3 Tips to Maximize Your Flow State to Get the Most Out of Writing

Every writer looks forward to their flow state. Because when you are in the flow state, you are fully engaged and focused on writing.

You become one with yourself and your thoughts. You get in your comfort zone and lose the sense of time. You produce your best work.

Writing in the flow zone will help you to meet whatever goals you set to achieve as well as increase the feelings of enjoyment of your activity.

As Catherine Moore writes: “Flow is one of life’s highly enjoyable states of being, wrapping us entirely in the present, and helping us be more creative, productive, and happy.”

You’re more likely to get into a flow state when you are working in a quiet environment with no distractions of any kind.

The question is, how do you achieve it when there’s so much going on in your life?

Since the beginning of the pandemic, many people have been working from home. That means family members are all together in the same house. Kids are studying at home. Distractions are bound to happen.

You may feel getting in the flow state is next to impossible in the current circumstances. However, achieving the flow state isn’t as hard as it seems.

Here are 3 tips that will help you get in the flow state.

Figure out your most productive time of day

If you are a parent with kids at home, caregiving responsibilities might fill up your day. Or if you are someone with a 9–5 job, then you need to pick hours either early in the morning before work or the evening.

No matter how busy you are, I’m sure you can carve out a little bit of time — it could be as little as an hour — to write.

If you haven’t yet figured out what times of day work best, you can experiment by picking different blocks of time during morning and evening hours.

As a parent with two kids at home, it was a trial and error for me to figure out my writing routine. Since I prefer a quiet environment to write, I’m at my best in the morning when my kids are sleeping or after they go to bed. I only have a couple of blocks of time to write — mornings and evenings — so I aim to make the most out of those times.

That’s why for me, early mornings or late evenings are ideal. If my work is at an editing stage, however, I can work on it anytime during the day. So, work with different time frames to figure out what works best for you.

Work in a quiet area with no interruptions

Today, as most people work from home, you may be interrupted by family members, phone calls, texts, social media notifications, etc.

To get the most out of the flow state, you have to find a quiet area where you have no interruptions of any kind. Once you decide on your work area, dedicate this area exclusively to writing.

A small but efficient workspace will meet your needs. At home, I have a tiny nook that serves as my office space. It’s small but cozy and it works just fine. I also limit my stationery items to the bare essentials.

Before you begin to write, turn off your phone for a certain amount of time. If you have kids, set them up with some kind of activity, especially if you choose to write during the day and they might interrupt your work. Hint: give them an activity they enjoy the most.

For example, my kids are crazy about Minecraft, and once they start playing and building their world together, they become fully engaged and preoccupied. That gives me plenty of time for things like editing my articles or putting ideas for my next article.

Also, before you write, have coffee or any other beverage of your choice by your side. This way, you don’t have to interrupt your work by stepping out to get a drink.

Consider writing on weekends

If you have a regular 9–5 or you are too busy with your kids’ remote learning during the week, or whatever your situation is, always remember that there is a weekend.

As I homeschool my kids on weekdays, I often prefer to do some of my writing on weekends. Weekends are something I always look forward to it at the end of every Friday when I take a sigh of relief after my kids’ week of schoolwork.

It’s not to say that I don’t write on weekdays, it’s just I find it more relaxing to write on weekends as I don’t have to juggle between attending to my kids and staying on track with my work.

If you choose to write on weekends, it helps to look at writing as a pleasurable, relaxing activity rather than another chore on your list that you have to complete. When you write with that mindset, not only will you achieve your flow state faster, but you’ll also enjoy the process a lot more without feeling overly stressed at the end.

The takeaway

Achieving a flow state may be easier than you think. To maximize your flow state:

• Figure out when you are most productive and fit your writing time in your schedule accordingly
• Work in a quiet area and avoid interruptions
• Write more on weekends