I wanted to share with you some of the oddball tips that I have used myself in order to keep the flow and stop wasting my time.

Time of course is one of the most finite resources that we have and I’m hoping what I have done for myself can help you reclaim as much of your time as possible.

Number one: find the things that trigger flow state consistently. For me the act of drawing will trigger flow state, or doing a puzzle, or oftentimes it’s gaming or crafting.

The flow state is that space between what is difficult and what is capable for you, finding that balance is what becomes a dopamine triggering addiction in the brain. Thus why you can look up from your project and it’s been 5 hours and suddenly you really have to pee.

Once you know what some of your basic flow state triggers are, start setting up a routine that you do every time you prepare one of these activities. Maybe it’s something like light a candle, maybe it is a certain song you listen to, maybe it is simply setting a timer, or preparing your cup of tea—some kind of ritual that gets you ready for that particular mind space and then sit down and continue work like normal.

 Repeat this and you can start to manipulate it to your own benefit. People who have a day job will find that this is what the act of putting on the work clothes really triggers in the brain. It creates this costume that brings on the mask of “I am in worker mode” and what we are trying to do is create the mask of “I am in creative flow mode” so o

Next, you’re going to want to remove any possible distractions from that state. I am talking about the phone—bye! Silence it put it on the other side of the room do whatever you can in order to keep it from being this habitual grab and check every 5 minutes.

 I also really like setting a timer for this because flow state can be very all-encompassing and by having a 25 minute timer prepped (which is also known as the pomodoro technique) I know that I am going to have something that pulls me out just in case I need to actually check for something or I need to respond to an e-mail or whatever the case may be. I highly recommend having a healthy snack and water on hand more specifically the water over the snack. The water is going to be one of the hidden weapons in your arsenal in order to maximize creativity. Our brain is 70% water and it literally shrinks if we are dehydrated and a shrunken brain is not going to be able to produce as well as something that is fleshy and ready to attack the day with all those really nice electrical currents zinging about bringing you the best creative ideas.

 I’m also a big fan of “prepping the bat cave.” This is an idea that I have stolen from Nerd Fitness where the concept is; you are going to arrange your environment to create the most useful and productive landscape for you to function in. In nerd fitness they use this as an example for dietary and health, like putting your sweets on the very top shelf so it just creates a barrier to entry. You have to get out the ladder, you have to walk all the way up, you gotta bring them down, you got to decide things, you gotta put them back, and so you might just be too lazy to do that and grab an apple instead.

In this case, it’s have all your supplies out a dedicated space where you can do your work. Not everybody is capable of having that as a go to, thus it comes back to the ritual of being able to set up that start button so all you have to do is push it.

Next I’m going to recommend you give yourself rewards. I was once listening to an author speak about how she rewards herself for every 1000 words with a gummy bear. She would have them lined up on her desk every 1000 words she got to eat a gummy bear, now for reference when I do dictation (which is a new skill for me) I do about 1000 words in 30 minutes so you could see how those little perks would come in handy.

 I know other authors that will buy themselves blind box figurines and when they reach certain milestones, such as 10K, they get to open up and see which one they got. Little things like that are always a delight, but if purchasing rewards is not something that you’re particularly interested in, you can always have health rewards like spa things, or you get to watch that next half hour of the anime that you’re really obsessed with.

 As for my last tip this is the one that I also find the most difficult and I am the worst at: working out. I have found that when you have worked out your body you gotten rid of all the wiggles, all the tension, and all the need to fidget it allows you to relax and focus. This is also a literal effect of releasing dopamine and that post workout high.

There are my tips for finding the flow and stop wasting your time : figure out what states already trigger flow you want. Build a routine to then trigger your focus. Some of those triggers can be like scented candles, music, timers, tea. Cut distractions. Stay hydrated with water. Prep your bat cave. Give yourself rewards, and if you want to go the extra mile you’ll actually work out, but that’s a do as I say don’t do as I do situation because I’m actually terrible at that. I hope you found these helpful.

 If you have your own go-tos to stay focused, let me know!

As always, stay awesome. See ya!