I took a stand-up comedy course a couple of years ago. I found out that it takes a long time to come up with material. You can't just sit down and start writing jokes. They come when they are ready and you'd better be ready to write them down.

When I had some time in the evenings to come up with material I would sit at home without much inspiration. However, I found that when I walked to the convenience store to get a snack, I would inevitably return with at least one new joke idea, maybe more.

Walking was such a predictably good way to loosen up my creativity that when I got stuck I would head for the door and tell my wife, "I'm going to the convenience store to buy a joke."