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You can't hack flow. You definitely cannot aim for mindfulness. All these are classic cart-before-the-horse conditions. Such flawed notions may sell books, but they don't resolve inner conflicts.

There's a paradox at the heart of this that is difficult to grasp but is true nonetheless.

Joshu asked Nansen: What is the path?

Nansen replied: Your everyday mind is the path.

Joshu: How does one attain it?

Nansen: When you try to attain you fail.

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You can encourage flow though. Turn off slack and outlook is a great start.

I find I normally get into flow more easily with a pressure washer and dirty floor than with code!

The other one is when I’ve “Ubered myself” to a destination, driving on autopilot.

I'll loop certain songs and just get jamming.

Same. Flow always seems easier with certain music. I make no claims as to the rigor used in this paper but since seeing it, I really do think sound is where it's at for getting momentum.

"Optimal Tempo for Groove: Its Relation to Directions of Body Movement and Japanese nori"

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.0046...

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