The Flowjo Formula: how to remove the blockers and start flowing towards your goals
- Jamie Toyne
- Aug 1
- 9 min read
In the last newsletter, I introduced the Flowjo Formula: an ADHD-friendly performance model that cures burnout, masters flow and makes scaling faster, easier and a lot more fun.
But formulas are useless if you don't know how to apply them. And honestly, I'm worried you'll do what we humans tend to do - and overcomplicate it.
Flowjo (Flow + Mojo) works because it's SO simple – remove your blockers. It's not about ADDING more complexity to your already chaotic life. It's about REMOVING the friction that blocks your Flow and the layers of external conditioning that dulls your Mojo.
This is how you become burnout-proof and start flowing towards your goals in half the time, with half the effort and twice the fun!
Sound overly simplistic or idealistic?
That's because schools, workplaces and outdated productivity advice have conditioned you to believe that more effort = more results.
If something isn’t working, just grit your teeth and try harder. If that doesn't work, keep grinding and add more systems, habits, hacks, etc., that ultimately ignore the underlying problem.
Why? Because struggle feels productive.
We’ve been conditioned to believe that success must come from discipline, willpower, and brute force... So when something feels easy or effortless, we immediately get suspicious, yeah?
As I explained in the earlier version of Flowjo Drops, your discipline and willpower doesn't stand a chance against the chaotic ADHD world we now live in. Whether you have ADHD or not, we’re all struggling with consistent focus and executive function.
And that’s why ‘Flow’ has become the holy grail of peak performance. Because rather than PUSHING and forcing focus and productivity, Flow naturally PULLS you into a state where you gain effortless momentum towards your goals. Flow isn’t something you need to force, create, or hack your way into. It’s your natural state of being.
This is why Flowjo Formula is so simple yet powerful: it’s about embracing your true nature (Flow) and harnessing the way you are uniquely wired (Mojo).
So, how do you apply the Flowjo Formula?
1. EMBRACE YOUR TRUE NATURE
2. IDENTIFY YOUR BLOCKERS
3. REMOVE YOUR BLOCKERS
“Wait… That’s it?”
“People pay you thousands of dollars to teach this SH*T!?
I get it 😌 You could read this on a coffee mug and understand it on an intellectual level in 5 seconds. But to truly embody Flowjo and instinctively apply this formula to every situation in your life - it requires awareness, unlearning, and breaking patterns you don't even realise are holding you back or burning you out.
Here’s why most people don’t master this simple formula:
Embracing your true nature?
Unravelling decades of conditioning to uncover what lights you up and truly matters can be confronting work most aren’t prepared to do.
Identifying your blockers?
If you haven’t nailed the first step, it’s like trying to read the label when you're inside the bottle.
Removing your blockers?
Even when you see what's in your way, your brain has a thousand clever justifications for keeping that blocker right where it is.
And this is why I’m going to walk you through each step in detail.
1. EMBRACE YOUR TRUE NATURE
When I was building Dealflow, a global M&A firm, headquartered in San Francisco, do you know what the overwhelming advice was?
“Hire a white guy with gray hair” to be the face of the company and step aside as CEO.
A little ageist and a little racist?
Maybe, but that’s not the point. This advice came from ultra-successful people who were genuinely trying to help me. If clients were going to trust my company with tens of millions of dollars, the brand had to project the right image—one that felt familiar, credible, and aligned with their expectations.
So what did I do?
I got a bad haircut and started wearing a suit instead. I was too proud to step aside as CEO but too scared to embrace who I truly was either. So I settled for the middle ground - dressing and acting like a trust fund baby whose Daddy paid my way through Harvard Business School.
Little did they know that I was raised by a single mother in a tiny remote town in the central deserts of Australia. I had everyone fooled but myself.
Although the business was successful and reached what most would consider the pinnacle of success - I felt hollow. Growing my business was like trying to fill a bucket with a gaping hole in the bottom.
No matter what I accomplished, it was never good enough.
I felt like an imposter - and I was. Not because I was underqualified (I wasn’t) or got mediocre results for clients (we were killing it!). But because I was pretending to be someone, I wasn’t. I had built a version of success that looked great on the outside but felt empty on the inside.
Why? Because I wasn’t embracing my true nature.
I wasn’t this stiff tech bro in a suit who spoke in buzzwords and lived on cold brew… I’m silly, playful, cheeky, curious, expressive, curious, hyper-active and adventurous, who lives for deep, vulnerable, unfiltered, meaningful conversations.
I wasn’t some city-slicker who enjoyed going from building (home) to building (work) to building (gym)... I’m from a tight-knit community that thrives in nature and only likes to wear shoes for exercise and special occasions.
So, what happens when you abandon your true nature?
Burnout smacks you like a freight train - and reverses back over you to finish the job. Perhaps a tad dramatic, but that’s how it felt to me at the time.
Sure, having an office on the same block as Uber and Twitter (now X) were great for business - but it wasn’t great for my mental health. The concrete jungle was frying my nervous system and no amount of therapy or biohacking was gonna fix it.
So, I packed my bags and moved to a small town on the west coast of Mexico…
I transitioned the company to a fully remote team and encouraged everyone to design their lives accordingly. Some stayed in San Francisco, our top broker moved to Sweden, another to Malta, and some joined me in Mexico.
Suddenly, I was surfing at sunrise, taking Spanish lessons on my lunch break, making new friends, and actually enjoying my work again. The business was thriving. The team was happy. And for the first time in years, I felt like myself again.
