Gimmick-free ways to find your ‘flow state’: Top tips from a copywriter
When it comes to any kind of creative task, entering the ‘flow state’ is always my ultimate aim. It’s when I produce my best work and find my job most satisfying. But accessing it isn’t always easy.
In this post, I’ve put together my top tips for entering the flow state based on firsthand experience as a copywriter. I’ve written these points specifically with writing in mind, but they apply to many different areas of creativity. So use them in whichever way suits you.
What is the ‘flow state’?
To me, the flow state is a blissful state of immersion where ideas appear to come effortlessly. Rather than switching the brain on, it’s more like dialling it down. You hush the unnecessary internal chatter, make room for the task at hand, and sink seamlessly into creativity.
In this state, concepts enter the mind with ease, allowing you to flow from one point to the next.
HOW TO ENTER THE FLOW STATE
Others may have a single, tried-and-tested method for entering the flow state, but for me, it requires a specific combination of things. If you’re trudging through life, struggling to find your flow, try the following tips:
Make mindfulness a priority
There’s endless talk about mindfulness online, but I often find it’s packaged in a way that feels a bit too vague or wishy-washy. The reality is, mindfulness is exceedingly powerful. It’s so much more than just paying attention to nature or meditating a couple of times a week; it’s a lifestyle choice. Mindfulness reminds you to really be here, to appreciate ‘the now’ (whatever it throws at you), and to not try to control what you can’t. All of these things can help you enter flow.
There’s plenty of joy to be had in creating, but if you compartmentalise mindfulness, mentally place it in a ‘wellness’ box, or separate it from your craft, you're essentially preventing the conditions needed for that joy to emerge.
Integration is everything. Meditation and calming practices will get you closer to mindful creativity, but to experience flow regularly, the mindfulness needs to stay with you, not become something you dabble with on the side.
2. Focus on what you know
Knowledge is a huge part of finding your flow. If you’re not a copy and content writer, there’s no point putting enormous pressure on yourself to write about topics you’re unfamiliar with. Instead, play to your strengths. Write about subjects you know inside out or that you have researched really well. That way, you can write freely and draw fresh conclusions confidently. Gathering research in a Word doc, skimming through it once, and cross-referencing as you write isn’t the same. When you fully absorb yourself in a topic, key concepts get stored away in your brain, ready for you to reach for when you want to start writing.
No choice over the subject matter? Resist the urge to rush. This will only lead to error or frustration. Try to ingrain vital concepts as best as possible (watching YouTube helps!), then make them relatable to the reader. You’ll need to take the fresh concept that you’ve just learnt, break it down logically, play with it a bit, and explain it like you would to a friend.
Not only does this help you find flow, but it’ll also give you a sense of satisfaction that you wouldn’t get had you simply reworded the information without truly processing it.
3. Develop your human writing skills
You need to be writing regularly to increase your chances of entering the flow state. This means proactively carrying out written tasks and reducing your reliance on AI for creative ideas. If AI is part of your workflow, it’s fine to ask for the odd rephrase or make requests to help with structure, but if you habitually ask Chat GPT to write your content for you, it can act as a blocker to personal progress. Having to reprompt when something isn’t right or reword sections that aren’t up to standard takes away from free thinking and focus. So, if flow state is the aim, commit to becoming a better writer and don’t let AI de-skill you.
4. Time it right
Most of us have a ‘peak productivity period’, so find the times of day when you feel most focused and save them for flow. Of course, you may well need to write creatively outside of these windows, but where possible, try to use the in-between time for tasks that don’t require as much innovation. You might want to prioritise checking emails, tackle some important admin work, or conduct research that you can use later for a blog.
If you absolutely must get a bulky creative task done when you’re ‘not feeling it’ focus-wise, start with the easy bits and remember to adjust your expectations accordingly. You need to be realistic. Sometimes, a simple shift in expectation can have a dramatic impact on your ability to get into the zone.
5. Remove all distractions
When attempting to enter flow, removing distractions is essential. You’ll want to take yourself off into a quiet room, exit your emails, close the army of internet tabs, and switch your phone to ‘do not disturb’. All that extra stimulation can pull you out of the flow state instantly.
Also, think about what constitutes a distraction. In my experience, distraction also comes from too many unnecessary tools or options. You may have heard revered artists proclaiming that they created their most beloved piece of work with very few tools or resources – a guitarist with just an acoustic guitar, or a fine artist with only a pencil and pad. This stripped-back state tends to be how many people start out when developing their craft, and it’s often considered the period in which they create their best work.
Why? Because it’s just them, their instrument, and their art. Bring in anything else, and you bring in more distractions. So, whether you hide your plugins, work in an offline writing app, or write your first draft by hand, keep it simple and trust that creativity will come.
6. Surrender to the process
Lastly, try not to get too attached to the end result. Yes, you want it to be good, but if you’re obsessing over the outcome the moment you start, you’re putting additional pressure on yourself, and that isn’t conducive to maintaining flow.
Those niggling thoughts and fears will get in the way. They’ll keep popping into your head, and you’ll keep batting them away in frustration, not really getting an awful lot done. Instead, try bringing your attention back to mindfulness and presence, accepting the here and now without leaping forwards or backwards. Most of the anxieties we face happen because we’re trying to control a future outcome while being influenced by fear from the past. It’s just not helpful.
Utimately, the flow state is about surrender. So if you can surrender to the process and nothing else, you’re exactly where you need to be. The joy in the work arises when you stop strangling it with expectation.
Get support
The flow state can be incredibly satisfying. But it can feel impossible to achieve when you’re stressed, overworked, or trying to do too much.
If you regularly face writer’s block or you’ve forgotten what it feels like to ‘flow’, you may well have too much on your plate. Trying to write copy alongside running your business could be kicking you out of the flow state needed to succeed at your job. That defeats the whole purpose.
Need more time to focus on what you do best? Get extra support with copy, content, ghostwriting, or social media by reaching out to me via my contact form. I'd be happy to take some weight off.
