Flow state is perhaps the single most amazing state of mind you can experience. I even think that the state of mind described as "enlightenment" is just the pinnacle form of flow state.

Flow state, however, is a bit different from still meditation. Sitting in silence without any movements is great for detaching yourself from literally everything, but flow-state tries to mimic that same detachment but applies it to work—to action.

If you're interested in being as conscious as possible while doing stuff in the world, read this letter. I will share with you how I enter a flow state every time I implement the following blueprint.

There's obviously no way for me to prove that I enter flow-state when I implement the blueprint I'm about to give you. You simply have to do an experiment and see if it works for you.

Missing out on flow state is a tragedy. I think it's the best state of mind to be in while awake, especially if you're trying to be productive. That's why I apply this blueprint to maximize focus on building my business. I want to be as focused as possible during my business focus sessions and get as much done as possible. I aim for quality instead of unnecessarily huge amounts of quantity.

If you have nothing to build or focus on, I recommend picking something like reading, writing, drawing, or something else that interests you and involves mental work.

Given you have something in mind right now and are interested in how I enter flow state every morning, continue reading…

The night before

To enter flow state you must be well-rested. This means that you had about 7-9 hours of quality sleep. The focus sessions dedicated to entering flow state will happen in the morning of the next day, so if you want to enter flow state tomorrow morning, you must prepare this night.

Try doing this today, and implement the blueprint right away. Why are you reading this anyway if you aren't going to implement this stuff? There's nothing to learn here if you don't change something in your actual life.

But I digress, sorry.

In the night before you wish to enter flow state, optimize for maximum sleep quality, and plan the next morning. Here's how to do both:

Optimizing for sleep quality

Great sleep is a consequence of implementing a few things. These are:

• No food approximately 3 hours before going to sleep because your gut will be occupied with digestion, and therefore you will not be able to enter deep sleep and truly rest.

• No water approximately 1 hour before sleep because your bladder will be full, and therefore you will have to go to the toilet throughout the night and have light sleep in general.

• No caffeine 8-12 hours before going to sleep since caffeine blocks adenosine receptors in your brain, and adenosine is responsible for making you sleepy, therefore you won't be truly calmed down and not sleep deeply.

• No THC before going to sleep (ideally also multiple hours before going to sleep as with caffeine) because THC blocks REM sleep (deep sleep), and therefore you won't be fully rested.

• Having a relatively cold room because our bodies are designed to get sleepy when the sun is gone, and therefore a cold environment makes you even more sleepy.

• And if you can additionally manage to minimize blue light from digital devices that would also be amazing since that light promotes the activation of brain processes which are usually designed to wake you up and keep you awake throughout the day (sunlight contains blue light).

Try this out today. It may be a lot but if you can implement this you will sleep like a baby (if you're addicted to THC I recommend smoking your last joint about 4-5 hours before going to sleep so that you can enter deep sleep successfully but also avoid withdrawal symptoms).

Planning the next morning

Since it makes sense to minimize blue light for better sleep quality it makes sense to plan the morning right before going to sleep. You can write with pen and paper if you wish to plan while writing things down (I recommend having a whiteboard by the way, it's tremendous for strategizing and brain-storming) but you can also just think internally.

What you're going to plan is basically what you're going to focus on. Think about that solely. That is the purpose of the focus session in the first place. To be focused on SOMEthing.

So what is it?

Building your business? Reading? Writing?

Whatever it is don't only think about what it is in general but get very specific about it. That will help you take action immediately once you start focusing in the morning. The goal is to start taking action immediately and to do nothing but take action during those focus sessions.

The Focus Morning

To enter flow state in the morning you need to wake up completely while also staying dopamine-neutral. Dopamine-neutral means that you don't consume any food, social media, Netflix, or any drugs other than caffeine.

Caffeine will help you with focus but everything else should be avoided.

So tomorrow morning, first wake up completely. You might want to go for a quick walk, drink a coffee, or just sit around until you're awake. But don't consume ANY food or media.

Then, on an empty stomach and perhaps caffeinated brain, start your first focus session. Focus on whatever you planned the night before, and set an alarm for 90 minutes.

It's important to have an empty stomach because your body can then allocate all its resources to your object of focus. But if you're digesting it will—at least partially—spend energy on digestion, which decreases your focus.

The ultradian cycle

We humans have something called the ultradian cycle. These are 90-minute cycles of brain-wave fluctuations our system undergoes. What this basically means is that your brain is maximally active for about 90 minutes, then shuts itself off a bit to restore its energy, and then gets active for another 90 minutes. It's a natural rest system for maximum brain power throughout the day.

It therefore makes sense to align your focus sessions with your ultradian cycle since you decrease your focus levels if you focus intensely for longer than 90 minutes.

So after you're awake in the morning have your first intense focus session for 90 minutes, and go as hardcore as possible during that. Then, take a 10 to 30 minute break, chilling. Don't use your phone or watch any other digital device. Don't read or have demanding conversations with other humans. Just chill. Maybe meditate, go for a walk, or take a nap. After that pause, set another timer for 90 minutes, and go hardcore again. Focus as intensely as possible.

This is basically it.

Two 90-minute focus sessions in the morning. If you do everything I told you in this letter you will probably enter flow state very frequently, and get a lot of shit done.

To stay consistent and don't exhaust me too much (I aim to enter flow state every morning) I act randomly in a freestyle way for the rest of the day. Having only two 90-minute focus sessions where I go as hardcore as possible is enough to get the most important things done. For the rest of the day I go to the gym, read, chill, do random things, and work if I want to (but I don't force myself to focus so much that my head explodes).

However, those 3 hours in the morning are dedicated to giving it my all. To go all in. To put in 110% of my energy. I recommend you do the same.

So try it out, dude. Implement the sleep optimization action items this night, and plan your focus session before going to sleep. Then when you wake up tomorrow morning, get yourself fully awake but don't consume any food or media of any kind. After you're completely awake have two 90-minute focus sessions separated by a 10-30 minute pause of resting in between.

If you do this you increase your chances of detaching from your physical desires for the given focus session and enter a zone of pure immersion in work. This is the time of my day that I love the most. This is the essence of my life.

Ömer, powered by Ozmania