How to Get into Flow✨ Right Now, Today
🎧 Listen to this article | 📸 Instagram | 💌 Newsletter | 📞 Book a consult | 👋🏽 New? Start here
So you’ve got something that you want to get done.
And it’s not even a “bad” or “boring” task. You actually want to get it done!
But for some reason, you don’t want to do it.
What are your options?
Most of us go to either Freeze or Frantic.
When you’re in Freeze, you do anything but the thing you want to do. And it feels miserable. You’re scrolling Instagram, or you’re walking around, or you’re eating a snack — and all the while, a cloud of anxiety is pressing down on you, and you can’t enjoy anything.
When you’re in Frantic, you do the thing! Hooray! Except, you do it with a racing heart and a panicked mind. You’re powering through your emotions just to get it done. And afterward, you feel drained as hell and you need a break.
Guys, there is a third option here. That option is Flow.
Many of you will already know what flow is, but here’s the wikipedia definition as a reminder:
A flow state, also known colloquially as being in the zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.
You have already experienced flow. You know exactly what this feels like.
But you probably think that you have no control over when you experience it.
“No, Pooja, I can’t just get in the zone on demand. I need the right chair, and the right music, and the right coffee, and the right lighting, and the right task, and the right timeframe, and the right…”
Let me stop you right there.
You can get into flow any. freaking. time. you. want.
Where does flow come from?
Flow comes from your thoughts and feelings.
Not your chair. Not your drink. Not the task. Not the timeframe. And not from the magical “get it done” fairy that gives you her blessings three times a year.
Flow comes from your thoughts and feelings. That’s it.
Now here’s the best part:
You already know what thoughts and feelings create flow for you.
Here’s my simple three-step process for figuring this out:
Think back to the last time you experienced flow. Really sink in and remember that experience. What were you doing? What time was it? Where were you? Who was around you? Paint a full picture for yourself, and go back to that place.
Ask yourself, “What was I thinking?” Write those sentences down.
Ask yourself, “What was I feeling?” Write those feelings down.
Here’s what I think when I’m in flow…
I know exactly what I’m doing
One little thing at a time. Don’t need to worry about anything else.
I know exactly what to do next.
This is so fun.
I am exactly where I’m supposed to be.
…and here’s how I feel when I’m in flow:
Self-trusting
Curious
Playful
Skillful
In control
Go back to your own example, from Step 1. Write down what you were thinking. Write down what you were feeling. And really feel this state of being in your mind and in your body. Close your eyes and memorize what this feels like, like a fingerprint.
This is what I mean when I say that flow is available to you anytime you want it.
All you need to do is practice activating this state of being.
You can start with a thought. You can start with a feeling. You can start with going back to these three steps and recreating this experience.
Because the reason that some things feel like flow and fun, but other things feel like stress and drudgery is not because of what you’re doing. It’s because of what you’re thinking while you do it.
Your thoughts, NOT your actions (and certainly not your innocent to-do list), are what’s making you feel drained or energized, proud or ashamed, like a total badass or like a complete fraud.
You can do the exact same actions…
from DIFFERENT thoughts and feelings…
and create a totally different experience for yourself.
So decide how you want to feel.
Create that feeling for yourself.
And get to work.
(And if you want some custom-tailored help putting all this into action…)