Flow & Focus Masterclass (Part 2)

Flow Optimisation

The first part of flow optimization is shifting your mindset and perspective around work.

Specifically, the hours you need to work to grow your business faster and make big leaps.

We’re living in the era where “hustle culture” is awarded. It is perceived as a status for entrepreneurs and everyone is blindly seeking it.

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead” or “I work 15 hours a day” – this is the trap.

So many entrepreneurs (maybe you too) fall into that trap. I did in the past as well.

According to research, hours don’t equal outcomes. 

Widely successful people on Earth are the proof. They have the same hours in a day as you and me. But they are a thousand times more productive and efficient. It doesn’t mean they are working a thousand times more.

Because that’s physically impossible. They can only work 2x more than an average individuals which is around 80-100 hours a week,

The biggest blocker of efficiency and productivity is thinking that time is the main thing that drives productivity and results.

Additional hours, according to research, lead to a decrease in total output.

There is a study by Stanford University that compares individuals working 50 hours a week and those working 75+ hours a week. Study shows that there is no difference in output with those 15 hours – it is actually making it worse.

The more you work, the less you work. That’s because of stress that builds up and you perform worse and worse on pointless tasks because you’re working just for the sake of working.

More work hours and stress lead to exhaustion, which leads to poor decision-making, and that results in errors and mistakes that can cost the business thousands of dollars (if not more). So as you can see, too much work is kinda of counterproductive.

The better way is this: Fewer hours + skills (flow, elimination, prioritization, etc) = more productivity.

You need to place a forcing function on your hours by limiting them down, forcing how many hours you are working. That leads me to the concept of work compression.

Work Compression

Work compression means reducing the number of hours you work. On top of that, you pick a specific number of hours that is much less than you currently work. Once you make that decision, you commit to never, no matter what, work over that amount.

By using work compression, you’re forced to unlock the skills needed to amplify productivity. You’re going to be more primed and focused which will result in you getting the same output (if not more) done in half the time.

Let’s dive deeper into the 3 main benefits of work compression.

1. Perceived Importance

It’s a degree to which you can clearly see what is important and what is not. This allows you to prioritize better so you can sequence things in order of importance and eliminate tasks that are not going to produce results at all. The research found that perceived importance heightened access to the flow state. You’re more motivated to pay attention to those tasks and invest more effort to sustain your focus. And that drives you to the flow.

Being in the flow boosts productivity by 400-500%.

You can simply tap into the power of perceived importance by cutting down your hours and forcing yourself to get those important tasks done within that time range.

2. Challenge-Skill Balance

Too much challenge leads to anxiety and overwhelm. Too little challenge leads to apathy and boredom. The best way to tune this balance is to exceed what you are normally capable of about 4% more. As mentioned in the previous part of the training, you want the challenge you’re doing to slightly outstrip your current skill level.

Increase challenge = increased skills.

Decreased hours = increased challenge.

This puts you in the sweet spot between boredom and anxiety which is the flow.

Perceived Importance + Challenge-Skill Balance = Better Flow.

Don’t push too far tho. You want to slightly stretch, not snap.

3. Recovery

Recovery is part of the flow cycle. Entrepreneurs can’t get in the flow because they can’t recover properly. The main reason for that is because of the “obligation” we create in our minds that we HAVE to produce more, do more, and be more.

Here’s the thing. Doing that (producing more, doing more, etc), in the brain, results in a constant drip of cortisol and norepinephrine which puts our nervous system in a permanent low-grade state of fight or flight sympathetic arousal.

True time off and proper recovery only occur when the constant knowing “obligation” to work is put fully on pause. It’s when you don’t obsess or think about work, what you have to do, or what you didn’t do that day. Once you close your computer, you need to switch off. You are off the clock.

Once you master proper recovery, you will actually make progress and you’ll escape the productivity guilt which accelerates and deepens the recovery even more.

One thing to remember, when it comes to producing results over the long haul, consistency beats intensity. That also applies to flow. You get in the flow state only when you don’t overdo the intensity.

Recovery is part of the work. Don’t underestimate it.

How To Increase Your Productivity By 500%?

You can do that by leveraging the work compression tool I’ve mentioned above.

You lock your work hours in the box and you don’t open or break the box.

Make sure the amount of hours you choose to work is less than you’re working right now.

Block your calendar during those hours, and make them unavailable.

In the beginning, it’s going to be very hard to stick to these compressed hours. You’re going to have a constant battle with your mind. That’s fine.

You’re going to feel this uneasy feeling that “you should be doing more” and slight anxiety will kick in. Breathe through it.

Always remember the goal of this all: you’re aiming to get more done in half the time.

Also, you are 3x your output while working half the numbers you are right now.

That’s not just cool – that’s a superpower in today’s world.

Work compression is all about how you see it and your mindset.

This new mindset is going to open up and it will open up through pain.

