Unlocking Flow: Five Strategies to Boost Your Creative Potential
“So... how do you know when it’s finished?”
I get asked this a lot. And yes, I (almost always) know when it’s time to stop working on a piece.
But here's the thing—it’s taken years of getting it wrong to develop that instinct. Experience is a tough teacher, after all. When an interior designer recently posed this question at my latest exhibition at Camerich, I gave them a different answer than usual, which got me thinking. So, I decided to write a post about it.
An Agreement, Convergent Series, Sarah Daly (2024)
I’m sure you’ve had those moments when you just knew something had come together perfectly.
Maybe it was hitting the right note to a Taylor Swift song in the car on your commute, or driving a golf ball straight down the fairway with that satisfying crack, watching it roll up to the green. These moments, when everything feels right, are what we call a "flow state."
The concept of "flow" was pioneered by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, who described it as a mental state where a person is fully immersed in an activity, feeling energized, focused, and deeply engaged. Sound familiar?
Whether you're a painter, architect, musician, software developer, interior designer, or athlete, entering the flow state allows for peak performance and creativity. But how do you tap into this elusive state of flow? And for us creatives, how does this deep immersion help us answer the timeless question: "How do I know when it’s finished?"
Understanding Flow State
Csíkszentmihályi’s research identifies flow as the optimal experience where the boundary between the self and the task fades away. Time either seems to stand still or fly by, and the person feels an intrinsic sense of satisfaction just from the act of doing. This immersive state arises when three key conditions align:
Challenge-Skill Balance: Flow happens when the challenge of a task is perfectly matched to your abilities—not too easy, which leads to boredom, and not too difficult, which causes frustration. The task should stretch your skills and push you to the edge of your capabilities.
Clear Goals and Immediate Feedback: Knowing what you want to achieve and receiving direct, immediate feedback keeps you focused. In creative fields like painting, the canvas itself provides feedback—are the tones working? Is the composition balanced?
Deep Focus and Elimination of Distractions: Flow requires total concentration. When distractions are minimized, you can lose yourself in the task and become fully absorbed in the moment.
I have added a fourth condition:
Create a beautiful, calm environment: Spaces that are curated for an emotional state, like calmness, can be a conductor for our best work. Bring a beautiful chair, inspiring artwork, or a lush plant into your space.
I’ve found that developing the ability to enter this "flow state" is crucial for those of us whose roles are rooted in creativity or innovation. Reaching this state not only fosters a deep connection to the work we are doing but also enables new ideas and solutions to emerge. And just as importantly, it’s about refining the work until it reaches its final form.
Knowing when it is done
Flow state plays a subtle yet powerful role in helping us recognize when our work is complete. As an artist, being in flow connects us deeply to our intuition, allowing us to become more attuned to the evolving needs of the painting. Here’s how this process unfolds:
Listening to the work: When in flow, a painter is fully immersed in the medium. Every color choice and compositional decision seems to speak back, guiding the next step. Many artists describe this as a conversation with their work—the painting "tells" them when it requires more attention or when it feels resolved.
A Point of Decision (Ochre), Sarah Daly (2024)
Recognizing the journey, not just the destination: Flow is intrinsically rewarding, so painters often feel a sense of accomplishment throughout the creative process, not just when the painting is finished. However, when emotional satisfaction peaks—when there’s no longer any tension or imbalance—it can signal that the piece is complete, or at least complete for that moment. Sometimes, it’s simply done for the day.
Reaching a point of balance: Just as flow is about balancing skill with challenge, finishing a painting involves achieving a balance of elements—color, form, texture, and space. When these components harmonize, we may instinctively recognize the painting as finished. It just feels "right."
Trusting your intuition: Flow helps artists avoid the trap of overworking a piece, which is a common struggle for those of us who are goal-oriented. In the flow state, you're deeply connected to the process, and your intuition becomes sharper. This intuitive sense guides you to know when to step back. If the flow breaks and tension arises, that’s often a clue to pause and reflect. At that point, I typically walk away for the day because if I push further, I risk undoing the good work already done. For me, this decision is more of a "body-feeling" than a "mind-feeling."
Five strategies for getting into flow state
Like anything worthwhile, setting yourself up to get into a "flow state" requires intention and practice. Here are five strategies for artists—or anyone else—to enter this optimal state:
Create rituals: Many creatives start their workday with rituals—simple actions like organizing their tools or making a cup of coffee. These routines act as triggers to prepare the mind and body for focused work. I’m a bit of an Atomic Habits fan, so creativity after coffee works for me.
Set a clear goal: Having a direction or intention before beginning can help focus attention. For a painter, the goal may be as simple as getting the base layers in, working on a specific part of the painting, or refining a technique.
Eliminate distractions: Flow demands deep concentration. I turn off notifications, and I don’t listen to music or podcasts. Nothing—just the world around me as it happens. Creating a focused environment can help facilitate this state.
A ‘bit’ of a challenge: If a painting feels too easy, or if I’ve done something similar before, I’m less likely to move into a truly creative state. I might use a new medium, experiment with a new technique, or even move the piece to a different place so I’m seeing it from a new perspective. Conversely, if a task feels too overwhelming, I break it down into manageable pieces. I’ve got some very large commissions coming up, so I’m breaking those into step-by-step sections—way less daunting.
Ditching criticism and comparison (creativity’s evil stepsisters): Flow thrives on the absence of self-consciousness. To enter flow more easily, give yourself permission to create without constantly judging your own work. There will be time for healthy critique later, but during the flow state, immersion is key. A BIG tip here: don’t look at Instagram for a while. Really. I did this for six whole months, and the impact on my happiness and creativity was enormous. Let your creativity exist in a world with less comparison.
North (Brisbane) + South (Melbourne), Sarah Daly (2024)
Developing our creative capability through practicing how to access the flow state is invaluable. For painters, the flow state fosters an intuitive connection with the art, helping them “listen” to the work and recognize a sense of balance and completion. The painting doesn’t need to be perfect—perfection can stifle creativity—but it should feel complete, like it is meant to exist.
When a painting feels to me like it should exist, that’s when I know it is complete.
Discover new original art
Head to the online shop to discover my newest works.