Hijack Your Brain: The Simple Science of Cueing Productivity
Hijack Your Brain: Train Yourself to Focus on Command
Flow isn't mystical—it's neurological. Here's how to train it.
Welcome to the Hijack Your Brain series.
I work a full-time job, a part-time job, write fiction, run Human at Work, and somehow still manage to have a life somewhere between the margins.
People often ask how.
The truth? I’ve learned how to hijack my own brain.
These are the small, repeatable, science-backed habits that keep me creative and productive—without burning out.
I don’t wait for inspiration.
I cue it.
We talk about “flow” as if it’s a mystical state—something that arrives when the stars align, when motivation strikes, or when the coffee finally kicks in. But the truth is simpler, and far more reliable: flow can be trained.
The Science of Cueing
Our brains are wired for pattern recognition. Every habit—good or bad—runs on a predictable loop: cue, behavior, reward.
Once your brain associates a certain signal with a specific action, it starts to automate the response. You smell smoke, you look for fire. You hear your alarm, you wake. You open your inbox, and your shoulders tense.
Here’s the Good Amazing News
The same mechanism that triggers anxiety can also be trained to trigger deep focus. By intentionally pairing a sensory signal with the start of intense work, you create a neural bridge between intention and action.
By intentionally pairing a sensory cue with the start of deep work, you teach your brain to shift gears on command. Over time, that pairing becomes a shortcut to flow—a neural bridge between intention and action.
The result? What used to take twenty minutes of settling now happens in seconds.
The Ritual That Works for Me
For me, that cue is coffee.
I built a ritual around it—the sound of the grinder, the warmth of the milk frothing, the scent that fills the air—and gave that ritual a single job: coffee = get-to-work time.
Now, the moment I hear the grind and smell that first hint of roast, my brain shifts gears automatically.
Focus. Flow. Output.
It’s not discipline; it’s design.
How to Build Your Own Cue Loop
You don’t need coffee to create this effect. You just need consistency.
Here is the simple framework you can start today:
Choose one sensory signal: Pick something physical—taste, scent, sound, or texture. It could be lighting a candle, putting on a specific playlist, or even wearing a certain watch.
Examples: Lighting a citrus essential oil diffuser, putting on a pair of noise-canceling earplugs, or drinking a specific herbal tea.
Repeat it daily at the start of focused work: Repetition trains the association. The more consistent you are, the stronger the link becomes.
Bonus points if you can keep it at roughly the same time each day—your circadian rhythm loves predictability, and over time your brain will start preparing for focus before you even reach for your cue.
Protect it: This part matters most. It is 100% NON-NEGOTIABLE. Use your chosen cue only for deep or creative work—never for multitasking, emails, or doom-scrolling. If you misuse the signal, you weaken its power to trigger flow.
Why It Works
When your mind knows what’s coming next, it doesn’t waste energy deciding whether or not to start. The cue handles the transition for you. And when transitions get easier, output becomes easier.
Leave Some Inspiration for Others
What is one non-negotiable ritual you can commit to using only for flow starting this week?
Share your cue in the comments!
