Turning Medium Reads into High-Tech Seats
Why a Toilet Upgrade Will Boost My Writing Career
Confessions From a Toilet Writer
Escape Artist
I have been an escape artist for as long as I can remember. At my best when hiding in a little room, only to reappear at the moment people start questioning where I am. This always surprises my audience. Yes, I even practice during family reunions.
The countless “Where were you?” questions have always remained unanswered. A true escape artist should never reveal his secrets, at least up until now.
Becoming a Medium writer has made me confident in sharing personal stories with this supportive community.
I think the time is right for me to confess.
I’m a toilet writer.
Inspiration
Don’t get me wrong. I haven’t installed a desk area in my bathroom (yet), but this is the place where my inspiration is flowing freely. An inspirational high.
The workflow is almost always the same:
Finding the secret place and remaining unnoticed. Go in and lock the door (important to avoid surprises). Thinking about something I want to write about. A first idea pops into my mind. Great. Rethink. The first idea already refined or completely changed. Think again! I keep re-thinking. And think until there is “no more think in the tank”. Time for the great escape. Come out with a refreshing story.
This in most cases takes me between 10-20 minutes and comes to no effort.
I start making notes or an article draft because otherwise, the story is lost. I’m running on flash memory that gets flushed soon after the toilet visit.
Japanese Toilets
End of last year, I visited Japan for a work-related trip.
I discovered the joy of a Japanese toilet for the first time in a hotel near Narita Airport. Not a fancy one, but equipped with a standard heated seat and two spraying options. The ideal introductory model for getting acquainted with this Japanese specialty.
Later on this trip, I came across different Japanese toilets, each with its own level of advanced technology. They all transformed my toilet retreats into sessions of next-level creativity.
Heated seats, relaxing sounds and a sense of serenity I had never felt before took my thinking process to new heights.
It was as if the equipped features were not only designed for comfort but also to inspire.
Toilet Upgrade
Coming back from the trip to Japan, two things felt highly uncomfortable and confronting:
- The food on the flight back was served with fork and knife while I was expecting chopsticks
- The toilet seat at home was cold
It seemed as if my inspiration greatly suffered from these inconveniences. While my level of inspiration had reached the summit of Mount Fuji just a few days before, I was now close to sea level, with the risk of drowning.
Could this be the start of writer’s block? Did I leave my inspiration at the last toilet visit in Japan? Or did I merely stretch time* during my Japan trip, and were the extra experiences resulting in a higher level of inspiration? There’s only one way to find out.
I need a toilet upgrade!
Thank You!
And so here I am, shivering on a cold toilet seat and low on inspiration but ready for action!
The earnings for this Medium post will serve as funding for a high-tech Japanese toilet.
Based on the earnings from my most popular post, I’m only 25 years away from this full upgrade. Until then, please be patient with me, as there are obvious reasons why my writing career hasn’t taken off just yet.
Now, I’m curious: have you used a high-tech toilet, and what ignites your creative spark? Share your stories in the comments!
Thanks for reading until the end.
References *
To stretch time, you need to be having as many new experiences as possible — Annie Trevaskis
Full disclosure: This article is AI-assisted. I wrote the entire content myself but used ChatGPT and/or Gemini to provide a clear structure for my writing, as I am a non-native writer. I also used DALL-E to generate AI images to complement the content. Additionally, I am thankfull for COF-FEE, which keeps me writing. Thank you!