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Old 01-02-2007, 09:33 PM
Steve Pavlina Steve Pavlina is offline
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The creative create flow state can be entered consistently if the conditions are right. For me it's a fairly routine process and has nothing to do with luck. I've been entering this state regularly since I was 10 years old.

Those conditions include:
  • clarity of purpose (having a sense of what I want to create and why, doesn't have to be crystal clear when I begin though)
  • a private environment (i.e. cave) with a door I can close and lock, thereby isolating myself from the outside world
  • an open-ended schedule (i.e. at least several continuous hours available to work)
  • the ability to disregard interruptions (may require coordination with others)
  • very quiet, but occasionally some classical or non-vocal new age music, fountain running OK
  • prior mastery of whatever tools I'm using (I can't enter the flow state if I'm using new software, struggling with a new programming language)
I might expand the above into a full article, since I'm sure there are other conditions I missed because I take them for granted.

The typical corporate environment doesn't provide enough of these conditions, especially if you live in cubicle city.
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