Fighting procrastination and low motivation together
One thing characteristic of high-achievers with ADHD, they always look for ways to make their brain work for them. This article will explain how you can get more things done in less time using Flow Club.
Here are some benefits that Flow Club founders mention on their website:
Sharpened focus
Minimised distractions
Heightened intentionality and awareness of your work
Motivation on demand
More time for deep work, side pursuits, and life
Increased confidence through a sense of agency
Clearer delineation between work and rest
More restorative rest
Inspired company of peers and hosts
Lower stress and anxiety
More creativity
Does that sound awesome or what? Read on to learn how to find your flow!
What it's like to live with ADHD
Let's talk about productivity and distractions. I work from home and it can be tough to organise my neurodiverse mind and negotiate a time for deep focus and actual work. I refuse to let ADHD rule my life, so I'm always searching for new hacks and tricks to help me thrive as a neurodivergent human.
If you know what it means to live with ADHD, you can relate to the chaos that occurs when executive function doesn't do its job. If you are unfamiliar with the science behind ADHD, I highly recommend the episode of Mel Robbins podcast about 6 surprising signs of adult ADHD. In it, Mel explains that living with ADHD means your orchestra doesn't have a conductor.
For me, living with ADHD means I can never concentrate on just one thing: I'm either bored to death and need to stimulate my mind during a team meeting, or I struggle to grasp the agenda of said meeting no matter how straightforward it is. It's also jumping between tabs, leaving the kitchen cabinets open, forgetting to text back or respond to an important email, losing a train of thought mid-sentence, remembering I forgot to have breakfast as I sit down to work on an essay, being overwhelmed by noise and chatter, losing track of time scrolling through Pinterest... you get the picture.
Things that help
Having a brain that works this way can be a challenge but I love it and refrain from complaining and wishing myself to be neurotypical instead. Sure, living with undiagnosed ADHD was the reason I struggled to get higher education, considered myself dumb for quite a while, had chronic anxiety and low self-esteem. But today I repaired my relationship with self, have access to medication, and now try to use ADHD to my advantage.
I noticed that doing work with another human in the room works best for me, so I started teaming up with a neurodivergent fellow to get things done. Unfortunately, soon after I noticed that those sessions aren't as effective as they used to be and I manage to procrastinate even when in good company.
I needed a change. That's when I discovered Flow Club.
What is Flow Club?
Flow Club is a virtual co-working space for people from all over the world. Flow's mission is to redesign the work environment for an autonomous worker and create perfect conditions for productivity and self-empowerment. In short, it's a community of people aware of their idiosyncrasies and striving to do their best! Flow aims to inspire members to do their best work and feel good about it.
When you join Flow Club, you will see a schedule with a list of sessions hosted by other people. If a session has availability, you can either book it for later and add it to your calendar, or jump straight in!
You will be able to join 5 minutes in advance and set the goals for your session. After setting the goals, you turn the camera on and enter the room. It is common for people to be few minutes late if they are coming out of another Flow session or simply running late.
Another option is enter the Lounge, a virtual room without a host. The principal is the same, sans the chatting and moderation.
What to expect from Flow session?
A session often starts with the host greeting people and sharing their goals for today. They then go around asking participants to share what they're working on. Check-ins are short and sweet and take up to 5 minutes even if there are 8 people in the room.
After everyone shared their goals, you hear a gong and all participants get muted automatically. No one can speak during the session unless they want to use the chat. Hosts often share music and you can see their preferences listed in session description. If music is not your thing or you have a different taste, you can mute shared music without muting the room and play your Spotify playlist.
During the session, you can see the participants on your screen and it helps to stay focused on a task instead of running to the fridge. After a deep focus session is over, you get unmuted and it's celebration time!
The host checks-in with each participant to see what they managed to achieve and your wins are met with confetti! Celebration is also brief and takes around 5 minutes. After celebration is over, you are free to go feeling great about yourself!
Why does it work?
I was blown away by the effectiveness of Flow and here's why. It uses brain-hacking techniques backed by science. For instance, BJ Fogg, PhD, a founder of the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University, wrote extensively about celebration as a way to create new neural pathways and make new habits stick faster. You can read more about celebration in his value-packed book Tiny Habits.
"In order to design successful habits and change your behaviours, you should do three things. Stop judging yourself. Take your aspirations and break them down into tiny behaviours. Embrace mistakes as discoveries and use them to move forward." (BJ Fogg)
A 2015 study by the American Association for Talent Development found that stating an intention to another person increases the chance of completing that task by 65%. And it goes up to 95% if a regular accountability practice is established with that person. So sharing a goal for your session is a prerequisite for success!
Another study revealed that people who became immersed in their projects managed to avoid languishing and maintained their pre-pandemic happiness.
In another 2020 study they found that when others are watching, people feel that what they do is magnified, which can then fuel their motivation. And the magnification of one’s work increases one's motivation to work more and harder.
Goals you can set for your Flow session
People use Flow Club for all kinds of reasons. You will share the room with writers, artists, web developers, academics, parents, side hustlers, students, founders, public servants, and, of course, cats!
In the morning, I often find myself in session with Americans and Brits, and given the time difference with Australia, they either going through their bedtime routine or frantically working on their projects late at night. Goals vary significantly, from eating a mango (no joke!) and meditating to writing a book chapter and coding.
Your goals don't have to be complex, but they should be specific and achievable. The more things you tick off your list during a session the more dopamine release you get! Try to break down a large task into small pieces. If you're working on an article, set yourself a goal to write first 50 words to get you started.
Flow Club manners
Flow Club is moderated by fellow members, not the employees, so people have a shared sense of responsibility and courtesy.
Try to be on time for the 5 minute check-in, instead of sneaking in in the middle of a session. A host will get notified when you enter the room late and will have to interrupt their work to greet you in the chat.
Send a brief message in the chat thanking your host if you have to leave early.
Turn your camera off when you're distracted or away. It is inspiring to see other people working and concentrating on their tasks, and demotivating to see someone chat with their partner instead of working. Working together trigger mirror neurones and make it easier to enter flow state.
Be brief when stating your goals and celebrating, especially if you are sharing a room with 6 people. The last thing people want to do at the end of a Flow session is listen to strangers drivel about their morning routine or troubles at work.
Don't get carried away if you're in a room with a friend. Working with others and trying a new thing can be intimidating, and it quickly gets awkward when people start chatting about what happened in yesterday's Flow session. Don't make other people feel uncomfortable and use the chat to talk to your friends or colleagues.
How much does it cost to become a Flow Club member?
As I write this, Flow Club has a monthly and an annual subscription. Don't worry, you won't have to hand over your credit card details straight away - you can first trial Flow for 7 days, or 2 weeks if you use this link.
When your trial is over, you can choose a monthly subscription that cost USD40 or an annual membership that will cost you USD400.
Flow Club Discounts
Flow Club has some generous discounts and offer 50% off for people employed by non-profit organisation. They also have discount for students, and hosts who run at least 10 sessions per month!
You can become a host after attending 10 Flow sessions, so getting a discount is an achievable goal. When you host 10 session, a discount will be applied to the next pay cycle.
Let's get in flow!
Flow Club helped me achieve so much and boosted my self-confidence. The more you use Flow the easier it gets to maintain a habit. The hardest part is to convince yourself to click join!
Happy flow!
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