How the power of sleep thinking can help you make better decisions

Hi I’m Penny, creative coach and maker. I want to help you make the most of your creativity, whether that’s just for fun, or to make a living.

Have you ever been worrying away at a problem, only to wake up the next morning with a solution in mind?

This is Sleep Thinking; a very powerful tool.

The most important thing to remember is you can do this deliberately with any problem, and it’s great for creative work. However, it can take a little practice, so maybe start with a smaller problem and work up.

The idea is to deliberately tell yourself what problem you are trying to solve just before bed.

Maybe you’re not sure what should happen next in your novel. Maybe you’re not happy with the composition of your painting.

Bring the question to yourself as you lie there in bed, make it really clear what you need to work out, then go to sleep.

In the morning, as you wake, think back to your problem, do you have an answer?

It can take a couple of goes, but when it works the answer feels like it was there the whole time.

You can use this for other things too.

Last weekend I got locked out of my iPad. It wanted the passcode and for the life of me I couldn’t remember what it was. I went to bed with the very clear instruction that I needed to remember the code, and when I woke up the next morning, it was sitting at the front of my mind, perfect and ready to use.

The only other thing you need to do, is make sure you can make use of this thought straight away. Leaving it until later in your day, may well mean you forget some of the detail or even the whole thought. At least leave time to write it down, even if you don’t have time to work on your craft right there and then.

Have a go. You might be surprised where your mind takes you.

Three questions to ask yourself now:

• What solutions are you looking for?

• Can you schedule time first thing to use these new ideas straight away?

• What would stop your trying this?

If those feel too hard to answer on your own, but you feel like an answer is important, then that’s when a creative coach can come in. Contact me!