Personal Flow State Principles

This post is an attempt at identifying personal patterns to enter a Flow State. The Flow State is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity (source: Wikipedia).

Before work:

  1. A strong morning routine

  2. Waking up without an alarm clock

  3. Shower, with a gradual shift from hot to cold water

  4. Ginger Tea + Oregano eggs with slices of bread (my favorite breakfast)

  5. Don’t drink coffee out of habit (anxiety). Drink it because you enjoy it.

  6. No Internet in the first 2 hours of the day.

  7. Dress well. Never go to war without an armor.

  8. Daily objectives

  9. Pick your daily objectives the day before

  10. Identify atomic tasks to validate each objective

  11. Prioritize the objectives (most important first, then the most urgent)

  12. Clean desk

  13. Meditation

  14. Remember the profound reasons why you are about to work

  15. Answer emails, messages, inquiries etc. once (don’t be trapped in an infinite loop of replying/waiting for a reply)

During work:

  1. Chill music

  2. Plenty of light

  3. Snacks and tea, coffee if needed

  4. Don’t rethink the tasks, just make

  5. Cross the tasks on Trello as they are done (reward, feeling of accomplishment)

  6. Share what is done as soon as possible (reward + accountability, gets you momentum)

  7. Remove distractions (unneeded tabs, desk, empty cups, notifications, chatter)

  8. Don’t multi-task. Pick a task and don’t switch your attention until it’s done.

After work:

  1. Wander mindlessly, both online and IRL. Don’t strive for productivity.

  2. Consume content (read a book, watch a movie, attend a course etc.)

  3.  Chit-chat with your loved ones

  4. Work out

  5. Party hard

  6. Go to sleep whenever you feel tired. Sleep well.