FLOW STATE
“remove every friction. even tiny ones. creative work requires zero interruption.”
The Lesson
Flow is the frictionless state creative work requires. Any interruption. Even tiny ones. Breaks it. Scott's example: headphones that go on wrong way half the time. Solution: tape on one side as tactile marker. This saves 20 minutes/year of fumbling, but more importantly, it removes a micro-friction that would break flow. Take friction removal to the extreme. Every small annoyance you can anticipate and eliminate in advance is worth the setup time. You cannot do deeply creative work without clearing the field of ALL distractions, no matter how small.
Real-World Example
A founder does deep work but keeps getting interrupted by small things: phone buzzes, chair squeaks, monitor glare. They spend a Saturday eliminating each friction: phone in drawer, new chair, monitor hood. Monday: four hours of unbroken flow for the first time. The setup cost was repaid in one session.
Watch Scott explain this lesson
Watch Lesson on Locals →