How To Achieve The ‘Flow State’ More Often

Hint: It’s easier than you think

Tapping into Flow

You sit down to write. Your desk is clean and clear. It’s Monday morning, you are looking out the huge window at a beautiful tree. You feel sharp, focused, energised.

What feels like a glossy waterfall flows through your fingertips, and as you’re typing, you glance up to look at the clock after finishing your coffee.

Two hours have passed, and it was a breeze. In fact, you didn’t think you’d been writing that long. You’ve pretty much finished what you needed to do.

The Flow State

You were in the ‘flow state’ — which means you were seriously in ‘the zone.’

Flow States have been gaining so much attention in the media as of late, even well-known DJs Above and Beyond have joined the movement, producing tracks to induce the flow state.

Named by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the flow state is defined as:

“the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting loss in one’s sense of space and time”.

Specifically, the principles of the flow state are a merging of self and experience- whereby we become so merged with the present moment, we are simultaneously action and awareness.

In short, then, our being and doing become one. We become writing, or, we become the dance, we become the golf swing, we become the climb — or whatever it is that gets us into this optimal ‘flow state’ of mind.

How to get in the flow state more often

Low grade physical exercise

Steven Kotler says your prefrontal cortex turns off in flow — this basically means your ‘monkey mind’ is at rest, your brain is switched off.

To help stimulate creativity and induce a flow state, it can literally be as simple as pulling on our sneakers and going for a walk — something that research has termed ‘exercise induced transient hypofrontality’.

‘You can walk yourself into a low-grade flow state…it’s a great reset. If you’re doing something creative and you didn’t get into flow and it was frustrating, this is a way to reset and start over”

Steven Kotler speaks to Joe Rogan on flow

Meditation as a gateway to the flow state

Sura Kim, a Meditation Teacher who left the hustle and bustle of Wall Street to study the power of mindfulness and meditation, believes that meditation is a gateway to the flow state:

“Flow is truly a state of consciousness, and I would say it’s a state of consciousness that feels like you — like your true self. You don’t feel like you have to hide, or be someone else, or say the right things — it’s being your truest most vulnerable self, engaging in those things that you love. It’s a state of consciousness where you’re completely engaged, immersed, absorbed- you’re connected fully as your whole self… you tap into a state of oneness and unity” — Sura Kim, taken from my interview with her on synchronicity and the flow state

Sura believes that the flow state is a place of immense power — because there is no separation between us and the experience — we become one in that moment.

There is no thought; only presence.

Love takes us into the present moment

So in order to get into resonance with the flow state, it makes sense then, that we should at least somewhat enjoy what we are doing, or who we are being.

That’s going to get us attuned into the now.

If we’re feeling good, we’re feeling in a state of love about the task at hand.

So what about when it comes to work? It’s quite simple, really.

Enjoy what you are doing to induce flow states

Anything that brings us into loving awareness with the moment can induce a greater receptivity for a flow state experience.

In some of the Positive Psychology literature, a flow state is the hack to enlightenment, and is compared to a state of love.

In fact, Leo Babuta ranks ‘doing what you love’ as number #1 on his list of 9 steps to achieving flow and happiness.

Find your individual flow state

I think one of the best ways to encourage flow is to keep a flow diary — when did you last feel really ‘in the zone’? When did time ‘slip away’? When did you last feel fully immersed in what you were doing, and didn’t feel bored or like your mind was elsewhere?

These are all keys to your own personal experience of the flow state. By charting them and making lifestyle changes, you’ll have a much better understanding of what flow means to you.

How to Boost Your Creativity To Be Your Most Productive Self

First published on Skillshare.com

In today’s digitally-focused world, creativity is not just something that’s nice to have, it’s an absolute must if you want to stand out from the crowd and be more productive. As more and more jobs are being lost to automation, staying as creative as possible is important to your long-term career — no matter what you do for a living.

Opening the door to new ways of thinking isn’t as hard as it might seem.

Ready to boost your potential for inspired thought and greater productivity? We’ve gathered some tried-and-tested ways to spark your creativity and allow your inner genius to shine through.

Define what creativity means to you

If you don’t know what your ‘best work’ is, then you’ll find it hard to tap into the person you need to be in order to produce it. In his Ted Talk on the subject, creativity expert Giovanni Corozza says that thinking creativity is about not just about thinking outside the box; it’s going beyond the box, exploring the “boundary within our minds- the boundary between what we know, and what we haven’t yet thought about.”  

Take some time to think about what creativity means to you, and what success might look like.

