The Power Of The Shower

The Power of the shower

Looking back on the blogs I have written over the past couple of years, it was sobering to notice that several of them, including my most recent one, seemed to reference the past quite frequently. I like to think that this is my way of sharing the many experiences of my overlong career with others. Nevertheless, I was determined that this next blog would be concerned with the here and now, with the power of the shower.

I am therefore focusing on a topic that is very much of the moment – water shortages. At least, it was of the moment when I first started to think about this blog, but work pressures my side and a certain amount of to-ing and fro-ing down in Westminster, not to mention a change in the seasons, mean water shortages are no longer making the headlines.

Nevertheless, I am going to persevere with the topic, and in the spirit of being (sort of) of the moment, this means there must be no reference to the long hot summer and subsequent drought of 1976.

Then and Now

What actually sparked this blog were the various water-saving tips that experts shared with us over the summer.  One was to reduce the time we spend in the shower to four minutes. That compares to the advice given back in 1976 – when I suppose showers were not as common in many homes -where people were encouraged to bathe in just five inches of water.

Oh dear, I seem to have broken my own rule already. On well, on that basis, I might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb. I recall back then that another piece of water-saving advice (I think this was less government policy and more one of the more popular car stickers of the time) was to ‘Save Water – Bath with a Friend’!

Bath or Shower?

Back to the present, this did get me thinking about the bath vs shower debate and which is preferable. Some people are firmly in one camp or the other but, for me, they are very different experiences, aside from being a means of cleaning oneself.

If I have had a particularly taxing day at work, a heavy session at the gym, been on a run or a long walk – particularly during the cold winter months – a bath is my well-earned treat. It’s a time to relax, to soak away any aches, pains or chills. I might catch up with a book or listen to some music. There could just be a glass of wine by the side. It is all about relaxation and indulgence.

A shower on the other hand is usually my get up and get going routine for the morning. And while the water is pounding down, I find it a great place to order my thoughts, as is the power of the shower.

Positive Thinking

If I’ve woken up with my mind full of the seemingly endless list of tasks on my To Do list, everything starts to fall into place and I can work out a way of prioritising and tackling them.  The introduction to a press release that I have been struggling with becomes clearer. I can map out the key points for an extended feature that I need to write. Ideas for a new client campaign or a new business proposal begin to flow.

All I need now is a waterproof tablet or paper and pen to ensure these moments of inspiration are not lost in the rest of the daily routine before I leave the house.

Water, Water, Everywhere – Again

I therefore salute the shower as an essential part of my daily work routine; and I embrace the bath as one of the best ways to unwind.

The challenge as we move into the colder months is what happens if the drought persists. Will I be able to keep marshalling my thoughts effectively in the shower within the four-minute time limit? And how else can I ease away the stresses and strains of the day without a hot soak?

Nevertheless, as I write this following a couple of days of incessant rain, I am confident that the great British weather will come to my rescue. Indeed, I take comfort from what happened in 1976. Then, the long hot summer led to the passing of the Drought Act – but within days of this, it started to rain; and after a very wet autumn and winter, 1977 was abnormally wet as well.

Oh dear, and it was going so well….