Creative people get ideas at unexpected times in unexpected places. However, at one point, these places become repetitive. The following are some of the most relevant (in reverse order of magnitude):
-Driving: while driving down to work my brain goes to lala land and boom! New idea!
-Watching sports: second inning, home 0-0 visitors, there's a discussion on the pitching mound... mount? Mount Everest? Discussion? Fight? Gun shots! Idea!
-Meetings: "This way we can solve the problem X by introducing Y and Z smaller problems." Fixing problems with problems? X, Y, Z? Conflict between letters X, Y and Z! Bingo!
-Listening to endless monologue: "Today I ate a hamburger, not any type of hamburger, but a cheeseburger. At first I thought it was just another regular burger but, oh boy!, this one came with cheese, and not only that bla bla bla bla--," deaf ears, deaf brain, wandering... Idea! Oh, yeah!
-The loo: guess where I thought about this idea? Duh, yeah?