What is creative flow, and how can you find it?
Have you ever found yourself so absorbed in a creative activity that you temporarily forget everything else? You stop worrying about that dripping pipe in the bathroom. That tense conversation with a family member ceases looping around your head. You lose yourself in the task, everything just seems to come together, you feel limitless. And when you look up you are shocked to realise that an hour has gone by.
You might know this as being ‘in the zone’ or ‘in it’. But the term many of us now use to describe this state is ‘in flow’, and it’s a phrase that gets thrown around a lot when discussing creativity. So what is creative flow? And how can you find it?
What is ‘creative flow’?
When discussing flow the conversation often begins with psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi who coined the term in the 1970s. Having lived through World War 2, Csikszentmihalyi observed the damaging impact that the war had upon those in his life, with most unable to experience longer term happiness. It led him to search for answers to the question ‘What creates a life worth living?’.
After studying psychology he came to the conclusion that happiness is a state that comes from within us, rather then something we can find when we have the perfect external conditions. We now know this as positive psychology which is ‘a branch of psychology focused on the character strengths and behaviors that allow individuals to build a life of meaning and purpose—to move beyond surviving to flourishing.’ In positive psychology it is believed that the individual can develop practices and build a mental outlook which will help to increase their happiness and enhance how meaningful they perceive their life to be.
Csikszentmihalyi was particularly interested in the idea of ‘optimal consciousness’ - the state where a person is so involved in an activity that they lose track of time and feel totally focused on what they are doing. In his research he interviewed thousands of people from ballet dancers, composers and artists to athletes and chess players, asking them to describe this state. Noting that participants often described their experiences using the word ‘flow’, for example a composer saying that his music ‘just flows out of itself’ or as an ‘effortless, spontaneous flow’, he labelled this state ‘flow’.
The flow state is one of intrinsic motivation - this means the drive to succeed or explore comes from within rather then from an external source. As Csikszentmihalyi states, in creatives he found people who were ‘essentially spending their life doing things for which many of them didn’t expect either fame or fortune, but which made their life meaningful and worth doing’. This is also described as an autotelic experience - the person is intrinsically motivated to take part in the act, and doing so brings them joy or is rewarding.
Why does ‘flow state’ happen?
In his 2004 TED Talk ‘Flow: The secret to happiness’, Csikszentmihalyi explains that the human brain is capable of processing about 100 bits of information per second, and gives the example that to listen to another person speak and understand the information requires around 60 bits per second. Therefore, when ‘in flow’ the concentration required is using a high level of the brains processing power - there just isn’t enough attention left to worry about the normal everyday things, or to even to be aware that you are hungry or tired.
What does flow feel like?
I asked my followers on my Instagram account what being in flow felt like for them, and the responses included a sense of joy and liberation, and a feeling of timelessness and getting lost in what they are doing in ‘the zone’. Some people responded that this led to them forgetting the little worries of life, and others said it felt like they weren’t making but ‘being’.
All of these seem to fit closely with Csikszentmihalyi’s description of flow from 1988:
“My mind isn’t wandering. I am not thinking of something else. I am totally involved in what I am doing. My body feels good. I don’t seem to hear anything. The world seems to be cut off from me. I am less aware of myself and my problems.”
So flow seems to be something most of us have experienced. And it’s also interesting to note that these ideas can be traced back through time and are found in Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu writing, and many people relate the experience to that of yoga or meditation. (ref). So in this sense we can see flow in a more generalised term as being as Csikszentmihalyi described ‘the holistic sensation that people feel when they act with total involvement.’
How can we find creative flow?
There are 8 key characteristics of flow that Csikszentmihalyi and his team identified:
There is a balance between the challenge of the activity and your skill level.
Deep concentration and focused attention on the task.
Clear, achievable goals.
A letting go of self-consciousness, sometimes described as ‘egolessness’.
It is an ‘autotelic’ experience - you find reward within the experience itself.
Time seems to transform or your perception of time is altered - this can include it slowing down or speeding up.
There is a sense of control over the task.
Immediate feedback - through doing the activity you can tell if you are making positive progress.
As you can see above, to reach a state of flow, the challenge of the activity needs to be balanced with your skill level. It’s easy to see that attempting something far outside our current skill level could cause us anxiety and frustration, and the solution to this would be to approach the art form at a more accessible level. But how does this work as you practice a creative activity and develop your skills? As you gain confidence and your skill level increases you may begin to find the activity less challenging, and this can result in boredom. Csikszentmihalyi believed that when you are bored, you are not using your full concentration and therefore cannot reach flow state.
However experiencing anxiety, worry and apathy are all disruptive to reaching flow state, so if the creative activities you approach are making you feel stressed, it might be worth looking more closely at why this is, and what changes you can make to increase your enjoyment. Do you need to take lessons to develop the foundation building blocks of your skill? Would doing a creative activity with friends make it more fun for you? Or would working with a creative coach help you to feel more confident in your ability to navigate these challenges and find a way that works best for you?
