Be 5x More Productive by Working Less With The Flow State

04.09.25

The flow State has 4 cycles and most people neglect the final stage. Making it increasingly harder to achieve Flow and eventually leading to burnout.

We’ll explore how you can experience more Flow and be 5x productive and 7x creative by working less and playing more.

Play More

A couple of months ago, I completed my challenge of writing one article and recording one video for 50 weeks straight.

Now that these habits are established, I said that my next goal was to make time to play more music, as my soul was craving it after all that hard work.

I started by simply picking up my guitar more, usually twice a day, between clients or work tasks. With that alone, I started playing for about 1hr each day.

The problem is that I wasn’t protecting this time, and since I had no plan, I was doodling most of the time. After a month, this began to bother me profoundly because I wasn’t making much progress and wasn’t enjoying the short periods.

It wasn’t enough time to achieve Flow, and my lack of skills was also making it harder to find true enjoyment.

That’s when I decided to do everything differently.

First, I blocked 1 hr on my schedule to play guitar and started reviewing exercises and musical pieces I used to play back in college. I felt my muscle memory coming back and started making progress.

And guess what? … I finally got into Flow, baby.

Initially, I picked up my guitar again because I felt like there was something deep missing in my life, but I had no idea how much this would impact other areas of my life.

It started with me feeling more relaxed, peaceful, and clear headed. Then, I noticed I was getting into Flow more easily when I’m writing, recording videos, and going for walks.

I was also more present with my therapy clients and wife.

Suddenly, I was even more productive, creative, and experiencing more Flow overall.

This puzzled me for a while, until I remembered the Flow cycle and realized how much I was neglecting the last stage.

Flow Cycle

The Flow cycle is made of 4 stages:

• Struggle.
• Release.
• Flow.
• Active Recovery.

The first stage is when you’re wrestling with the task at hand. It feels difficult because you’re still learning new skills but you just have to push until they can become automatized.

If you’re struggling, it doesn’t mean you’re not good enough or that you’re on the wrong path. It’s the exact opposite, the struggle phase is a sign you’re growing and experiencing Flow is right around the corner.

But for it to happen, your idea about pain and effort has to radically change. You must see it as a necessary part of the process.

For instance, when you go to the gym, you understand you need to feel you’re pushing yourself, otherwise, your muscles won’t grow. Enduring discomfort literally makes you stronger.

But it’s important to never push yourself outside the challenge-skills balance, a prerequisite for Flow. In other words, if you have never run in your life, drop the childish idea that you have to run for 20 miles in your first week.

Respect the process and make small increments.

After the initial struggle, your brain enters the incubation period and digests all the information and effort you’ve put in. You experience a release and relaxation.

Then, you finally enter the Flow State and feel like all of you’re hard work paid off. Your present, fully focused, and your senses are heightened.

That’s when you come up with brilliant sentences, your hands move by themselves when you’re playing music or painting, or you know exactly what to say during therapy sessions.

Amazing things happen during Flow but this process is also highly taxing for our brains and bodies. It requires a tremendous amount of energy.

If we’re mentally and physically unfit, we won’t be able to sustain this state for long. And if we’re always fatigued and on the verge of a burnout, you can also say good bye to the wonders of Flow.

This leads us to the importance of recovery, but not any recovery, it must be ACTIVE.

Active Recovery

The final stage of Flow is the one we usually neglect, myself included. However, it’s crucial to distill what you’ve learned and for the memory consolidation process.

First, the obvious: Sleep, proper nutrition, physical exercise, and taking enough sunlight are the foundational blocks for experiencing Flow.

Now, the less obvious: Doom scrolling, watching Netflix while drinking beers, or losing yourself on another YouTube rabbit hole won’t cut it. This overloads your mind with more mental clutter.

Instead, your brain needs active forms of recovery that promote alpha, theta, and delta brain waves, like walking in nature, mindfulness, stretching, sauna, playing with your dog or kids, engaging with creative hobbies, and of course, deep sleep.

Some people complain that active recovery seems like more work, and I’m sorry to tell you but if developing your craft and talents is important to you, this is what it takes.

Active recovery and taking proper care of yourself have to become a priority.

That’s why I cut back on caffeine and started to prioritize playing guitar. Not only is this much more rewarding, but it also makes entering Flow much easier.

Lastly, if you can’t find the motivation to all of this, think about putting everything in service of your craft and creativity.

Maybe you think it’s pointless to eat well “only” for your health, but this might become important if you want to write a bestseller, compose insane musical pieces, or become the greatest architect.

This is especially important because the Flow State usually lasts for 90-120 minutes. That’s why you should focus on the quality of work rather than putting in mindless hours.

If you only have a couple of hours of Flow per day, you might as well use them wisely.

• Read Next – How The Flow State Helps You Overcome Addictions

Rafael Krüger – Live an Audacious Life

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