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- The Drop In: Flow Follows Focus
🧠 Edition 002 – Flow Follows Focus
Welcome back to The Drop In — your weekly Flow-State OS for peak performance.
🏔️ Cliffhanger: A Flow Moment from Norway
A few weeks ago, I found myself clinging to a steel cable, halfway up a mountain in Norway.
It was my first via ferrata — a protected climbing route called Via Ferrata Loen. Part hiking, part mountaineering, part vertical grit. The challenge? Scale 3,300 vertical feet with nothing but a harness, a helmet, and focus.
There were no notifications. No multitasking. Just one foot, one grip, one breath at a time.
Accompanied by travelers from all over the world, I was immersed in something primal and unfiltered: full-body presence.
By the time I reached the summit, I wasn’t just exhausted — I was euphoric.
For days afterward, I felt mentally clear, emotionally steady, and deeply alive.
It was a visceral reminder:
Flow follows focus. — Sometimes, the best way to find your edge isn’t on a screen — it’s on a cliff.
⚡ Flow Tip: Context Switching Is a Flow Killer
If focus is the doorway to flow, context switching is the deadbolt
Every time you shift your attention — from Slack to email, from deep work to a quick scroll, from writing to checking that notification — your brain pays a switching cost.
Studies show it can take up to 23 minutes to refocus after a distraction.
Now imagine how often you're switching.
When your attention is fragmented, flow can't happen.
To get into flow, you need to stay with one task, uninterrupted, long enough to access deep concentration.
This week, try this:
✅ Pick one meaningful task
✅ Set a 90-minute timer
✅ Eliminate distractions
✅ Go all in
Protect your bandwidth — it’s your most valuable asset.
One thing to note: Focus and flow-state are not the same. You can be focused and not in flow. However, if you are in a flow state, you are also focused.
🛠️ Tool – Mindfulness Over Metrics
This week’s recommendation isn’t an app or a product — it’s an awareness practice.
Start by checking your screen time stats. Don’t judge — just observe.
Ask yourself:
Was I using this intentionally, or out of boredom?
You don’t need a total detox.
Just replace 10 minutes of doomscrolling with something nourishing:
– A walk
– A quick workout
– Journaling
– Reading one page of a book (or even listening to an audiobook)
– Calling a friend
Tiny shifts create margin. Margin creates focus. Focus leads to flow.
🧩 Quote of the Week
“Flow is an optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best.”
— Steven Kotler
Thanks again for dropping in.
Next week: environmental triggers — how to design your space to invite deep work and train your brain to enter flow faster.
Until then, keep protecting your attention.
– Michael
Founder, The Drop In
& Author of ‘Human Traits — a novel exploring humanity’s relationship with AI’