What can make it difficult to find flow?
There are other factors that might be coming into play if you are finding it difficult or impossible to experience the state of flow. These might include:
Distractions in your environment such as:
Environmental noise from music or other people.
Movement such as other people nearby or on the television.
Being interrupted or anticipating interruption, for example:
if you are a caregiver such as a carer or parent who is often needed urgently.
if you are trying to create your work in a space that is also social, such as a communal studio or building.
if you are waiting for something such as a phone call or a the doorbell to ring.
if your phone is nearby with notifications still on, or you are using a computer connected to social media or email notifications.
Unmet physical needs that distract you, for example:
needing to eat, drink or rest before you begin the activity.
being unable to find or use equipment or tools that are essential to the activity.
Self-doubt or performance anxiety such as:
an inner critic that makes it difficult to trust your own abilities before you even start.
the expectation that you will be disappointed with the end result.
feeling like you are being watched or judged by others.
Anxiety around the task from external sources including:
the pressure to meet a deadline.
not having enough time and being forced to rush the creative process or ‘skip’ important steps.
Life is full of distractions, and for most of us it’s unlikely that we have the perfect creative space (both physical and mental) available whenever we want it. But it may be helpful to think about what the most important elements are for you personally in accessing flow state. For example:
If you have small children is it possible to have a friend or family take them out for an hour sometimes so you will be able to concentrate?
If you are someone who has high sensitivity to noise and find this is really distracting, can you use noise cancelling earplugs or headphones?
Is there a local nature spot you know will be quiet? What can you do to make sure your physical needs have been met before you go there?
Are you under deadline pressure which is causing you anxiety? Could you ask for an extension?
Is your inner critic telling you that you’ll be disappointed with whatever you create before you even get started? Could journalling for a few minutes on this and countering some of those negative thoughts be useful before you get started creating?
Is it essential to be ‘in flow’ to feel creatively fulfilled?
Csikszentmihalyi’s popular book ‘Flow: The psychology of optimal experience’ aims to answer his early question ‘what makes life worth living’? He explores the different ways that we can bring flow into our lives, and how our thoughts and behaviours can influence this.
However, I think it is useful to see the all encompassing flow state as an ‘optimal’ experience. For some of us, life just isn’t conducive to easily finding flow. Time, energy, space...all of these resources can make a difference. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still engage with creative activities that will bring you joy, help you learn a new skill or develop your creative confidence. It’s important to remember there is still real value to things that interest you and you enjoy doing even for a few minutes - these also bring a sense of achievement and reward.
When I was a mother of a very small child I found it almost impossible to concentrate long enough on a task to find the ‘flow state’. I was often interrupted, and even the sound of my child playing with a family member downstairs would through my concentration off completely. I began to stay up late after everyone else in my house had gone to sleep because this was the time I was least likely to be interrupted. Initially it worked, but sacrificing much needed sleep wasn’t a long term solution, and had its own negative impacts!
Instead, looking at my life and identifying where the limitations were to my ability to concentrate may have worked better. Finding creative activities I could pick up and put down, or that I could do in a rare calm moment may have helped me to keep in touch with my creative self, without trying to force the space for finding flow into my already very full routine. For me, I began to find flow again in learning to hula hoop and play the ukulele - activities which I felt very little pressure around to improve making the learning process enjoyable and which I could easily start and stop again if a small window of time became available.
A note about flow and hyperfocus
Recently, with the increased awareness of neurodiversity there has been more discussion on hyperfocus - a state of intense focus and attention on a specific activity or area of interest which is a common experience of autistic and ADHD neurodiverse people. Research into the potential similarities and differences between flow and hyperfocus is ongoing, but it may be helpful to spend some time looking into both and finding what you identify most with as an individual.
To summarise - does finding creative flow make our lives better?
There is so much to learn and discuss around flow state. But I hope this post has been a useful introduction to understanding the origins of the term ‘creative flow’ and looking at how this could apply to you and your creative pursuits.
There is a great deal of evidence to suggest that being in a ‘flow state’ can increase our happiness, support our ability to intrinsically motivate ourselves and to learn how to regulate our emotions.. But it is important to remember that there is never a one size fits all solution to happiness, or to feeling creatively fulfilled. Depending on what is happening in both your external circumstances and internal experiences, finding that optimal experience of flow may be somewhat elusive to you. Identifying what conditions are best for you to find flow may be helpful, but engaging in short or simple activities with whatever attention you have access to can also be a great way to connect with your creativity!
If you’d like support in developing your creative confidence and discovering ways for you to find flow that fit with your life now then visit The Creative Pathfinding Programme.
Further reading:
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper and Row. ISBN 0-06-092043-2
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning. Basic Books, Inc. ISBN 0-465-02608-7
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology: The Collected Works of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Dordrecht: Springer, 2014. ISBN 978-94-017-9087-1