What’s your best piece of creative work so far? What about it pushes that boundary between what you know and what you haven’t thought about yet? What did it feel like to work on that project? Identifying previous bouts of creativity and the conditions that helped you achieve them will give you a better sense of how best to tap into your  creative insights in the future.

Erase self doubt

If you’re feeling uninspired and need to kickstart your creativity, your first task should be letting go of creative doubts. Sylvia Plath once said “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt” and research bears her out; a 2012 Harvard study suggests that the battle with creativity is  about resisting the urge to judge ourselves our creative impulses, and ideas. To build confidence, they say, do your best to capture every creative thought you have. Use a physical or digital notebook to jot down ideas as they come to you and make a record of creative urges you can reference when you need new inspiration.

Listen to music

Research into creative thinking techniques has shown that listening to uplifting or happy music in particular causes people to think divergently, in other words, to come up with original ideas.

Need some new tunes? Tech has got you covered: Spotify has curated a playlist of ‘Beats To Think To’ that can  help you focus and improve your innovative thinking.  

Listening to music can boost your brain power — and your ability to innovate.

Engage your senses

Burn some frangipani incense. Hang a pleasing visual on the wall. Buy a snuggle-worthy pair of slippers. Listen to some David Bowie. Eat an orange.

Engaging all five of your senses regularly stimulates your mind, boosts your mood, and has been shown to help inspire new creative thoughts. Wake up your senses once and awhile and you’ll create an inviting opportunity for more creativity to flow more easily.

Walk

There’s a reason that people pace when they are trying to figure something out. According to one Stanford study, the simple act of walking can increase your  creativity by up to a whopping 60%. Want to come up with your next great idea? Grab those sneakers and head outside. Your creativity might be right around the corner -- literally!

Going for a walk can do wonders for your cognition (image source)

Relax

If you’re not just walking, but running in circles because your work schedule is overloaded, then it makes sense that you might have a hard time being creative and producing your best work. Experts believe, in fact, being stressed actually shrinks your brain, which means a lot less space to dedicate to creativity. In order to let creativity in, you need to be ruthless about minimizing distractions and find times to switch off. What’s the the best way to refresh your  brain power, according to scientists? Meditate, they say. .

Travel

It’s an old saying that ‘travel broadens the mind,’ but why is journeying so helpful when you need creative fuel?

Traveling somewhere out of your comfort zone is a great way to jumpstart your creativity (image source)

Not only are you outside your comfort zone when you travel, you’re also constantly learning, making new connections, gathering new insights and developing new thought patterns. Travelling forces your brain into new activity, which means it’s the perfect way to tap into the  creativity that may be dormant within you.

...or just move. Even to a coffee shop next door.

Can’t afford a weekend out of town? Try moving down the street.

Changing work environments has been proven to boost creativity, so try a different coworking space, working from a home office, or switching around your furniture for an instant way to kickstart your creativity into a new stratosphere.

Seek out nature

Getting out into nature is essential for creativity. In Japan, they call it ‘forest-bathing’ - people go out into the wilderness for a few days, completely unplug from the modern world, reduce their stress and improve their wellbeing. A recent study  found that subjects who hiked and camped in the wilderness performed 50% better on creative problem-solving tasks than those who did not.

If you don’t have that kind of time, just working alongside a few houseplants can help you with boosting creativity. Biophilic design is on the increase, and for good reason: science shows that the more green your workspace  the more likely you’ll be inspired, productive and creative within it.

Just being around plants can help inspire new ways of thinking (image source)

Play!

Steve Jobs used to doodle to boost his creativity. Google goes to great lengths to provide employees with playful perks like sides and beach volleyball while they are at work. Why? Far from being disruptive, play, in all of its forms, actively encourages creativity.

Even if you’re at a company that doesn’t have a slide in its headquarters, you can still incorporate play into your work day.

Try the “30 circles” creative thinking technique, one that  encourages participants to draw 30 circles on a sheet of paper and then adapt each one into a unique object or illustration. The exercise (and others like it)  will give you the time and space you need to think more innovatively, offering an opportunity for ideas to flow through.

Be courageous

When it comes to producing your best creative work, remember the words of the famous painter Henri Matisse, “creativity takes courage.” Tapping into your creativity  isn’t always easy, and that’s okay. It’s about putting yourself out there, despite the fear you might be feeling.

Being brave is the first step toward finding your inner creative spark

If you’re ready to be creative but aren’t sure where to start, ask yourself where you could trust yourself more? How could you push yourself, and get a little brave? Being willing to try something new, whatever it is, may be the first step toward finding your inner creativity. So get brave and get out there! Your genius may be hiding just beyond the limits of your current horizon.