It’s more than that if you have ADHD or are on the spectrum. Repetitive activities help upregulate the brain in ways that allow for these sorts of random connections between seemingly disparate data to happen more reliably. Some people think better when fidgeting, walking, brushing teeth, washing their hair, walking through doorways.

I went through a particularly dangerous phase in college where ideas would come to me while I was crossing the street. I used to joke that if I wasn’t careful my best idea would end up getting me run over by a bus.