Time slows. The mind chatter quietens. Outside distractions dial down to a hum. You are at one with the task at hand. Congratulations, you’ve reached flow state. 

Psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi coined the term to describe a state of complete immersion in an activity, one in which focus comes naturally and you’re “in the zone.” Think of the hours flying by as a painter gets lost in their art. Or when you’re juggling three browser tabs, the caffeine hits, and suddenly, your fingers start flying across the keyboard.

Well, over on TikTok, a new trend has the internet sharing the hyper-specific ways they “genuinely” enter their “flow state”—the more chaotic, the better. 

One example: “When the iced latte, Zyn & Adderall hit at the same time and I genuinely reach flow state,” a TikTok user wrote, blinking and looking around the room with full alertness, punctuated by slurping coffee through a straw.

“When I have a drink for hydration, a drink for caffeine, and a drink for fun & genuinely reach a flow state,” another wrote, triple-fisting beverages while standing in front of a laptop.

Another added, “When you’re matching socks and genuinely reach flow state.” Boom.

While the trend takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to the psychological phenomenon, it is a real, if elusive, feeling. 

Csíkszentmihályi explains that flow happens when our abilities line up just right with the task in front of us. Too easy, and we get bored. Too hard, and we get stressed.

Flow occurs in the “sweet spot” where we’re both completely absorbed and able to enjoy the process.

“There’s this focus that, once it becomes intense, leads to a sense of ecstasy, a sense of clarity: you know exactly what you want to do from one moment to the other; you get immediate feedback,” Csikszentmihalyi said in a 2004 TED Talk. “You know that what you need to do is possible to do, even though difficult, and sense of time disappears, you forget yourself, you feel part of something larger.”

Research shows that entering the flow state can boost performance in activities such as sports or music, and also improve both creativity and well-being. Csíkszentmihályi went as far as to call it “the secret to happiness,” with research showing those who regularly experience flow appear to be less susceptible to depression. 

With Gen Z “locking in” from now until the end of the year, now is as good a time as ever to practice getting in the zone, blocking out all distractions, and checking off some goals before 2026. 

Or, as one TikTok user suggested: “When I’m eating the wings and fries at the same time while also getting water and I genuinely reach flow state.”