"Flow State": Relates to Focused Creative Thinking and Problem-Solving
As an artist and a designer, the "Flow State" concept is not new to me. You go through stages in a single art piece and meticulously plan where certain things will end up and how you want them to look. Other details may get in by accident, and you roll with it. The work above is my latest example of a single piece that went through steps to get to the final version, and this single piece took upwards of four non-stop hours to complete. First came the sketch lines, the color, then new details and color again, and finally the background color.
How Flow State Applies to Everyone
I FEEL NOTHING ELSE MATTERS when I start the design process up to the finished piece. You feel like all your attention is on the details like subject matter, color, design, and bringing it all together in a visually pleasing way. The "flow state" doesn't just apply to artists. It applies to anyone who focuses on one task at a time for a significant amount of time and eventually loses track of time. Steven Kotler, an author and journalist, wrote a post for Psychology Today on flow states and creativity.
“optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best. In flow, concentration becomes so laser-focused that everything else falls away... And throughout, all aspects of performance are incredibly heightened—and that includes creative performance”
This may have been written nine years ago, but what was discovered about flow states and creativity has not changed since this post was written. When we allow ourselves the opportunity to monotask and put extreme effort into it, we feel this sense of passion, creative ideas, and the ability to keep working until the task is done.
Stop Multitasking
This is why we should stop trying to multitask and step back to realize what it takes to make greatness happen. I do not multitask when making art or design; builders don't need to multitask because they have a team that handles each job separately, so no one needs to multitask, and companies hire workers so they don't need to multitask and overwork themselves.
Hello, I am Joseph Crickmore.
But you can call me Joey. I love art and design, and anything else that can be created with my own hands. I have a younger brother who has an autistic disorder, so I always show my support on World Autism Awareness Day.
I myself am a designer, content creator, and freelance artist for commissions.
