How to Get Into a Flow State (11 Powerful Techniques)

What is a “flow state”?

Ever been so fully immersed in an activity that the whole world around you seems to vanish, and nothing else matters but the task that you’re working on? Such a state is what’s known as flow state, or as many people would describe it, “being in the zone”.

The term flow state was originally coined by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi to describe being so engaged in an activity that you lose track of time and become oblivious to everything else around you.

When you are in such a flow state, your attention, creativity, and productivity are at their peak. You gain some semblance of a superpower and can achieve things that are beyond your usual capacity.

In a world where nearly everything around us is designed to grab our attention, achieving flow state on demand can give you a massive advantage. While most people keep getting distracted by unimportant things, you’ll be in another dimension hitting your goals and making the most out of your day. This article will go over 11 effective flow state hacks.

How to get into flow state: 11 ways to induce flow state while studying or working

1. Eliminate distractions during your work hours

Distractions can prevent you from focusing on a task for a long enough time to induce the state of flow. Eliminate anything that could potentially interfere with your deep focus while doing an important task such as studying.

You can do so by muting your phone, turning off email notifications, staying away from people (or wearing headphones to discourage them from talking to you), keeping food away from your proximity, avoiding social media, etc. Anything that’s not directly contributing to your work should be considered a distraction and therefore kept at arm’s length.

If you find the urge to constantly check your phone irresistible, keep it in another room where you cannot easily access it. Don’t worry about missing calls or texts, you can always return them later.

Ensure you have enough space around you to spread out whatever it is that you need. For example, if you’re writing a paper you probably will need a computer, paper, pens, books, etc. with you so make sure you have them available.

Finally, whatever it is that you are trying to do, plan ahead. Have a set of objectives in mind before beginning the task. Get everything in order in advance so you can focus completely on the task at hand.

2. Clear your mind through meditation

Meditation is one of the most powerful flow state hacks. Whenever you have too much going on in your mind, getting into an intense concentration can be extremely difficult. A quick 10–15 minute meditation can go a long way in helping clear your mind, so that you can focus on the task ahead of you.

A good meditation session will leave you rejuvenated and ready to jump into work with more enthusiasm.

Quick guide on how to meditate anywhere

The first step is to find a quiet location, free of distraction. If you work in an office, close the door and put up a “do not disturb” sign. This will help to keep people away.

Sit upright in your chair, with your feet flat on the floor. If you want, you can sit cross-legged on a pillow or yoga mat. Now close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Inhale deeply, then exhale out loud through your mouth.

Keep breathing in this manner for about five minutes. As you breathe, try to free your mind of thoughts. Do not think about anything in particular; focus on nothing but your breathing. If you find yourself getting distracted, simply come back to your breathing. When you are ready, open your eyes and return to work with a clearer mind.

The next time you meditate, try to increase your session to 15–20 minutes. Keep increasing the duration by 5–10 minute increments until you are meditating for about 45 minutes to an hour.

The first time you try meditation, it will be difficult. However, with time and practice, you will get better at it. When you feel like you are getting more comfortable with the practice, try meditating while listening to some relaxing music on YouTube.

Remember that the key to meditation is to practice as often as possible. The more you meditate, the better you will get at it.

3. Identify your peak creative hours

Establish what time in the day your brain is at its performance peak, and then use it to work on your most important task. For most people, it’s early in the morning while for others it’s later in the day when they have built up momentum and their brain is in cruise control.

Also, make sure to get as many hours of sleep as you can get away with. If you can afford 8 hours each night, then perfect. Make it a goal to be fresh and fully rested during your peak hours. That’s when it will be easiest to get into a flow state.

If you need to take a short nap in the middle of the day, then by all means go for it. Naps often get a bad rap because people see them as being lazy and counterproductive, however, if by surrendering 20 minutes, you gain a couple more hours of productivity, then it’s definitely worth it.

4. Avoid multitasking

Contrary to what many people believe, multitasking is not a very effective way of working since you’re not giving your undivided attention to one particular thing. And while you may still be able to get some work done, the quality of your output will be severely hampered. Getting into flow state when you’re not completely focused on a single task can be quite tough.

Spend a few minutes at the end of each day creating your plans for the following day, including your priorities. When you wake up in the morning (or during your creative peak performance hours), focus on your priorities – one at a time.

Without a plan, you become easily prone to procrastination and distractions. Procrastination loves it whenever there’s ambiguity or a lack of clarity.

5. Batch similar tasks

Batching similar tasks will help you maintain the same frame of mind while working on different activities back-to-back.

Tips for batching:

Combine administrative tasks with creative elements: Batch phone calls, internet research and emailing with writing, drawing or playing an instrument. This way, you can focus on one specific cognitive process without too many distractions.

Combine critical thinking with creative elements: Batch writing, editing, research and gaming to achieve a single focused goal.

Combine physical tasks with cognitive elements: Batch cooking, cleaning or walking with listening to music, watching movies or reading.

Combine social tasks with physical elements: Batch meeting friends, shopping or studying with sports, cleaning or cooking.

Combine all these elements however you prefer, as long as the tasks are similar. Make sure to take breaks between batches to prevent mental fatigue from accumulating.

