Happy Sunday!
Here’s what you need to know about achieving flow in writing, including why that frustration you feel is actually a sign you’re on the right path (it’s called the struggle phase).
I have noticed on more than one occasion that half way through a free-write, if I push through the part where it feels like a struggle and/or I don’t know what to write next, I begin to feel like time disappears, I lose myself in the activity and the critical brain switches off, the writing feels effortless and connections seem to occur between things I previously did not know were connected.
I believe that this is a ‘flow’ state similar to the one described by Steven Kotler and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in their work.
Frustration and Flow
To be able to write and feel in flow is something that many of us writers hope to achieve, however writing can often bring with it a feeling that is nowhere near flow. Frustration can be a common feeling, especially as we sit down to write. The act of starting can be a tricky time of distraction management and trying to capture what we are thinking and write it down, and then manage the unsteady road between thoughts and our fingers.
We then move into the struggle of intensely trying to write what we hope to write. I have always thought of this aspect of writing – or starting any creative activity – as a nuisance. Something to hope to get past without experiencing, to wish wasn’t there.
But my thoughts on this are shifting now that I have begun studying flow states. It appears that this ‘struggle’, or frustration, is a key part of a flow experience. Apparently this is where the brain is pre-loading and intensely working consciously to gather up information, and practice the skill.
Where the balance of skill and information needed is shifting into alignment. Then comes the next stage, a ‘release’. This is where a deeper part of the brain, beyond the effortful conscious thinking part, takes over and we move into flow.
In flow, there are some key events that take place that mean that we feel a looser sense of time, a decrease in anxious self-awareness, a fluidity between effort and performance and a richer well of connections that mean we can work more quickly, more fluidly and feel differently.
This is interesting as it offers a different way of looking at struggles or frustrations. In creative activities, the frustration is part of the experience and we could instead see it as a gateway to something rather than a stop sign.
But isn’t frustration a flow ‘blocker’?
This is somewhat confusing though, I know. Because when it comes to flow triggers or blockers, it would be logical to think that frustration would be a flow blocker. However, that may not necessarily be the case.
Creative frustration is when we are focused on the project at hand. ‘Focused’ is the key word here. If something other than the task is causing a struggle or a frustration, then it is likely to be a blocker. If we are trying to write and are struggling with this, we need to free ourselves to have this struggle.
Release the pressure to stop struggling and let ourselves have that struggle. It is the thoughts about stopping and thoughts about the struggle that can divert us. These are the flow blockers, not the struggle itself. If we can allow ourselves to shift these flow blocking thoughts, by letting ourselves struggle for a bit, then we can turn these flow blocking thoughts into flow triggering thoughts.
Flow in writing
In free-writing, if you are wondering what to write or feeling like you don’t know what to write about, but let yourself feel that and just write that down, you will be allowing yourself to get to the next stage. If you keep writing, and allow your brain to write whatever may seem odd or silly or unrelated, you may then get to the stage where it feels fluid and effortless. We move into a different space, seeing patterns that were not visible to us previously.
15 Minutes of FLOW
I will be using the 15 Minutes of Flow session tonight to notice where frustration ends and flow begins. If you want to use this time for your practice then do join me at 7.30pm (UK time) online. The link to the livestream is below.
Join Me Today for Fifteen Minutes of Flow LIVE
Today’s Fifteen Minutes of Flow LIVE session will be at 7:30pm (UK time). We will create in our own spaces but at the same time, together.
How Our Session Will Unfold:
Introduction
Setup Time (2 minutes)
A brief moment to arrange your space and materials.
Practice (5 minutes)
During this 5-minute period, we can reduce any clear blockers to our process, and carry out some initial practice. This practice is important in identifying any blocks and frustrations and training our brain to focus on the creative task and not get distracted by blockers to the task.
Each time you practise these techniques, you’re not just preparing for today’s session, you’re developing a reliable pre-flow ritual that your brain will eventually recognise as the doorway to your creative state.
Focused Creative Time (15 minutes)
Our core practice time where we will engage with our chosen creative activity.
Reflection & Sharing (5 minutes)
An opportunity to discuss what worked and what didn’t in overcoming blockers.
Optional Journaling (7 minutes)
Free-writing to offload and process the session, or anything else from the week that has just gone. You could journal about moments when you felt blocked and how you moved through them.
The Fifteen Minutes of Flow Community
Here’s How to Join:
Join Our Facebook Group – For ongoing connection, support, and flow-focused community, join our dedicated Facebook Group FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FLOW. All session links will be posted there, along with additional resources and discussions.
Subscribe to My YouTube Channel – The live session will be streamed on my YouTube channel. Subscribe to THE WEEKLY FLOW PROCESS and click the notification bell to be alerted when we go live.
Mark Your Calendar – Today’s session begins at 7.30pm (UK time). All you’ll need is:
Your chosen creative materials (whatever speaks to you today)
A quiet space where you can focus for up to 30 minutes
A willingness to experiment with your creative process
Further reading & Resources
The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times… The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
In the flow state, attention becomes so laser-focused that everything else falls away. Action and awareness merge. Time flies. Self vanishes. All aspects of performance, both mental and physical, go through the roof.
Steven Kotler, The Rise of Superman
