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Steve Pavlina has just posted a great article chock full of tips on how to reliably get yourself into a super-productive state. Often I find myself in the “creative flow state” he refers to; other times I can’t seem to focus and get in that state and I end up spending lots of time getting next to nothing done. I’m going to start implementing some of these ideas this week and see how they work.

For me the creative flow state is a common occurrence. I usually enter this state several times a week, staying with it for hours at a time. I�m able to routinely enjoy the flow state as long as I ensure the right conditions, which I�ll share with you in a moment. My first memories of habitually entering this flow state date back to the early 80s when I was learning BASIC programming. After school I�d rush through my homework in order to spend hours in front of my Atari 800 writing, testing, and tweaking programs just to see what the machine could do. Sometime around 8pm I�d notice my hunger, realize that the family had already eaten dinner, and ask my mom, �Why didn�t you call me when dinner was ready? I�m starving!� She�d invariably claim to have called me 3-4 times, usually with me verbally acknowledging, �I�ll be there in a minute.� Either I had no recollection of this happening, or it was like trying to recall a fuzzy dream memory. Did she really call me, or did I imagine it? I was so engrossed in my creative hobby that I became oblivious to what was going on around me. If I did acknowledge my mom, it must have been an unconscious reaction.

Mmm … the Atari 800. That’s what I learned to program on. What a great machine …

Read More: 7 Rules for Maximizing Your Creative Output

Tags: GTD, Getting Things Done, Steve Pavlina