I was recently turned onto the psychology term “flow”. It’s a mental state where a person is so completely immersed in an activity, they enter into a state of pure focus and concentration where time has no meaning and bodily needs (rest, food, etc.) are essentially ignored. I’m familiar with the concept from the more common descriptions like being in the zone, being present, or being in the moment.
For creatives, “getting there” can be very challenging, and the lack of “being there” can be so frustrating that it can prevent any motivation at all to engage in the creative process. But any creative person knows how rewarding it can be when it happens. Hours slip by without notice and productivity flies through the roof. Stuff, good stuff, gets done and it feels great! I’m lucky enough to experience it from time to time, but like many other creatives, I’d love for it to be way more often.
I believe in the idea that you can’t make flow happen, it just does, but I am convinced that there are some things you can do to create the right environment in order to nudge it along. Here are a few:
- Practice meditation – this is a great way to explore the present moment. There are a zillion techniques to learn how to mediate. Most are pretty simple to start with and can be done anywhere. Learning what it feels like to intentionally be in the moment will allow you to call on those feelings when you need to slow down and relax. Even if you simply take a few minutes before engaging in an activity to focus on your breathing, the quiet stillness can prepare you to focus on what’s coming next.
- Remove distractions – we are inundated with distractions all day long. Ten minutes before a calendar event, it’s not uncommon to have a variety of electronic devices begin to buzz and beep. Email alerts, IM chat requests, text messages, and good old-fashioned phone calls can break your focus and end your concentration. That’s not to mention our collective fomo that drives our personal addictions to social media. Well, turn it off (at least for a while). It’s impossible to reach a state of flow if you’re constantly interrupted.
- Be comfortable – make sure your work environment doesn’t cause any unnecessary roadblocks. Take the time to look around and make sure the space you’re working in is conducive to what you’re trying to do. Do you have enough light? Is it too noisy or too quiet? Does your chair make your body sore after a few minutes? Whatever it is that’s preventing you from full immersion, fix it!
This is clearly not an exhaustive list of things you can do to create a better environment for reaching a state of flow. These are just a few simple and free things that you can use to start with. Let me know if you have other ideas, or share them in the comments.
Happy creating!
