21.09.26

When I was 18, I got into lifting weights and started learning the drums.

There were a few people I admired in these fields, and I noticed something distinctive about them: they all talked with passion, and they couldn’t wait for the next day so they could lift weights or play again.

Procrastinating or skipping a session wasn’t even a thought, because they found joy in pushing hard, learning, and advancing their crafts.

At the time, the idea of feeling pulled toward doing hard things was completely alien to me. I was constantly frustrated with my lack of discipline and with how slowly I was learning.

But watching these guys made me feel like this was possible, so I persisted, and by accident, I started feeling the same way.

Suddenly, I would do a couple of extra exercises at the gym that weren’t in my program, and I’d drop my video games to practice the drums.

For the first time, I understood what those guys were talking about.

I was in the zone, deeply focused, and there was an exquisite feeling of elation from being so intensely absorbed in an activity.

I didn’t know what was happening, but I wanted more of it. Over time, I stopped procrastinating and started craving going to the gym and learning music.

It was only years later that I learned I was experiencing the flow state and that it can increase your productivity by 500% and your creativity by 700%, according to a McKinsey study. Most importantly, I learned that there was a clear way to get there.

Today, I’ve designed my life to maximize flow experiences, whether at work, at the gym, when I’m playing guitar, or when I’m enjoying life with my wife.

Now we’ll cover how to enter the flow state and avoid burning out, and I’ll lay out exactly how my routine is set up.

Unlocking the Flow State

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who coined the term flow state, outlined a few preconditions to unlock it:

• Clear goals.
• Challenge-skills balance.
• Complete concentration.
• Immediate feedback.

First of all, it’s important to approach the task at hand with a clear goal and intent.

For instance, simply sitting down to play my guitar or trying to learn a new song isn’t clear enough. To have clear goals, it’s crucial to break the process into smaller components and focus on one thing at a time.

To learn a new song, I need to understand the melody, the chord sequence, and the rhythmic pattern. The ideal way to do it is to focus on each individual part and then bring it all together.

When I’m writing a new article, I focus on the big idea first, then the outline of the different parts, then the writing that brings it all together, and finally the grammar.

The first step is having clarity about your process and focusing on one part at a time.

Next, we have the challenge-skills balance.

The idea is simple: when the task is too easy, you get bored, and when the task is too challenging, you snap. It’s important to find the sweet spot of your abilities and push a bit more every single day. The better you get at something, the deeper the flow state.

Then we have complete concentration.

This is very straightforward: you can’t enter the flow state when you’re divided between tasks or trying to juggle several things at once. As Steven Kotler says, flow follows focus.

It’s important to get used to doing one single thing at a time. When I’m writing, I don’t keep several tabs open, I don’t check my email or reply to messages, and I don’t look at my phone. This goes for every other important activity in my life.

Lastly, we have immediate feedback.

To keep adjusting the challenge-skills balance and make sure we’re moving in the right direction, we need objective feedback. Otherwise, we stall and pick up a lot of bad habits.

For instance, I get this feedback every time I post my articles and videos: I analyze my metrics and read people’s comments. Then I use this information to improve.

But it’s even better when you can get feedback in real time, which happens when you’re working with a good teacher or mentor. For instance, when I have a guitar lesson, the teacher is constantly adjusting my form, my tempo, and my articulation. These micro-adjustments in real time make entering flow a lot easier.

The same thing happens when I’m working 1:1 with my clients. I get to reflect their thoughts and emotions back to them in real time and map their blind spots and the exact internal narratives keeping them stuck. We work on them in real time and adjust on a weekly basis.

That’s why we progress so much faster when we have good feedback and apply it.

These are the 4 preconditions to enter the flow state. The next stage is moving with the flow state cycle.

The Flow State Cycle

Recent research by the Flow Research Collective found that the flow state follows a cycle:

• Struggle (15 to 20 minutes).
• Release.
• Flow (90 to 120 minutes).
• Active recovery.

Every time we approach a task, we’ll experience an initial struggle. It’s important not to get discouraged by it and to see it as part of the process. Keep the challenge-skills balance in mind and understand that you need to push a bit before getting into flow.

After the initial push, we experience a release and slowly start to get into the flow state. Now you experience that deep focus, creativity, and flow magic.

In the final phase comes active recovery.

In the beginning, I used to ignore it, and that’s why I burned out so many times. But this type of recovery isn’t simply doing nothing, such as opening a beer and watching a random show. If anything, that will make the burnout worse.

To truly reset our brains and nervous systems, the ACTIVE part matters. Put down the screens and go for a walk in nature with your dog, do some stretching, use the sauna, read a good fiction book, or play some music.

That’s how you make sure you’ll be ready to attack the next day.

Wake Up and Flow

Now I’ll lay out exactly how my routine is set up to maximize flow.

The first thing is to organize your routine in time blocks of 2 to 4 hours instead of scheduling something every 30 to 60 minutes. That way, you can move with the flow cycle.

The second thing is to always start your day with the most important task, the one thing that will move the needle for you, and leave your mechanical tasks and new inputs for later in the day.

Here’s my routine.

At 5:30 am, I literally wake up and flow.

All I do is go to the toilet, drink some water, and immediately start writing. This significantly shortens the struggle phase, and you can enter the flow state much faster. I love how quiet it is and how I get everything done before the world wakes up. Also, when I get the most important thing of the day done, I get to be chill and relaxed for the rest of the day.

At 8:30 am, I take a break to eat and enjoy some specialty coffee, and then I walk to the gym, sometimes listening to an audiobook or to songs I want to learn.

At 12 pm, I have lunch and walk my dog.

During this idle time, our minds start filling in the gaps, finding new solutions and coming up with plenty of new ideas. I usually dictate them on my phone to work on the following day.

At 2 pm, it’s time for mechanical work, such as replying to emails, scheduling videos, studying, and preparing everything for the next morning.

At 5 pm, I do my active recovery practices, such as more walking or playing guitar.

At 7 pm, I have dinner and spend more time with my wife.

By 9 pm, I’m asleep.

My flow routine:

• 5:30 am: Wake up and flow (no new inputs, just output).
• 8:30 am: Eat, enjoy coffee, and go to the gym (audiobook).
• 12 pm: Lunch and walking the dog (your mind keeps filling in the gaps, and new ideas come up).
• 2 pm: Mechanical work, studying, recording videos, and preparing everything for the next day.
• 5 pm: Active recovery, such as walking or playing guitar.
• 7 pm: Dinner and time with my wife.
• 9 pm: Sleep.

If you only take one idea from this article, I strongly recommend that you take “wake up and flow” seriously and add some form of active recovery to your day.

Even if you have a regular 9-to-5, you can still benefit from putting your most important task first. Maybe you have a side hustle, maybe you want to learn a new language, or maybe you have a hobby you care about.

Wake up 1 hour earlier and put it first instead of leaving it for nighttime. Then end your day with some form of active recovery. That way, you can get most of the benefits of flow with 2 simple tweaks.

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Rafael Krüger – Live an Audacious Life

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