Always found it tough to stay focused when studying when I was younger, then one day I really locked in and I felt the effects of it. I didn’t even realise how much time had passed.
Over time I learnt how to recreate this focus through much trial and error. So now I’ll share how I do this.
What is Flow State?
“Being in the zone. A state of complete absorption and obsession with an activity. Can often lose track of time.”
Now here are the 4 things I usually do to make it as easy as possible for me to achieve this flow state at will.
1. Make a Plan📋
Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
If we don’t make a plan the day before, you’ll lack clarity with what you need to get done for the day.
Not making a plan will lead to confusion, which will lead to friction, which will lead to you not making any progress.
For making your plan, try making it fit these 3 criteria:
- Make the plan the day before – for the reasons mentioned above.
- Be realistic & achievable – if the tasks are too big then you either won’t try to do it, or may feel even worse when trying and failing to do such a big task.
- Be specific – don’t just make a task that say “study”, make it detailed so that you know exactly what stuff you want to get done whether that be specific lectures, assignments, flashcards etc.
2. Do Not Disturb🌜
20 minutes into your study session and stuff is going well but *beep* you get a notification on your phone. Realistically you know you don’t even care for what it is, but still you check it regardless. Then before you know it an hour has gone by and you’re still on page 1 of your essay.
So please if you’d like to avoid this then PUT YOUR PHONE IN DND!
It is by far the most important point on this list so just do it and it’ll be a game changer.
One reason that I used to avoid doing this is because I’d be worried that I’d miss an important call or some sort of family emergency.
But luckily for us now we have the option to allow certain people to call or text us even in DND in the options, so have a study mode DND and have emergency contacts allowed and then there no excuse!
Another thing that used to help was the app called Forest🌳.
Gamifies the studying process.
Some things I would recommend when using Forest is:
- Have apps blocked so that you can’t just go on instagram mid study sesh lol – but have an allowance list for certain apps that you may need to access.
- Have it set to timer mode, so it will just count how long you’ve been studying for instead of the normal one where it times down from 20 mins etc.
- Take pride in the trees that you plant, makes it more fun.
3. Study With Me Videos🧑🏻💻
Not necessary at all to be honest, but definitely something that helps me get in the zone so I thought I’d mention it.
There are so many to choose from so just find one that works for you if you do choose to have one on.
My personal favourite is this one by Ali Abdaal, it has subtle music in the background that now I just associate with studying because I’m so used to it haha. And it’s not too long which is something I prefer.
4. Dim Lights💡
Another simple but effective one.
I find that having dim, warm lighting makes me feel much more in the zone.
But this isn’t for everyone as someone like my brother can’t work unless the lights are on full blast haha. So with this one just tailor it to your needs.
That’s all for this one though, I’ll link the full YouTube video I made on this below.
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