The Better Brain Boot Up Sequence

Hey honeys and hustlers,

You know that feeling when words are flowing faster than your fingers can keep up? When you're three paragraphs deep before you realize an hour has passed? When ideas connect themselves effortlessly? That's a flow state. And if you're a creative entrepreneur, it's basically your best productive state.

But here's the problem: most of us treat flow state like it's some mystical gift from the productivity gods. We wait for it. Hope for it. Get frustrated when it doesn't show up on deadline day (self-imposed or not). Meanwhile, we're surrounded by notifications, half-eaten snacks, seventeen open browser tabs (not judging), and a Slack channel that won't shut up.

Flow state isn't magic. It's a meticulous understanding of the conditions you need to work best. And if you want to access it reliably—not just when the stars align and Mercury is in whatever—you need a boot-up sequence. Think of it like launching a spacecraft. You don't just hit "go" and hope for the best. You run through a checklist. You eliminate variables. You create the conditions for liftoff. Your brain works the same way.

I can tell I'm in a flow state when I'm writing and my thoughts are moving faster than my fingers can keep up while typing or penning in a notebook. When I'm not searching for inspiration for what to do in an edit, my brain is already two steps ahead, searching for music or sequencing. When I look up and realize I've written 1,500 words without checking my phone once. But getting there? That requires intention.

The three elements below transformed how I access my flow state as a creator juggling newsletters, podcasts, videos, and anything else that comes up in my media business.

Before you can build focus, you have to eliminate distractions. And I'm not just talking about putting your phone on Do Not Disturb (though yes, do that religiously). I'm talking about mental clutter, digital chaos, and physical mess.

Your environment is constantly feeding your brain information. A messy desk whispers, "You should organize this." An overflowing inbox screams, "You're behind." Seventeen open tabs beg for attention like needy toddlers. All of that is cognitive load—background processes running in your brain that steal energy from your actual work.

So before I start a deep work session, I set an intention for the session. Not "write" but "write a newsletter for Melanin MVP." Specificity matters. I close every browser tab except the one(s) I need. Notion, Obsidian, whatever—just the necessary ones (like cookies on a website). I clear my desk. Not Marie Kondo level, just enough so I'm not staring at a distracting piece of food or a stack of unread books or magazines.

Subtraction isn't about minimalism for its own sake. It's about reducing the number of decisions your brain has to make so you can channel all that energy into creating.

This one sounds soft, but it's not. Your emotional state directly impacts your cognitive performance. When you're stressed, anxious, or irritated, your brain defaults to survival mode—not creation mode. I'm not waiting to feel inspired. I'm actively creating the conditions for a good mood. I have a section at the top of my daily note template in Obsidian that simply says, “One good thing that happened today.” Because if you look hard enough, there’s always one good thing that happens every day. And I want to ride the high of a good day as long as possible.

I'm not a nutritionist, but I know my brain works better when I've eaten something substantial. A good Southern breakfast, a quality snack, or even just a really good cup of coffee can shift my whole energy. Rewards are typically reserved for after you’ve accomplished something, but since I try to celebrate every small win, I’ve learned that treating myself well at all times is required for me to perform at my best.

Need to work up an appetite? Get moving. Even five minutes. A walk around the block. Some stretches. Dancing to one song. Moving my body helps me get my blood flowing and ideas flowing. Many of my best ideas come away from the page when I’m allowing my mind to wander without the pressure to create something in the moment. A regulated nervous system is a creative nervous system.

The goal here isn't to feel perfect. It's to feel resourced. To show up to your work from a place of "I'm ready" instead of "I'm already depleted."

Here's where people get very particular, and for good reason: sound is one of the most underrated variables in focus work.

Some people coughs me coughs need complete silence. Others need a coffee shop hum. Some work best with instrumental music. Others need lyrical music that matches their energy. I, however, would get distracted and start having a whole concert by myself. I typically can only have noise in the background when I’m not doing deep work, like when I’m responding to emails.

There's no right answer, but there is a right answer for you. And part of building a reliable flow-state boot-up sequence is knowing which auditory environment helps your brain focus.

The key is consistency. When your brain hears the same sound environment repeatedly before deep work, it starts to associate that sound with focus. It becomes a trigger. Pavlov's dog, but make it creative entrepreneurship.

Some options to experiment with:

When you want your creativity or business passion to pay your bills, you don't have the luxury of waiting for inspiration. You have deadlines. You need to be able to access our best work on demand. Your flow state isn't a gift. It's a skill. And like any skill, it gets better with practice and the right setup. So stop hoping for flow and start building the sequence that makes it inevitable. Your best work is on the other side of a better boot-up.

Have you ever tried to have a deep work session with others? Hit reply and let me know—I'm looking for new strategies to test for a virtual community coworking sesh.