In the Flow
Red coffee cup. Book review in New York Times. It bleeds, it leads.
The usual way I write this blog is by scribbling things at random, whatever comes to mind, to get myself into the flow. It might be a funny way to start, but I learned to write in newsrooms and it always worked there, too. Those newsrooms were populated by angry, gesticulating screamers, a few colorful drunks and people with dark circles under their eyes chanting “if it bleeds, it leads.” Concentration was required if anything was going to get written on my shift.
We all have our concentration rituals. My mother, who was a sculptor, would always begin a new project by drinking coffee out of a red mug. After she died, her yoga teacher asked to have that red mug, so we gave it to her. 
To get myself in the flow I turn on the Universe Machine. It’s an electronic practice tool for players of classical Indian music and it sends out a quiet, subtly drifting drone note.
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According to current research, concentration results when we get some neurons in the prefrontal cortex of the brain to oscillate in unison. The oscillations are called gamma waves. Scientists believe you can get them pumping together by looking at flashing pulses of light. Such neural harmonizing is probably what’s happening when people meditate and find that their powers of concentration have increased. They are putting the brain into a state of greater synchrony.
If you want to get into the flow you also have to cut down on distractions, particularly those coming in through your ears – like your iPod or the TV. According to Winifred Gallagher, author of Rapt, a book recently reviewed in the New York Times, it’s hard for the brain to avoid paying attention to sounds, particularly voices. That’s why the vibration of the Universe Machine helps – it simplifies the sonic environment.
To get in the flow you also have to drop any self-consciousness. (“That little yellow ball’s coming at me really fast. With my limited tennis skills, do I really think I can hit it? Hey, I missed it. I am so bummed out and I suck at tennis.”) To win at tennis you somehow have to merge action and awareness and silence your inner critic. That’s been the focus of a sports coach named W. Timothy Gallwey, a meditation practitioner who wrote “The Inner Game of Tennis.” When you mentally hit reset after every point you get in the groove and get on your game.
The state of “flow” itself has been studied by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of the seminal book, “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.” Time flies when you’re having fun, and time becomes elastic when you are in the creative flow. Completely losing track of time is one of the nine factors, according to Csikszentmihalyi, that are the hallmarks of flow. If you want to find your flow it’s best to try only while undertaking a task that is rewarding all by itself – pleasure in accomplishment helps flow happen.
Getting your groove on is not magic. You just have to set up the right conditions for it to happen: minimize distractions, cultivate a sense of focus (meditation would work) and sometimes you need to use the red coffee cup.
Searching for the “Flow” is one of the things that led me to start my own yoga business. I feel I have found it, but now, just to see if the monetary reward will come from the euphoric dedication. Maybe I just need to get my red coffee cup and put in some more time. Many thanks for your great words!
Hi Lee,
I find the meditation helps to get in the flow–it clears out the thousand insipid thoughts that run through the mind continuously, waste water in the sewers of Paris. That being said, some days it is sheer torture facing the blank screen. The only thing to do is overwrite–the technique you mentioned–put down every thought that enters the mind, trusting that there will be a relevant core of ideas that will emerge. Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you.
Bob
Nice post Lee. The coffee and nonactive listening vibes work best for me. A few years ago I put together a mix of ambient audio I’ve captured and collected over the years that I use ritualistically at the beginning of any new project that I really want to truly engulf and wrap my mind around. Grab it here: (http://lamusic.blogspot.com/2007/08/if-ambient-passport-001.html) As an artist, designer and branding consultant I find that my most successful and gratifying work seems to surface after starting with the good old fashioned pencil to paper thumbnail/scribble approach along with some good coffee and my Ambient Passport mix. It’s amazingly how the meditative drones of the Redline recorded from the bowels of the Boston subway sound and work in the same way that your Universe Machine does. On a related note, I recently posted about a lecture I attended called The Importance of Creativity by Sir John Cleese: http://thatisright.blogspot.com/2009/04/importance-of-creativity.html – he too mentioned the art of getting into the flow and the positive affects it can have on gaining deeper understanding, retention and overall creativity.
Digging 500 Words Lee, keep up the great work – hope this finds you well and I look forward to more insightful posts.
Peace,
HMK
Listening to the Passport mix now – perfect, thanks for that. There’s something about low level vibe-y audio that focuses the mind. As for pencil and paper and creativity, check our Dr. Frank Wilson’s book “The Hand: How Its Use Shapes the Brain, Language, and Human Culture.” http://www.amazon.com/Hand-Shapes-Brain-Language-Culture/dp/0679412492. He’s made a great study of how drawing and creating with the hands also shapes creativity and language.
Yup, I hear you. I’m a believer in the “overwrite” or random thoughts method because something good always emerges from it. But, to borrow your metaphor, there is a certain amount of wading through the sewers that has to be done first.
Thanks for commenting! The money has an amazing way of showing up … but usually not on the timeline we set for it.
This one really hit the mark for me. We’ve all felt this way on a creative project – sometimes you just can’t get started and stare at a blank page. When somehow (through whatever magic, red coffee mug or otherwise) the flow starts, it builds in a wave and you can’t get the ideas out of your brain and down on to paper fast enough.
Interruptions are costly, too. Sometimes an interruption breaks the flow and it’s hard to get it started again. Actually, there have been studies that show that it takes your brain 15 minutes to recover from an interruption and get back into the flow of creative or detailed tasks. This article mentions a microsoft study but there have been others: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/business/25multi.html?pagewanted=all
Nice post. I enjoy your blog each week.
Thanks for posting! Regarding interruptions, I started to do a calculation about being distracted 15 minutes for each email I received or call I took and found that I had hours of “brain recovery time” to deal with each work day. Some people advocate answering emails only during a single set time of the day. I’ve been trying to organize days on themes or projects – trying to focus only on one thing. It just might work.
I wonder if the neurons in the prefrontal cortex burn up more neurotransmitters when concentrating, and when depleted of neurotransmitters, you have to take a break and lose your focus?
The last set of [medical] boards I studied for, I studied in a totally different way than usual.
I had read that you should do most of your concentrating, memory building and information retention work in the morning but not continuously. One should do three 40 minute sessions with 30 min breaks in between each session. guess 30 minutes of time is enough to replenish the neurotransmitters.
This also makes me think of how time is just perceived moments strung together.