3 hours of creative ‘flow’ is all you need to change your life

Flow states have changed my life. I don’t work hard. I chase flow states.

Benjamin Hardy, wrote this headline in one of his recent articles. He, too, has witnessed the power of flow states. Many people understand the notion of flow, but they don’t utilize flow because it’s not simplistically explained for them to implement it.

I will take the complex notion of flow states and make it stupidly simple, so you can do 3 hours of work that gives you the rewards of 8 hours of work.

Flow states act like a distraction. I’m writing in flow right now with two fingers that were badly burned this morning. I can’t feel the burn. Why?

Flow states block my pain and act as an escape.

Flow states are like teleporting from consciousness to a dreamland in your mind where effort looks easy. Without flow, you’re inefficient. Work without flow feels like a hike up the steepest hill you’ve ever seen in comparison.

Flow equals easy work.

Flow is timelessness

When you’re in flow your perception of time radically changes. Eight hours can feel like 30 minutes. Time goes so quickly because your brain is distracted by the work.

Altering how you perceive time is a powerful concept. When time looks and feels different, you look and feel different. People spend so much of their lives chasing experiences and trying to change state.

What if the change of state you need so desperately is not a holiday to an island in the Caribbean, but a flow state delivered to you at home? You don’t have to wait for flow states to find you, magically. You can create flow.

How to get into flow states, quickly

Imagine your life without flow as level one in a computer game.

Now imagine swallowing that magic mushroom in Nintendo’s Super Mario game and leveling up. Imagine getting an upgrade to every part of your character in a computer game. That’s what flow is: an upgrade.

I have mastered flow over the last 6 years. Here are a few quick hacks to power up your avatar in this game of life.

Relax

Stress is the enemy of flow.

Get your phone and all of its stress out of your way. Close the door. Block the mailman from pushing the doorbell and unplug it. Turn off the terrible news of doom and fear.

Relax. Take a breath. Think about what flow is going to be like. Imagine yourself walking through the flow portal into another dimension.

Consume caffeine

Coffee is one of the main ingredients of flow. You need it to get your brain kickstarted and your energy levels turned up.

The coffee I find that works the best is anything that is strong. One heaped teaspoon of instant coffee works best.

Read blog posts

Blog posts turn on the ideas machine in your mind. I read HumanParts, The Ascent, and MindCafe to get lost in the stories of others.

I try to trap myself in stories so I can trap my monkey mind that says “what you have to say is stupid.” Reading is a distraction from reality.

When you escape reality, you find it easier to discover flow.

Warm-up

Showers are one of the most underrated life hacks. Have you ever noticed how in the shower you come up with the best ideas? That’s because you are relaxed. The water falling from the top of the shower onto your body is peaceful — hypnotizing even.

Load up your brain with a few ideas you want to try once you’re in flow. Then take a warm shower and relax. Forget the water bill. The money you earn from the work you do in flow will far outweigh a few extra liters of water.

Watching videos that give you chills down your spine

This is the most underrated productivity hack of all time. Get chills down your spine. Manifest them any way you can.

When you get chills down your spine you unlock the secret code of your own passion.

I have one music video called “Brother” that does it for me. The video shows a young man screaming about his brother and all the pain he has suffered. He screams into the mic. You can hear the beauty of the cry in his voice. I’ve watched that video more than one-hundred times and it stills gives me chills down my spine. Find a video like that. (Or steal the video I use.)

Passion and flow go hand in hand. You can’t remember your own passion easily until you see it in someone else. Don’t wait for the magic moment.

Youtube someone else’s passion as a reminder for yours.

Noise-canceling headphones

This is a recent addition to my flow states. I’ve always written with movie soundtracks in my headphones. The problem? Noise leakage. I live in a student apartment and those young millennials are loud mofos.

Noise-canceling headphones help you block out noise and the people who you might share your home with.

Interruptions are the enemy of flow.

The result of flow when practiced:

At the top, I promised flow states will change your life. Ben Hardy said it too and became a millionaire blogger as a result of flow.

All you need is three hours of creative flow every day. You can do a whole day’s work in three hours if you master flow.

Since learning about flow I have gone from three hours to 8–10 hours of continuous flow. Many people ask me how I publish more than ten blog posts a week and thousands of short social media posts. Flow is the secret. I didn’t master writing or social media. I mastered flow.

I’ve made enough money to never work a 9–5 job again if I choose, thanks to flow. I discovered a meaning for my life — to inspire others — thanks to flow. I’ve written thousands of articles on the internet because of flow.

If you’re not using flow states you’re wasting your life.

You can change your life through flow. Relax, caffeinate, read, take a warm shower, feel those spine-tingling moments, and unleash your passion. When you do, everything will change.

The world will look different. Your reality will be something you look back on and become proud of.

Flow is an opportunity. Will you take some for yourself?

This article first appeared on Medium. Join my email list with 40K+ people for more helpful insights.