How to improve your odds of entering the flow state
There I was, sitting at my computer with a half-written blog in front of me. Naturally, I was staring out the window instead of writing. Even when a post is flowing well, my eyes seem to drift. “C’mon Heather, back to the article.” More staring. More chiding myself.
“Why can’t I focus?”
Abiding by my “It’s not you, it’s your tactics,” I decided I needed an assist. In popped my headphones and on popped Brain.fm.
Brain.fm provides what they call “functional music” made to impact your brain and behavior. It’s research based and they’re continuing the research as we speak. They’re not the only ones out there but they are the first to get my money (under $50 for the year).
Basically, sound can impact the way the neurons in your brain fire. Not all sound is the same - Brain.fm uses music to help with focus, relaxation and sleep. They have even run an early experiment that shows their music reduces attentional lapses (keep you from getting distracted).
Commercial music is made to grab your attention. Often we want this, like with workout music or something we want to sing along to. The music for Brain.fm is about the opposite. It wants to help you get into focus and stay there. There are no gaps, breaks or sharp changes to grab your attention.
I use it regularly enough that I find it incredibly helpful in popping me right back into flow after a GoGoDone break. (GoGoDone is a virtual coworking community where we work together on Zoom and then take short 5-10 minute networking/connection breaks - join us already!)
That’s a win-win for me! Short brain break to refresh without losing the stream of the work. Super-powered brain indeed!
Brain.fm has a ton of choices from classical to beach to forest to underwater. I’ve used them for focus and relaxation and love it. It works on a desktop and there’s an even smoother app for your phone.
If you want to nerd out about it, I recommend their white paper or their FAQs.
But the best route to go is to try it for yourself! Anyone can get a free three-day trial. But if you know someone who uses it (and you do!), you can get a free 30-day trial.
Use my referral code for 30 free days of Brain.fm here: https://www.brain.fm/invite/MYpLvlQQJ7
I’d love to hear how it goes!