Travelling time is often seen as wasted time.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
If you’ve got a choice, picking certain forms of transport can stimulate the mind and make sure your hours in transit are well spent.
These are my top five forms of transport for promoting creativity.
And in a nod to my old DJ days, they're in reverse countdown order, Top of the Pops style, of course…
5. Ship or boat
It might be the sedate pace, but I’ve always found travelling on the water gets my mind moving.
From my time in Devon and Cornwall, taking a boat across the roiling Plym, the magnificent Exe estuary, or mighty River Fal, never fails to stir the grey cells.
10 years ago, I taught writing on a cruise down to the equator and found I returned with a notebook full of ideas.
I found jogging around the deck as the tropical sun set particularly inspiring.
The only downside was it took a couple of days to get over the seasickness before the brain started working!
(The picture of a much younger me is from a fancy dress night on the cruise on the theme of Britishness, if you're wondering.)
4. Bike
Again, this might be due to the pace of my travel, but in this case combined with some exercise to get the brain cells going.
I cycle around Cambridge at a speed such that I can get overtaken by octogenarians using a Zimmer frame, and that’s not just because I’m far from an Olympic cyclist…
It’s partly self preservation: you can need your wits about you to survive.
But it’s mostly because I find leaving space and time to pedal sedately helps my mind wander free to work on any problems or challenges I’m facing.
3. Scooter
I don’t mean Vespa or Lambretta here, although they are on my wish list for the next few years.
Teenage memories of my days in the Mod revival of the 1980s die hard!
I’m talking about electric scooters, the like of which we have hundreds in Cambridge.
If I’m travelling a little further afield in the city than my usual cycle range, I do enjoy a scooter ride.
It might be the rush of speed (much faster than I tend to cycle, although 15 mph maximum!), but there’s something about standing aloft on a scooter which helps my brain to work.
If you get the chance to use one, I would recommend it.
It feels like an adventure, and being young again.
As well as helping to prompt your creativity, of course.
2. Train
When I sat down to think about this blog, I expected train travel to be at number one.
I’ve always loved it.
Settling into your seat, having a coffee, watching the scenery, the clickety-clack of the train on the track (thank you Neil Diamond for that one: I did warn you I used to be a DJ), they all make me relax and help my mind to roam free.
I’ve had some of my best ideas on a train, like this week when I travelled to run a business communications workshop for the Confederation of British industry (CBI).
I had ideas for a new lecture course, book, blog, podcast, and venture for Creative Warehouse, all inside 30 minutes of getting underway.
It’s where the idea for this blog came from, in fact.
But, on reflection, the railways were pipped for first place by the obvious winner…
1. Walking
My absolute number one choice for stimulating your creativity is simple yet so effective…
Walking.
Getting out into the open air, listening to the sounds around you, the grass under your feet, drawing the air into your lungs…
It isn’t long before the mind is wandering and the ideas are happily coming.
I used to always listen to music when I walked, but I don’t so often now.
I find that way it gives my brain more freedom to play.
There are also the other pleasing appeals of walking being the greenest and healthiest form of travel.
Incidentally, if you’re wondering, yes, I do sort of count running as part of walking.
Not least because the speeds I reach for both are pretty much indistinguishable!
If I’ve got a problem to solve, or I’m facing a challenge, I can usually guarantee I'll have made strong progress on it within half an hour of a good walk.
Hence its place at number one in the most creative ways to travel.
So those are my top five forms of transport for promoting creativity.
Do you agree or disagree?
Have I missed one out? Or got the order completely wrong?
Do let me know in the comments. I’d be fascinated to hear from you.