The flow state

Even if you’ve never heard of the flow state, I bet you’d recognise it. It’s the state of mind you get into when you’re totally and absolutely focused on one thing, to the exclusion of everything else. You don’t consciously think about what you’re doing – it just seems to flow from you. Hours can pass without being noticed and when you stop whatever you were doing, your brain is buzzing like you’ve just been re-charged. That’s the flow state. Some people say it’s the true key to happiness, while others say it can't be because it can only last a short time. But it does produce real results.

It’s very powerful, and can be extremely productive. Personally, I get a strong feeling of satisfaction when I emerge from this state – whatever I’ve been doing. I’ve always thought of it as a form of meditation – focusing your mind on one thing to the exclusion of everything else. And for me it occurs more when I’m writing music than any other time. But how do you get into this super-focused, productive state of mind?

Sadly there’s isn’t one answer, and it depends on you entirely. But there are some clues. There’s a chart you can easily find online which plots skill level against challenge level, and suggests that the flow state happens when you’re doing something that is both challenging and something you have a high level of skill in. But that doesn’t say anything about how to get into the flow state.

For me, it’s mostly about peace and quiet. I need to have a block of uninterrupted time, preferably in as close to silence as I can get. Thinking about times when I’ve been in the flow state when working on music, it’s often as the sun goes down and the room gets darker. That might suggest that I work best in the afternoons / evenings, but I think it also points to having no external distractions – not even sunlight and views!

For you though? There are lots of tips on the web about how to do it. Some people link it to mindfulness, but I’m dubious about that. My suggestion would be to pay close attention to the conditions around you next time you find yourself emerging from a flow state. Recreate those conditions next time you want to blast through something, and you might just find yourself emerging blinking, hours later, feeling energised and satisfied.

Here's the Wikipedia page on the flow state, and here's a TED talk about it.

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