In one of Don Draper’s more memorable bits of wisdom, the fictional ad exec advised a creatively blocked colleague: “Just think about it. Deeply. Then forget it. And an idea will jump up in your face.

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 ...

Many people know the feeling of being "in the zone": As they're fully immersed in a task, the background noise of the world fades and they may not notice time passing. Gymnasts may enter this ...

Creative flow involves relaxing one’s focus or conscious control, new study finds. Sean Gladwell/Moment Collection via Getty Images But in order to achieve flow, a person must first develop a strong ...

Creativity is a whole-person activity. Of course, brain involvement is primary; but so is the involvement of our senses. Picture Cezanne staring at his mountain, really seeing. Or a deaf Beethoven ...

Flow, or being “in the zone,” is a state of amped-up creativity, enhanced productivity, and blissful consciousness that, some psychologists believe, is also the secret to happiness. It’s considered ...

Figure 1: Drexel University postdoctoral researcher Yongtaek Oh playing the guitar while his electroencephalograms (EEGs) are recorded in Drexel University’s Creativity Research Laboratory. The study ...

Creative flow states are defined as moments of deep immersion and focus where we lose track of time and become fully absorbed in the task at hand. These states allow for heightened productivity and ...