I like to write early in the morning and late at night. After more than a year of writing on Medium, I’ve found those times are my creative sweet spot. But I didn’t know why it worked.
Recently I read an excellent blog post by Colleen M. Story that cleared it all up for me. Here’s a short aha moment I got from her post.
Being a little tired or foggy tends to open up your imagination. — Colleen M. Story
This explained a lot for me.
When I write early in the morning or late at night when I’m a little tired or foggy brained, I feel like the words just flow and I lose track of time. It puts me into that lovely creative flow state where all things are possible and time seems to stand still.
Another reason it works for me is those are the quietest times of the day for me with the least distractions. No phone calls, no interruptions from family or co-workers — just blissful silence. Just me and my iMac and my lovely Logitech MX Keys keyboard.
Now, your experience may vary due to your lifestyle and whether you write full-time or on the side.
So let’s try a little experiment to see what times, days and environments work best for you to achieve a creative flow state.
Start noticing the times that writing comes easy for you and your ideas just flow onto paper or screen.
What time of the day was it? Was it on a weekday or weekend or just on certain days of the week?
Were you a little tired?
How long did the flow state last?
What was your environment like? Were you at home, outdoors or in a cafe?
What are you wearing? Were you in your comfy writing clothes or your regular out and about clothes?
What tools did you use to write? Were you using your phone, tablet, laptop, desktop computer or just pen and paper?
Did you listen to instrumental music?
Was it quiet?
Was there anything else you noticed? Smells, sounds or colors?
Now, record these findings over a few weeks in a journal or notebook. When you have enough insights, do a quick analysis of what works best for you to slide into your creative flow state.
Now you have a complete roadmap of the best times and environments to make the most of your creative writing time.
Takeaway: Time and place matter when you’re writing.
Knowing how to best use your creative flow time and environment will help you become more productive and access that joyful flow whenever you want.
What did you learn about how to best access your flow state? Please share in the comments.
© Linda Locke
Linda Locke is a writer and mentor/teacher. She lives in Southern California in Ventura County by the Coast with her husband and lots and lots of books.