Creative Flow is “what you experience when in the zone, when you’re fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of an activity; or the mental state of being completely present and fully immersed in a task–when you become one–outside distractions recede from your consciousness and your mind is fully open and attuned to the act of creating.”

During creative flow, when I’m in the zone, I am rarely self-critical, judgmental, or filled with doubt. I am usually calm, and I feel a sense of clarity and joy. Flow also happens when things work in harmony with each other, which is a different kind of flow, but I think is part of the overall Creative Flow.

Creative Flow helps me tremendously. Since anxiety and stress are major contributors of resistance, self-doubt, and fear, I’ve found that when I pursue creativity actively, like working on a spread, like the cute female turtle for this week’s spread, I can often get into the zone, or the Flow.

Before I sit down to work on things, whether it’s watercolor, journaling, or planning, I usually start with clearing my space, setting things up for the activity, and making sure everything is ready. Sometimes I light a candle, other times I make sure the wax warmer is turned on. I make sure I have a beverage close by, and I usually find something relaxing to listen to. Sometimes it’s an Audible book, other times it’s a Podcast or a TedTalk, or a YouTube video or instrumental music.

The more in sync and harmonious things are creatively, the easier it is for me to find that Flow and get into the zone. It’s why I’m now using the Bullet Journal Method and the Hobonichi Cousin Planner together, and why I switched back to using an A5 notebook with Tomoe River paper (I’m currently using Nanami Paper’s Seven Seas Crossfield with the New Tomoe River Paper). It’s why I also use a journal for my “art Journal,” which is really just a way for me to document our lives, and why I’m going back to what I am calling a sketch journal, which is a way for me to document something from my day, usually a moment that stands out to me.

What does your “Flow” state look like? What is your idea of Creative Flow? What works for you to help get you into the “Flow?”