Protect Your Flow Zone
Guard it as if your life depends on it, because it just might.
First, I want to tell you all about my Flow for Writers experience in Los Angeles last weekend.
Over forty writers gathered in downtown LA to soak up the words of wisdom from author Steven Kotler (https://www.stevenkotler.com/). Many of his books deal directly with the flow state such as the Art of the Impossible or Rise of Superman, but he also shares his affinity for flow in other works such as his personal journey in West of Jesus and the dog-rescue book, Small Furry Prayer. Steven also founded the Flow Research Collective, an organization that focuses on peak performance research and training. Just Google FLOW and Steven’s name appears. I consider myself fortunate to have trained with one of the world’s experts in flow state.
Steven Kotler is a brilliant man who studies the neuroscience of peak performance. He’s also down-to-earth, grounded, and has no time for bullshit. I laughed a lot throughout the weekend, so much so that it seemed at times like I was at a stand-up comedy routine. Humour is important in flow - the dopamine hit that laughter provides makes you pay attention, which was critical in the workshop since information was shared with us via fire hose.
As a writer of both fiction and non-fiction, Steven experiences flow with richness and regularity. I found myself comparing this with my writing experience and routine and I realized that I’ve not been protecting my flow zone as much as I should (yes, SHOULD!). I’ve let peripheral distractions invade my physical and mental space. I need to respect my flow if I want to be successful as an author and happier as a person.
Here’s my strategy to guard my flow:
Communicate with my family about the importance of my flow state. If I get pulled out of flow, even momentarily, it can take 15-20 minutes to get back in, if I can re-enter at all. If I don’t respect my flow time, I can’t expect others to.
Put up a sign to announce that I’m in a creative session. I’m not to be interrupted during this time unless the house is burning down. I’m sharing some sign ideas with you below. I encourage you to pick one and put it on your office door, or make your own. It’s like a sock on the doorknob, but for your flow privacy. You’ll find two versions. One has my second favourite F-word, the other is more PG. Take your pick.
Screw multi-tasking! We’ve been programmed to worship states of distraction. For peak performance, I’m going to become a skilled mono-tasker.
“Not only is the distracted present a miserable place to be, it’s also the worst kind of self-handicapping. Study after study shows that we’re terrible multitaskers. By trying to improve performance by being everywhere and everywhen, we end up nowhere and never. The sad truth is that our lives are pulling us in every direction save the one where we’re most effective.”
— Steven Kotler
Revise my schedule. I’ll get up earlier (though, as a night owl, I’ll never rise at Steven Kotler’s 3:30am start time). I’ll protect my creative days by setting meetings and appointments all on one day so I don’t have them hovering in my mind distracting from my writing task.
I expect this will kick up my flow game. As I mentioned in my last post https://kellietheridge.substack.com/p/no-mojo-for-flow I’ve been wildly distracted from my creative self as of late. My spirit gets desiccated and wrinkled without flow. I’m like a raisin that doesn’t remember it was ever a grape.
The Flow for Writers workshop helped me remember who I am and what I must do. I’m a creative and without creative expression I’m a shriveled up version of myself. I’ve soaked up the information and inspiration from the workshop. Now I am refreshed and ready to write.