It will force your brain to problem-solve and see things more clearly.

So remember:

Subtract Hours + Multiply Output = 5x Productivity & Progress

Daily Structure To Maximise Flow & Focus

Not every work block in your need needs to be a “flow” block.

To enter the flow state you need a task that is 4% above your challenge-skill level.

Not every task is going to be like this. Tasks like replying to emails, Slack messages, or any menial task. Those won’t put you in flow because they are not challenging enough.

With that said, you are going to have 2 types of work blocks in a day.

1. Block 1: Flow Work Block – Needle Moving Tasks

• Minimum of 50-60 minutes long.

• Maximum of 120 minutes long.

• Ideally 90 minutes per flow block.

• Block 2: Low Focus Block – Every Other Tasks + Meetings

• These tasks don’t require a lot of energy and cognitive performance.

• These tasks don’t move the needle in your business as much.

• This block is also perfect for taking calls and checking with your team.

• These blocks can be as long as you want but stick to 60-120 minutes max.

No matter what work block you’re in, you still want to follow the basic rules of productivity:

• No multitasking.

• Remove distractions.

• Focus on 1 task until completion.

Now that you understand the two types of work blocks, let’s dive into when to do them.

Your flow work block is always recommended to be done first thing in the morning. That’s because you have the highest energy levels as well as willpower to tackle difficult + important tasks.

Once you’re done with all of the tasks in the flow work block, then you start working on the low-focus tasks and meetings.

If you do your flow work blocks in the evening because you were “busy” doing the low-focus tasks during the day, there is a low chance you will get the most important tasks done.

Why? Because in the evening your energy and willpower are depleted. There is no juice left in your brain to do difficult and important tasks.

That’s why, flow work blocks first and the rest follows.

With this information, you can schedule them in your calendar. I am not going to tell you exactly the hourly schedule you should stick to because everyone is different. You need to find out what works for you. This is my schedule for these two work blocks:

Flow Work Block: 7 AM – 11 AM

Low Focus Block + Meetings: 12 PM – 5 PM

My flow work blocks are always set in stone. I never change them. I never skip them.

However, my low focus blocks can vary from day to day. Sometimes there is nothing really much to do so instead of ending around 5 PM, I end at 3 PM. Or sometimes there are more meetings and low focus tasks to do so I push the clock to 6 PM.

I always have a shutdown time.

I won’t work after 7 PM. Just like with the starting time, I never work later than 7 AM.

When it comes to the exact tasks you should be doing in your morning flow work block, that depends. It depends on what business you run and what stage you are at.

A quick way to find out is to ask yourself:

“What’s the most important task I can focus on that will drive my business forward?”

Go from there.

Once you are clear on what to do every single day, schedule them in your calendar.

Plan every hour of the day – mostly your focus work blocks in the morning.

By doing so, you’ll ensure you’re able to get everything you need to do, done.

Every single evening, plan our your day and have 100% clarity on your tasks and schedule.

If you would like to check out “The Perfect Day For Entrepreneurs” Checklist I made a while back to know how to apply all of this and learn more about structuring your day, access it by clicking here (or the link in the description below).

Reprograming Yourself To Access Maximum Flow & Focus

Modern living is full of instant gratification. Do you want something? You can get it now.

Want dopamine to feel good? Scroll social media for hours.

We’re being programmed that we don’t need to work to get something.

We’re programmed to multitask and waste hours on social media.

Instant gratification is frying your dopamine receptors and causing you to look for cheap meaningless dopamine constantly. You become addicted to it.

When you sit down to work and you want to do some deep focus work, your brain is constantly looking for cheap dopamine and doing some “more entertaining”.

It wants you to grab your phone and scroll, watch YouTube videos, and listen to music.

If you want long-term success, you need to reprogram yourself to stop wanting and needing instant gratification in everything you do. Your results won’t come overnight.

You need to remove the idea that you’re going to get the money you want and the results you are seeking right now without any effort. It doesn’t work like that.

If you don’t reprogram yourself and if you’re going to stay in the instant gratification mode, it’s going to be 10x much harder for you to even start working every day and get things done.

The best way to remove this conditioning is to do a dopamine detox.

That doesn’t mean to “take away your dopamine”. It doesn’t work like that. You can’t take or shut down the basic neurochemical in your brain – that would result in crazy depression and apathy towards life.

You want to re-channel that dopamine to something that will help you grow – your work, your personal development, health, and fitness.

The quickest way to start this process is to uninstall all social media platforms from your phone, make it impossible to access on your laptop while you work, cancel your Netflix subscription, hide your PlayStation in a closet, or sell it. Take all of your distractions which are filled with dopamine right now and make them impossible to use and unattractive.

There is so much more that comes with dopamine detox, how to do it properly, but that’s for another training. For now, I just wanted to make you aware of this essential step in the process of maximum flow and focus.

Stay tuned for the Part 3!

To your success,

Miriam