In yesterday's post you learned the immense power of regularly being in the flow state when working.

To access it, you have to go through the four phases in the flow cycle which is:

• Struggle. When you get started with your work, it will always feel slow and unpleasant in the beginning. Think of a car starting uphill and the energy you must spend to get going. You have to remain non-distracted during the struggle phase, otherwise you have to start over again.

• Release. At some point when struggling you will feel a sense of relief. Imagine the feeling when you have just run up a large hill. Taking microbreaks such as visiting the toilet (without phone) has been a great release activity in my experience.

• Flow. After the initial work, you will finally enter the magic flow state. Time will either slow down or fly by. You will be completely one with your work in an effortless matter.

• Recovery. You have to relax and take care of your body the rest of the day.

Moreover, there are also flow triggers that must be there in order to unleash such as:

• A clear intention on what you will do during this session and how long you will work

• The right balance of how difficult your work is

• Complete concentration (flow follows focus)

• No cognitive load and self talk

• Total Presence

Based on one year with daily flow states, here is a step-by-step guide I follow every time:

Step-by-step for entering flow

• Plan the session in your calendar in advance

• Turn off all distractions and do not visit non-essental sites

• Have a blank page where you can write down your self talk

• (Optional) turn on enjoyable, instrumental music (I recommend this playlist)

• Activate your timer so you can forget time

• Stare at your screen for 1 minute. If you become distracted, just stare again

• Always know that the initial sluggishness is a part of the game. Enjoy it, feel it.

Before you know it, you will get into the flow state. When time is up, write down everything related to the work and relax.

Tomorrow, you will receive effective tips to eliminate distractions and obstacles to it. Stay tuned!