What is ‘flow state’?

Do you remember when you were a kid, you’d be doing something you loved, and time flew by?

You may find as an adult, there are fewer of these times.

These moments are you in your flow state.

To understand flow state, we need to understand ‘The Transient Hypofrontality Edge.’This is when the parts of the brain that are in charge of our focus get to rest.

At this time, other parts of your brain take over the needed functions. This puts you in a changed state of consciousness.

If you’ve ever experienced a ‘runners high,’ this would mean you are in a flow state.

The Flow Genome Projectis a research-led science project dedicated to unlocking the secrets of peak human performance.

The project found that learning how to get into your flow state is an absolute necessity if you want to perform at a high level and reach the top of your field.

The 8 Characteristics of Flow

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes eight characteristics of flow:
(taken from Positive Psychology)

1. Complete concentration on the task.
2. Clarity of goals and reward in mind and immediate feedback.
3. Transformation of time (speeding up/slowing down).
4. The experience is intrinsically rewarding
5. Effortlessness and ease.
6. There is a balance between challenge and skills
7. Actions and awareness are merged, losing self-conscious rumination.
8. There is a feeling of control over the task.

What’s your brain doing in flow state?

Research has shown that your brainwaves activity notably changes when you’re in flow state.

The brain goes from high Beta wave activity (ordinary consciousness) to the slower Alpha/Theta brainwaves.

During Alpha waves, your brain is calm but fully alert. In this state, you’re entirely focused on the now.

During Theta waves, your brain moves into a ‘dream state.’ This is when the best learning and intuition occurs.

As well as brain wave activity, this flow changes your neurochemistry (your nervous system).

A mix of serotonin, endorphins, dopamine, anandamide, and occasionally oxytocin floods the system during your flow state.

“Motivationally, these five chemicals are the biggest rewards the brain can produce, and flow is one of the only times the brain produces all five simultaneously. This makes the state one of the most pleasurable, meaningful and literally addictive experiences available.” — Steve Kotler.

Why flow state is crucial for your best design work

Whether you’re an athlete, a scientist, a writer, artist or designer (or whatever), getting into a flow is a must if you want to produce your best work.

This state of consciousness gives you the ability to be so productive that you have your best breakthroughs.

You’re at your best and happiest when you’re immersed deeply in a challenge, almost like you feel at one with it.

Eight things to do to get into your flow state as a designer:

1. Get rid of outside interruptions.

When we get distracted by our surroundings, we create ‘attention residue. Research tells us going from one task to another, costs you time. Even if you’ve completely finished the previous tasks, there’s a cost to this jumping of tasks. This is known as a ‘switching cost’.

Because of all of this, you need to clear the outside noise as best you can. Here are a few things you can do.”

• Turn notifications off on your phone and computer.
• Move your phone into another room and turn it off.
• Silence Slack messages or whatever internal tool you use.
• Close computer tabs you don’t need.
• Clear your office / your desk of clutter.

2. Calm your ‘monkey mind.’

According to a study by Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert, 50% of your days are spent with a wandering monkey mind. If your mind is busy thinking about lots of things, you won’t be able to get into your flow state.

A few ways to calm your monkey mind:

• Regular meditation helps you calm and control your mind.
• Regular writing/noting. This helps you get your thoughts out of your head and onto paper.
• Take regular breaks to rest your brain. Flow is tough to get into with a tired brain.
• Cut out sugar to stop the ups and downs, causing an uncontrolled mind.
• Limit your consumption of caffeine. Some caffeine helps. Too much gets your brain racing which doesn’t help.
• Limit the amount of information you consume. Less social media, news, mobile phone distractions help reduce your brain from jumping around.

3. Listen to the right kind of music (with noise-cancelling headphones).

The right kind of music helps you focus and makes you more productive. Listening to your chosen music on repeat can be a great help to get you in the zone.

Few things to do:

• Create a plays list with music without vocals to get you in the zone.
• Listen to Binaural beats. Research has shown they have similar results as meditation and are a great stress reliever.
• Buy noise-cancelling headphones. I use these Sony Wireless ones.
• Listen to music on repeat. Arkansas psychologist Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis wrote a book called On Repeat: How Music Plays the Mind that gets into this. People note that listening to music on repeat breaks the boundary between the music and you allowing for focusing and being in the now.

4. Figure out your biological peak time.

Your “biological peak time” is the time of the day when you have the most energy, therefore, the most excellent chance of being productive.

It’s tough to tap into your flow state if your brain is tired. Choosing the peak time when you have the most energy gives you the best chance of getting into your flow state.

To work out your biological peak time, this study may help to chart your days. If you know that it’s early morning or late night, go with what you know.

I’d go with early mornings as there’s less chance of your brain getting too much activity from phones, news etc. I do it when my family is asleep, and the house is quiet.

5. Work on ONE task only and be clear on the outcome you want.

Be super clear on what one task you want to work on. If you’re not clear on this, you’ll struggle to get into your flow state.

When you set yourself up with a clear outcome for the task, you prevent your brain from wandering with internal distractions. Without a clear result for the task, it’s tough to know when you’re done.

Procrastination feeds off any lack of clarity, and it’ll be easy to switch tasks or quit instead.

When you’re designing, pick a task for a period of time and what outcome you’d like. You’ll be surprised by how helpful this focus is.

It can be good to use the Pomodoro technique for this one task. Set a timer for 25 minutes and work on that one task for that time. During this time, there’s no doing anything else. When the time is up, you get to have a 5-minute break.

6. Create yourself a ‘mental cue ceremony.’

A mental cue for getting into your flow state can be a great catalyst to get there quicker.

Find a routine thing that will give you that reference that now’s the time to start problem-solving. Now’s the time to start sketching. Now’s the time to get into your flow state.

This small ceremony sets your brain into its flow mode. Doing this will help your brain jog into the flow state you’re looking for.

This one seems weird, but it works. It creates a new neuro-association that makes it simpler to get into your flow state.

7. Drink the right amount of caffeine.

Chris Bailey, who wrote Hyperfocus, tells us to be thoughtful when drinking caffeine. He says that we need to drink coffee the right way to boost our focus which helps us get into our flow state.

A few cups of coffee can help you work more intensely, but too many can destroy your productivity. Anxiety and stress will increase. You know your body and how caffeine affects it, so work out what suits you.

Be careful of the hidden caffeine in other drinks such as coke etc.

8. Drink lots of water

Staying hydrated and drinking lots of water is super important to focus well.

If you’re feeling sluggish and unproductive, there’s a high chance that you’ve not drunk enough water.

They’ll be a noticeable change in your focus if you drink enough water. This seems like a strange fluffy one but try it out. You’ll be surprised how it helps.

In summary

As a creative, getting into your flow state can be crucial. It allows you to get deep into problems and think them through with a clear and focused mind.

Try a few of these to get in yourself in your flow state:

• Get rid of external interruptions.
• Calm you’re ‘monkey mind’.
• Listen to the right kind of music (with noise-cancelling headphones).
• Figure out your biological peak time.
• Work on ONE task only and be clear on the outcome you want.
• Create yourself a ‘mental cue ceremony.’
• Drink the right amount of caffeine.
• Drink lots of water.

“The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times . . . The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile” — Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.