Flow State

Did you ever have the feeling of doing work, without feeling like you are working? The kind of feeling you get when this is no longer work, it’s a continuation of yourself and you are just there, being a vessel and not feeling the time passing by at all. This is the exact feeling when you are in a party quest during a Maple Story session, finding yourself without eating for hours. Or the focus when doing your favorite hobby trying a new technique. Even washing dishes is known for this effect.

I only actually gave it a thought when I started to write for this blog. I had many ideas on what I wanted to write about, but I’d never written anything for myself. So I sat on the Israel Railways chair, hoping no one would sit next to me, so I put my bag on the empty seat. I put the phone on “Do Not Disturb” and opened an empty Note on my computer. A 40-minute train ride went by in 2 minutes, I had a blogpost about a slang my friend and I are using, explaining its origin and why it meant something to me, I felt refreshed. It was morning but I was already feeling good, being productive. I never tried writing like this, did not know how to start, or what to expect. Since then, I haven’t managed to get this feeling. So naturally, I had to Mustard this topic.

Turns out, that is a well-documented thing. It’s been researched, has books on it, and people know how to reach it. The world calls it flow state, I call it the Mustard Zone. Totally science backed.

Here’s what I’ve learned.

What is a Flow State

What happened to me on that train has a name, and an explanation.

A deep focus mode of your brain, that allows for better concentration and a feeling of total immersion in the task. An optimal state of consciousness. You are using the full capacity of the creative side of your brain, and shutting down the analytical side we are so used to using (the part that is responsible for self-consciousness, mind wandering, etc.). We usually think, based on TV shows and common sense, that using 100% of your brain will peak your ability to create, think, and make. But it’s actually the other way around, by suppressing part of your brain, you are free to fully focus.

What makes it possible is a cocktail of five chemicals all releasing at once.

1. Dopamine – Motivation

2. Norepinephrine – focus and alertness

3. Anandamide – self-made cannabis-like chemical that allows for creative or lateral thinking

4. Endorphins – making your body feel good and easy

5. Serotonin – Feel-good chemical

The interesting part is not that each chemical is special, it’s the combination of all of them together. That’s what makes it addictive.

The simultaneous release of these hormones happens only in flow state. There is no timeline on how long every session of Flow State lasts, but it is known that it puts stress on your brain and you will probably have to rest after a flow session.

How to Reach Flow State

First, let me start with something that all the internet claims, but from my experience they are bullshitting to make you read their stuff. This is not that straightforward.

Kotler’s research identifies 17 flow conditions, but it can be summed up to four or five main drivers.

Clear goals. You need to know what you want when you’re done, what success looks like. I knew I wanted a blogpost, wrote it down. Could be a big goal, but try to split it into chunks. Is building an app your goal? Try building a calculator with Claude, maybe you know how to use AI. Then write all the features you want and focus on one at a time. This is a great preview for the second driver.

A challenge that is just slightly above your skill. You want to succeed, not to be overwhelmed by your high ambitions. Know what is possible, and push it a little further. If it’s too easy, you’ll get bored.

Immediate feedback. The reason that feedback, and a quick one, is important is because our monkey brain would not shut up, not knowing if we did good. This results in activating the analytical side of the brain, and will loop us out of flow. When riding a bicycle, if you fall, you got your feedback. When you upload a photo on social media you get feedback in seconds. In the workplace you need to be smarter about it. Think ahead about how you would get your feedback. A good way is to find a partner, boss, or anyone whose opinion you trust and ask for advice on your result. Asking for feedback will usually result in vague or positive comments, advice will make them look at what can be better ([HBR – Why Asking for Advice Is More Effective Than Asking for Feedback](https://hbr.org/2019/09/why-asking-for-advice-is-more-effective-than-asking-for-feedback)).

High stakes. This one might be obvious but you need to want the result. The one that helps me set the stakes is a deadline. The only all-nighter I’ve managed to pull is because of deadlines (and a LAN party when I was young). On the other hand, take a look at knitting. It might be hard for me, but I could succeed in making a napkin, and I will know immediately if I made it. But I don’t want to.

Novelty. This is the main source for the dopamine. Perhaps you are trying to learn a new skill, where novelty is easy. But you can also work in a different environment, like a new coffee place.

The most influential rule that Kotler mentions is the 4% rule. The task should be 4% harder than what’s comfortable. Not too easy so you can wander, and not too hard so anxiety will be present. I found out that the “Do Not Disturb” function on my phone is my first step into flow state. I can’t manage to really sink into a problem with a phone, and even a small buzz could get me out of the zone (Software update tonight, thank you Apple).

The Cycle

So we know what it is, we know how to reach it (allegedly), now we’ll talk about what to expect.

There is a 4-stage cycle for every flow state session: struggle, release, flow, recovery. Note how the first stage is struggle, this is part of the cycle. Most of the difficulty is understanding that without struggle, you can’t create the trigger for a flow state. Recovery is also an important one, you are risking burnout if you try to keep going at it.

The struggle for me was the understanding that I want to write, I know what I want to write, but had a blank page. I kept thinking that I needed some framework, but instead I just pushed forward with throwing all I’ve got onto this Apple Notes. About the recovery, I actually felt refreshed after flow, not drained. Maybe I’m just better.

That’s about it, a summary of too many articles that tell the same thing, two YouTube videos, and a long run with Claude before understanding what the hell that feeling is. So circling back to the kind of activities that induce flow. Gaming is based on the challenge that is just slightly above your skill, and becoming harder as you progress. Hobbies usually have a clear goal with immediate results (like learning how to paint, each stroke gives feedback), and washing dishes has the clear goal of finishing, or being as efficient as possible to do it quickly.

Knowing how to get into the Mustard Zone is one thing, but understanding what it’s for is a different thing. I think reaching the zone on the train means that writing is actually 4% harder than my comfort zone. I just wish I didn’t need Israel Railways for it.