Digital Book Club February 2022 Week 2 |
|
Hey First name / friend, I hope you enjoyed last week's message about highlights, annotations, and tabs inside books. That's always a controversial topic and it was really fun to hear your thoughts! 😁 That email got a hugely positive response from you, my fans and friends, so this week I'm following up that conversation with some fascinating new research about flow state. What is flow state? Do you write, read, paint, or run? If you're reading this, I'm sure you have at least one creative or immersive hobby. You know that feeling when you're engaging in your hobby and the whole world falls away? You check the clock, and it's been hours, and you haven't even taken a sip of water or gone to the bathroom. You've been so absorbed in your hobby or task that time has distorted. You're enjoying yourself and producing amazing work or performing in top form. That's flow state. Flow often happens during creative activities and athletic pursuits. But flow states aren't just something experienced by artists, writers, or athletes. Flow can happen anytime a person is deeply engaged in a task, including during learning activities and work-related projects. Nicole, why are you telling me about flow state? We all want to be more productive, more joyful, more relaxed, and more skilled at our jobs and hobbies, right? Flow state can help us get there. Flow has a number of benefits. It's associated with increased happiness, higher intrinsic motivation, greater creativity, and better emotional regulation, among other positive effects. Research has even found that there are changes in brain activity during flow states. Other research suggests that there is also an increase in activity of dopamine (a brain chemical involved in pleasure and motivation) when people are experiencing flow. I craft my best sentences, write my best paragraphs and pages when I'm in flow state. As a highly motivated, business-oriented writer, I can only dream of turning flow state on at will. Until today. Because I've unlocked the secrets of flow state! How can I enter flow state? There are six main components of flow state: choosing a task you love, setting specific goals, feeling personal control over the outcome of your project, knowing you have the skills and knowledge needed to achieve your goals, eliminating distractions, and adding an element of challenge. If that sounds like a lot of stuff to think about, that's because it is. So, I'm going to break down these 6 steps by telling you how I do them. This system works for me—and while the exact suggestions here might not work for you or apply to you, I hope it inspires you to create a personalized, custom system that does work for you. - Choosing a task you love: This is easy for me, because I love writing, editing, proofreading, plotting, and publication prep. I adore my job, even if certain stages (like drafting) are much harder for me than others. On days when I'm feeling less motivated, I put on some lovely ambient focus music from Spotify or Calm to increase my joy.
- Setting specific goals: I set specific goals using the acronym SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound). After making sure each goal feels motivating and doable, I write them down in my weekly work planner. A dumb goal is something like, “I want to write more.” Too vague, right? A SMART goal sounds like, “starting at 1pm today, I'm going to spend two hours editing Girl in the Snow.”
- Feeling personal control over the outcome of your project: This one is a lot harder than it sounds, at least for me. A loss of personal control sounds like this: “Why are you even bothering to work on this story? No matter how hard you try, it might not sell, and you'll probably never be able to make a full-time living with your writing.” See how those thoughts are focusing too much on the outcome of the project, on the things I can't control? Not very motivating. A healthier thought process that gives me the feeling of personal control sounds like this: “I can't control how people will react to my story, but I can work hard to polish this draft and craft a novel I hope people will love. Either way, I am proud of my work, and I'll put time and effort into my business until I succeed.”
- Knowing you have the skills and knowledge needed to achieve your goals: Also a lot harder than it sounds. If you've ever dealt with impostor syndrome, you're probably familiar with that little voice in your head saying: “You're dumb. You're not good enough or smart enough to finish this project. Everyone will hate your work and they'll understand how terrible you are as soon as they see it.” That little voice is a real jerk! Again, not very motivating. I constantly have to remind myself, both silently and in writing, that I have the education, experience, intelligence, and skills to write amazing novels. If I don't focus on my mindset and mental health, then flow state stays out of reach for me.
- Eliminating distractions: I have to go in my office (cough bedroom cough) and shut my door after I've filled my water bottle, eaten something, taken my meds for the day, and taken care of any personal needs. That keeps my wonderful family and pets from poking their heads in and killing my flow state. It's really difficult to lock them out, too, because I love spending time with them! But I've got to do it for a few hours a day if I want to produce my best work. Once I'm in my office, I also turn silence my tablet, browser, phone, and smart watch notifications. Nothing breaks my flow more abruptly than a Facebook update. 😂
- Adding an element of challenge: This is my favorite way to invite flow state into my life. I challenge myself with speed, quality, sprints, and task tracking. Using my trusty pal pomofocus.io, I'll set 25, 60, or 90 minute sprints, depending on the task, then log my word count in my Words Per Hour spreadsheet. I try to get faster at drafting or editing every day. Even on days when I don't set a new personal record, the challenge keeps me engaged and productive for hours! I also set up task trackers in my bullet journal so I can check off tasks, pages, or chapters as I complete them. There's nothing better than the dumb little dopamine rush I get from filling out a checklist.
So, there you have it! If you want to learn more about flow state, check out a fascinating article from VeryWellMind by clicking the button below. (I based a lot of the content in this email off that article. Enjoy!) Customize these 6 steps for your job or hobby and email me back with your results. How did it go? How did it flow? |
|
25 Young Adult Fantasy and Sci-Fi Books Written by Black Authors to Read for Black History Month |
|
Remember to read books by Black authors all year round, not just in February 🖤 |
|
Looking for an epic young adult tale of survival and grit? Edge of Collapse by stellar indie author Kyla Stone is currently outselling A Court of Mist and Fury, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and Tracy Wolff's Crave. In the dead of winter, an EMP attack destroys the U.S. power grid.
No electricity. No cars or phones. The country is plunged into instant chaos.
But for Hannah Sheridan, it's the best day of her life. For the last five years, she's been the captive of a sadistic psychopath--until the EMP releases the lock of her prison.
Battered but not broken, she emerges from her underground cell into a hostile winter wilderness with nothing but her determination to survive.
Reclusive ex-soldier Liam Coleman is headed nowhere fast. He believed he was prepared for any disaster, until the EMP took everything he'd ever cared about in a matter of seconds.
Two hundred frozen, perilous miles stand between them and their destination in rural Michigan. But the killing cold isn't the only threat, for Hannah's captor isn't about to let her go...
When the country goes dark, ordinary people find themselves facing the end of the world as they know it. With society collapsing before their eyes, they'll have to risk everything to protect their home and the people they love.
Rated PG-13 for mild language and moderate violence. |
|
Link is fully recovered from his surgery ❤ Thanks for all the concerned messages. I really appreciate it. Odessa's suffering from some seasonal allergies and itchy skin, so we've been treating her with some soothing cream. To prevent her from licking it all off after, though, we have to put on her onesie…she does not like the onesie. 😂 |
|
Thank you so much for being a loyal member of the Digital Book Club! Next week, I might answer the question: what makes a character instantly likeable? |
|
Wishing you a week of fascinating fantasy, |
|
DISCLAIMER: Some links within this email could be affiliate links. This means that if you click the link and choose to sign up or pay for the product or service, I will receive a small commission. This does not increase the price for you. I am paid by the company that provides the product or service. These commissions help keep Nicole Adrianne Author running and allow me to provide you with more books. You are under no obligation to purchase via these links, but I thank you if you do! |
|
|
