Summary

The website content discusses the concept of flow states in writing and how achieving this state can transform the writing experience into a more enjoyable and spiritually connected activity.

Abstract

The article "Why Do You Dread Writing Another Word?" delves into the psychological state known as "flow," where individuals become fully immersed and engaged in their writing, often leading to enhanced performance and a sense of spiritual connection. The author, drawing on the research of Csikszentmihalyi, explains that flow occurs when there is a balance between the challenge of the task and the individual's skill level, coupled with clear goals and immediate feedback. The flow state is likened to a spiritual experience, providing a deep sense of meaning and joy. It is suggested that flow can significantly boost productivity, with studies indicating a fivefold increase in performance. The article also offers practical advice on how to enter a flow state while writing, emphasizing the importance of personal comfort, a clear objective, and engaging the creative part of the mind without self-editing. The author shares personal techniques for achieving flow, such as choosing the right time of day, creating a comfortable and distraction-free environment, setting specific writing goals, and using music and coffee to enhance focus and creativity.

Opinions

The author believes that writing in a flow state is akin to a spiritual experience, adding a layer of beauty to the act of writing.
It is the author's opinion that flow states can be achieved in any activity, not just writing, if the conditions are right.
The author suggests that entering a flow state is not solely dependent on having advanced writing skills but rather on being comfortable with the chosen language and creating the right conditions.
Personalization is key; the author emphasizes that while general methods can help, individuals must find what works best for them to achieve a flow state.
The author values the act of writing without interruption for editing, allowing for a more natural expression of thoughts and feelings.
The author finds that listening to instrumental music and timing coffee consumption can facilitate entry into a flow state.
The author posits that flow states are a natural part of life and can transform a mundane task like writing into a transcendental experience.

Why Do You Dread Writing Another Word?

You are not writing from a flow state

I start writing and I am completely losing myself. My words become extensions of my thoughts and my inner world. I stop feeling the passing of time. I feel connected and isolated, my existential bubble revokes time and space.

I am pretty shocked by this as it looks too similar to a spiritual experience. Could writing be another way for touching the transcendental?

Flow states are shortcuts into spirituality

A flow state, also known as ‘’being in the zone’’, is a mental state in which a person performing some sort of activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.

According to Csikszentmihalyi [1] the researcher that named and studied the concept of flow extensively, the flow experience requires a balance of challenges or action opportunities with an individual’s skill as well as clear and well-defined goals with immediate feedback.

Sportspeople can often describe flow states where they felt something of a mystical experience. They were so connected and ‘in the zone’’ and that improved dramatically their performance. Furthermore, it wasn’t only a performance improvement, but at the same time with the action came an intimation with the sublime, a layer of beauty was added to highly effective performance.

Some people call it a trance, I think of it more like a contemplative meditation.

When I enter in a flow state while writing, I not only write effortlessly but also admire the act of doing itself. That admiration comes with a deep enjoyment of the activity I am doing. It doesn’t even matter that my words are not perfect, my phrases don’t always match what I wanted to say, or that my entire story won’t make much sense.

It is about the writing itself, about creating something of value for yourself and other people. It feels wonderful to give birth to an expression of your feelings. Writing being fueled by feelings is not only optimal for writing artistically oriented stories, but also to technical or any other kind of story.

It doesn’t belong to a single type of expression within an activity, as it is an expression as a way of being for a person.

That means that if washing dishes at that moment lies in the optimal place in your life as a challenge matching your skills, following immediate feedback, you can enter in a flow state.

I enter in a flow state while writing, but this state is available for any activity. It is like a backdoor into peak performance. It has been shown by Craston and Keller in a study [2] that was conducted over 10 year period, that flow states improved productivity by up to 500% relative to normal states of engaging with an activity.

It can drastically change the way you engage with your craft.

Because of the deep engagement with the present moment, flow states are also similar in the way they engage with the mind to spiritual experiences.

I think it comes to the fact that not only do I love writing in a flow state because of how natural and joyful it feels, but also that I am deeply entrenched with a sense of meaning while being in such a state.

How to get into a flow state

There are entire books and courses about this so it’s not a simple matter.

It is a natural emerging state and it comes with a deep sense of spontaneity, you can’t plan it. What you can do is create the optimal conditions for its emergence.

I don’t think that to enter in a flow state while writing you need formidable writing skills, but you need to be comfortable writing in the language you choose to write in.

Some methods can help anyone but you need to come up with solutions for yourself. This is how you could enter in a flow state while writing, it is also what works for me:

Find the moment when you have the best mental acuity within a day

For me, this is in the morning when I wake up after a small breakfast and a coffee.

Find a spot where you feel comfortable and have no distractions around you.

I have a space in my room where I work most of the day (I work remotely from home) and is fairly comfortable, and I have natural lighting from the side through a window.

Set a clear objective with a specific timeline

I aim for one article written in one hour and a half.

You need a more creative-oriented part of you to be the main character

To engage my creative mind more, and let me slide into a place of no anxiety and limitations, I write without editing a single word. I do my editing after I finished the entire story.

This doesn’t mean simply throwing words around without any research, it means giving as little input as possible to re-think what you write. Your writing should flow with ease one word after another

Plan when to drink your coffee

I try to drink coffee when I start writing to take advantage of the short-term effect of caffeine. I am fairly sensitive to caffeine, which is partly genetic and mostly because I try to take small breaks, to become sensible again to it.

The short-term of coffee for me is an increase in energy, ideas, and creativity in general.

Listen to a beautiful song

I love writing while listening to music. I cannot write while listening to music that has lyrics, but an instrumental piece boosts my capacities a lot.

With all the steps in mind, this is usually what it takes for me to enter 80% of the time in a flow state. I optimized this for myself but these steps can be taken by anyone. Nonetheless, this needs to be personalized for yourself.

To recap:

You need to be comfortable speaking in English or the language your write-in.
Find the moment when you have the best mental acuity within a day
Find a spot where you feel comfortable and have no distractions around you.
Set a clear objective with a specific timeline
You need a more creative-oriented part of you to be the main character of your mind.
Time drinking your coffee
Listen to a beautiful song

To summarize this, to enter a flow state you need an activity with a clear goal in mind, where you are completely engaged in the activity while being at your best in that moment of the day.

This is what works for me based on my research for this subject and what I also think can help you too.

Flow states are attainable, these states are not for rare moments but a natural and relevant part of ordinary life, it can elevate a dreadful experience into a transcendental one and change completely the way you feel while writing.

References:

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding flow: the psychology of engagement with everyday life, 1997. New York.
Cranston, S., & Keller, S. (2013). Increasing the meaning quotient of work. McKinsey Quarterly, 1(48–59).