Here are a few steps to get you into a diffuse thinking state.
1. Pick a theme
Start by formulating the specific challenge you want to focus on in one sentence. For example, how do I solve this conflict with my manager? Or, what would success look like for me by the end of 2026?
Then, decide upfront where your mind is not allowed to go.
For example, “How do I handle this with my manager without getting angry?” or What would success look like for me by the end of 2026, assuming my current financial commitments don’t change?”
2. Choose an easy activity
Now pick something repetitive that engages your body but doesn’t require much concentration, like walking a boring route, a light mobility/stretching routine, or gently swimming laps in the local pool, or any of the activities I mentioned earlier.
Whichever activity you choose, it should feel familiar rather than novel.
3. Remove all input
That means absolutely no phone, podcasts or music (other than maybe some binaural beats).
If you feel slightly restless or impatient, it means you’re doing it right because that discomfort signals your internal control system powering down.
Diffuse thinking only works in solitude because too much external input keeps your brain reacting rather than connecting.
You can still be surrounded by people, as long as they’re not talking to you.
4. Give your mind a single prompt
To keep yourself on track, repeat one simple question every so often, like: “What am I missing?” or “What would make this easier?”
That question acts as a loose boundary, giving your mind something to play with so it doesn’t wander too far.
Don’t try to answer it directly, but instead, let your thoughts brush up against it lightly like a feather, curious and playful rather than tight or forced.
5. Capture fast, not pretty
When ideas arrive, they’ll usually come half-formed.
Simply write down the headline thought or insight, and don’t get tempted to elaborate too much, as this will take you out of diffuse mode.
6. Purposely switch modes again
Whenever you feel ready, consciously exit diffuse-thinking mode and switch to focused thinking to decide what's next.
Diffuse thinking will help you generate ideas, but you'll still need to do the focused thinking to move those ideas forward.
7. Try it out
Find just one 15-minute slot every day to do some of this deliberate daydreaming, and you’ll be surprised by how beneficial it is for your creative and big picture thinking.
Feel free to let me know how it goes.
