Want to Optimize Creative Flow? Practice Hard, Then Let Go

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In the half-century since Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi first introduced the concept of flow in his seminal 1975 book, Beyond Boredom and Anxiety: Experiencing Flow in Work and Play, two distinct theories of how to optimize flow have emerged.

One theory posits that peak performance associated with flow state experiences is linked to hyperfocus. Hypothetically, staying laser-focused and not letting go puts someone in "the zone" and promotes flow. Additionally, blocking out distractions by keeping your executive functions zeroed in on the task at hand engages prefrontal cortex-linked networks such as the default mode network (DMN). This theory doesn't posit that mind wandering or releasing cognitive control are fundamental to experiencing flow.

Another theory, the "expertise-plus-release" view of creative flow, posits that optimal flow-induced creativity occurs after someone who's gained expertise through extensive practice releases cognitive control (i.e., "letting go"). Under this theory, the prefrontal cortex doesn't overthink the creative process, and you don't have to concentrate on being hyperfocused because executive functions are happening automatically. In this state, fresh ideas seem to spring from one's intuition-driven subconscious mind without much top-down cerebral input.

New Research Advances the "Expertise-Plus-Release" Theory of Flow

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A recently published neuroscience-based study (Rosen et al., 2024) on optimal flow states from Drexel University's Creativity Research Lab used electroencephalograms (EEGs) to monitor brain activity during an improvisational, creative task. The main goal of this study was to compare two theories of flow: the hyperfocused-attention theory vs. the expertise-plus-letting go theory described above.

"Although extensive psychological research has characterized the flow experience, that work has not yet led to a consensus about the neurocognitive mechanisms associated with that experience," the authors explain in their paper's introduction.

For this study on the brain mechanics associated with creative flow, the researchers divided a cohort of 32 jazz musicians into two groups (high-experience musicians and low-experience musicians) depending on their level of expertise.

Each musician was asked to improvise six songs and rate the degree of flow they experienced while their brain activity was monitored in real-time using EEG. On a continuum, the Core Flow State Scale was used to gauge whether someone was experiencing "intense (high) flow" or "minimal (low) flow" during their creative process.

The researchers found that high-experience musicians were more likely to experience intense flow states during creative musical improv sessions. Additionally, EEG data showed decreased neural activity in the frontal lobes (transient hypofrontality) during peak creative flow output.

Notably, when the musicians' creativity and flow-state ratings were peaking, brain regions associated with hyperfocused executive functions had essentially "let go" of cognitive control. As the authors explain,

"Importantly, high flow was also associated with decreased activity in the brain's superior frontal gyri, an executive control region [located in the frontal lobes]. This is consistent with the idea that creative flow is associated with reduced conscious control, that is, letting go. This previously hypothesized phenomenon has been called 'transient hypofrontality.'"

How Does "Unclamping" Your Frontal Lobes Promote Flow?

In the 1970s and '80s, my neuroscientist father—who published The Fabric of Mind in 1986—was interested in examining the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying William James' early 20th-century concept of "unclamping your intellectual machinery" to optimize whole-brain functions by letting your mind "run free."

Along these lines, when discussing Csikszentmihalyi's concept of flow in the 1990s, Dad speculated that maximizing the fluidity of flow state experiences involved hammering and forging implicit muscle memory into the cerebellum's Purkinje cells so the cerebrum's frontal lobes didn't have to overthink while performing with automaticity "in the zone." (See, "The Brain Mechanics of Superfluid Coordination")

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In their latest (2024) paper, Rosen et al. discuss the role of automaticity in facilitating intense flow states marked by "effortless attention" and peak creative output when people who've been diligently practicing can "let go" of cognitive control:

"Experts are more likely to perform in a fluent, automatic fashion, and greater expertise has been associated with more frequent or intense flow states. This view is supported by studies of the automaticity and creativity of expert-level performance. Accordingly, flow states that occur when performing highly practiced skills should involve less cognitive control and less [frontal lobe] activity."

While someone's gaining expertise via dedicated practice, being in a "low flow" state of not-very-creative hyperfocused concentration may be necessary. Although creativity doesn't usually fully blossom under these circumstances, you can't get to the point of being able to let go and experience "intense flow" (i.e., superfluidity) without spending a significant amount of "low flow" time practicing or figuring things out.

For example, many creative projects—especially those that involve gaining explicit crystalized knowledge so you can connect the dots between seemingly unrelated ideas in new and useful ways using fluid intelligence—often require long periods of disciplined, frontal-lobe-driven background research before you can "let go" and let your imagination run wild.

In a March 2024 news release, senior author John Kounios, director of Drexel's Creativity Research Lab, offers some advice: "If you want to be able to stream ideas fluently, then keep working on those musical scales, physics problems, or whatever else you want to do creatively—computer coding, fiction writing—you name it. But then, try letting go."

Take-Home Message: Expertise + Letting Go = Fresh Creative Ideas

The latest (2024) research on the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying creative flow suggests that domain-specific expertise gained from extensive practice paired with a reduction of frontal lobe brain activity when someone with expertise lets go of cognitive control opens the door to fresh bursts of creativity.

"A practical implication of these results is that productive flow states can be attained by practice to build up expertise in a particular creative outlet coupled with training to withdraw conscious control when enough expertise has been achieved," Kounios concludes. "This can be the basis for new techniques for instructing people to produce creative ideas."