6. Attach rewards to your goals

Attaching rewards to your goals can give you that extra spark and push you to work harder and longer on challenging tasks.

The rewards can be anything that you enjoy. For example, you can have a snack after completing an item from your to-do list, go out for a drink after hitting your sales quota, or take a vacation after completing a long and dreadful project.

Ideally, the bigger the goals accomplished, the bigger the rewards should be. That will motivate you to remain focused and keep working hard even when you don’t want to.

7. Listen to repetitive music

This one is not for everyone. If you find it easier to focus in total silence, then keep it that way. Music has been shown to help focus better – particularly repetitive music that doesn’t require the brain to keep processing new patterns, rhythms, and lyrics, such as trance and classical. It can also help ward off intruding thoughts that prevent you from fully focusing on a task.

When you listen to music while reading or studying, it can be especially helpful. Research suggests that background music won’t interfere with the information you are trying to take in, but may actually help your brain better absorb and encode it. Also, listening to music might cause memories associated with the tunes to come back more easily later on.

Music can be a more pleasant way to study than, say, repeatedly reading the same textbooks. And listening to music while you study might even help you feel less fatigued when it comes time for testing. Music may also give your brain an emotional lift, which could keep it in a productive mode.

Of course, any activity that causes you to focus only on certain stimuli will cause you to miss other important information. So, when you are tuning out, at least choose music that won’t distract you too much.

If you don’t want people constantly talking to you while you’re working, however you don’t feel like listening to music, you can just wear a pair of headphones. Just the idea that you have headphones on will discourage anyone from trying to converse with you. It’s a great trick to block out the outside world.

8. Create a mental cue

Human behavior is largely based on neuro-association, a deep-rooted connection that the brain forms between different things. For example, water is often associated with the color blue. If you ask a small child to draw you a picture of water, chances are they will color it blue.

In this case, your mental cue should be connected to the flow state, so that every time you do it, the flow state gets triggered in your mind.

You can create a cue by doing a unique action before attempting to induce the flow state. For example, you can say a certain word or sentence repeatedly, close your eyes and count down from 10, or even stand up and stretch your body.

Every time you want to get into the state, start by doing the flow state triggers. Over time, a neuro-association will get formed and you’ll be able to induce it by simply doing the cue.

9. Proactively practice

The key to being able to induce the state of flow on command is proactively practicing, no matter how you feel. Conditions are not always going to be in your favor, but don’t use that as an excuse. Even if you find yourself in a noisy place, or perhaps you didn’t get enough sleep the previous night, just try focus to the best of your ability.

If there’s an external distraction that you cannot control, try to block it mentally. And if you find your mind wandering, take a few minutes to meditate.

When you learn how to get into a flow state even in the presence of distractions, or when you’re not at your physical or mental best, there’ll surely be no limit to what you can accomplish.

10. Drink plenty of water

Sometimes you may not feel thirsty but your brain desperately needs water to reach its optimal level. It is very hard to focus on something when you are dehydrated.

Signs that your brain needs water

You can’t focus

Dehydration definitely makes it harder for you to focus. Your concentration is low and your short-term memory doesn’t work well either, because when the brain is dehydrated, it doesn’t function properly.

You feel tired all the time

The brain needs water to produce energy, especially Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), which is the primary source of fuel for all our cells. When the brain doesn’t get enough water, it can’t produce enough ATP and you start feeling like a walking zombie.

You have a headache

Dehydration is the main cause for a headache. If you suffer from mild headaches regularly, it means your brain is thirsty and needs water.

You experience extreme mood swings

Mood swings are a frequently reported side effect of dehydration. Your emotions change easily and you may feel depressed for no reason.

You are lethargic and your muscles are aching

When you are dehydrated, your brain can’t send energy to your muscles fast enough for them to perform well, and that can cause aching muscles.

You crave salt and sugar

When the brain is dehydrated, it tries to make you eat more to restore the minerals and salts it needs. This craving for salty chips or dried fruits can also be a sign that your body is thirsty.

You are constipated

When your brain is dehydrated, it tries to conserve water and the next thing you know is that your stool is dehydrated too. You are not drinking enough water if you find yourself having to push hard for a bowel movement or if your stools are dry.

Develop the habit of always carrying around a bottle of water and impulsively take sips every few minutes. Drinking water is often the solution to feeling sluggish and mentally fatigued. Your day should consist of numerous trips to the toilet.

11. Protect your flow

When you are in a state of flow, you are tapping into higher powers that normally aren’t accessible at other times. You are at your creative peak.

Protect your flow by not giving in to any internal or external distraction. Use that time to make great strides towards your goals. Once your flow is lost, getting it back can take a really long time, or sometimes not even happen again during the day. Don’t entertain anything that could potentially make you break out of it. Protect it like your life depends on it.

Conclusion

When you are in a flow state, the qualities that usually separate you from the world—your sense of being a disengaged spectator or an anxious self—are momentarily lost. When your involvement in an activity becomes so intense that it takes on a life of its own, your sense of time and place begins to dissolve. You feel part of something larger; you are in the flow .

When you learn to make the transition into such a state—to shift gears at just the right moments—you can become unstoppable. Work will no longer feel like work. Studying for long hours will no longer feel like it. You’ll be able to achieve more in 24 hours than most people in twice that time.