So, how do you embrace your true nature?
STOP pretending to be someone you’re not. Strip away the layers of external conditioning that don't align with who you truly are or who you're becoming. The expectations set by others, the systems designed by neurotypicals, and the versions of success that look good on paper but leave you feeling empty on the inside. And here I have put those expectations on paper (well, a digital paper) - do you resonate with any of these conditions?
In other words, stop trying to fit a square peg (you!) through a round hole. Ask yourself:
What parts of me do I shrink or hide at work? Why?
Are my business goals for me - or status and approval?
If I didn't care what people think of me, what would be different?
START paying attention to what feels good. Tap into what truly excites you, do the things that LIGHT YOU UP, and lean into what comes naturally. Hone in on what you're uniquely good at and focus on what actually matters to you. Leverage the way you are wired and build systems that turn your neuro-spicy brain into your greatest asset. Focus on what lights you up and make a list of them - like this:
In other words, FIND YOUR FLOWJO by fusing your unique talents (Mojo) with a system that allows you to effortlessly perform at your best on a regular basis (Flow).
Ask yourself:
When does work feel most like play?
Where do I excel without even trying?
What truly matters to me most, beyond achievement?
The happiest and most successful ADHDers I’ve observed don't force themselves to fit a generic mould - they shape their world to amplify who they truly are.
When you finally give yourself permission to be YOU, flow becomes your default state of being, where productivity skyrockets and creativity explodes.
There’s just one problem… Blockers. You can fully embrace your true nature in your mind - but making this an everyday reality? That's another kettle of fish.
Even when you know who you are and what lights you up, your reality is still shaped by your environment, systems, commitments, and the people around you. If they clash with the way you’re wired or suck the absolute life out of you - you’ll burn out all the same 🥵
Burnout isn’t the result of working too much - it’s the result of putting your energy in the wrong places.
Which is why there are two more steps you need to take to master the Flowjo Formula.
2. IDENTIFY YOUR BLOCKERS
So there I was two years later, "living the dream". Speaking fluent Spanish, surfing everyday, and running a successful business from my cosy place by the ocean.
Things were flowing, right? Not quite.
Although I had changed my environment, there were still so many things draining my energy and blocking my flow. I was constantly stressed, overwhelmed, exhausted, and stuck in a loop of doubt and negative self-talk.
I tried to push through my burnout, but a series of compounding events in my personal life triggered what can only be described as a mental breakdown (a story for another time).
I took six months of stress leave, stepped down as CEO, and flew back to my hometown in Australia to live with my mum.
During my recovery, I had a lot of time to ponder why this kept happening to me. Anxiety, Depression and ADHD certainly made me more susceptible to burnout, but I knew in my gut this wasn't the only answer. This is what inspired years of research and the eventual development of the Flowjo Formula.
So, what is the best way to identify your blockers?
Follow the energy.
Ask yourself: Where does the energy flow?
When you invest energy into a task, person, or activity - does the energy flow back to you? If it doesn’t? It's probably a blocker.
Make a list of EVERYTHING and EVERYONE you interact with - like this:
Mark each item with:
⚡️ Lightning bolt = If it energises you
Small bolts (⚡️) for minor energy boosts
Big bolts (⚡️) for major energy boosts
⛔️ Minus sign = If it drains you
Small minus (⛔️) for minor energy drains
Big minus (⛔️) for major energy drainers
Here is my energy list:
Once you’ve spotted what fuels you ⚡️ and what drains you ⛔️, the next move is simple: double down on what gives you energy and cut back on what kills it.
The mistake most people make?
They focus on adding more flow triggers - and avoid removing the blockers. Why? Think of yourself as a battery. You can take all the right supplements, meditate, journal, and stack your habits like a pro, but if your charging port is clogged or there’s a leak in the system, that energy won’t hold. You’re constantly draining faster than you can recharge.
Flow triggers aren’t the problem - they’re powerful. But they’re designed to amplify energy, not fix a broken circuit. Once you remove the blockers - like scattered focus, misalignment, or mental friction - you stop the leak, restore your baseline, and finally create the space for flow to emerge naturally. That’s when those tools stop feeling like quick fixes… and start working like rocket fuel 🚀
So, how do you remove your blockers?
3. REMOVE THE BLOCKERS
The bigger the blocker - the more space you will create for flow to emerge - so pick the biggest one first.
Write down the specific action(s) you must take to remove your blocker. Is it
a role you need to hire for?
a task you need to delegate?
a boundary you need to establish?
an employee you need to let go of?
A bad habit you need to stop?
someone you need to distance yourself from?
Then, name the resistance - the reason why you haven’t taken action yet. Our minds are brilliant at justifying inaction. They’ll whisper things like:
“it’s not urgent,” “I can live with it,” or “now’s not the right time”.
We convince ourselves to tolerate what drains us and delay what we know deep down needs to change. Resistance has nothing to do with timing or logic and everything to do with fear and the discomfort of letting go. But until you release what’s blocking you, there will be no space for flow to emerge. So, name the resistance:
Too time-poor?
Avoiding confrontation?
Guilt about letting someone down?
Unsure how to remove the blocker?
Now ask yourself: What's the CONSEQUENCE of NOT taking action?
How much energy will this continue to drain from me?
How’s this affecting my health, relationships, and my business?
What opportunities might I miss if this blocker remains in my life?
What's the cumulative cost of inaction over a month, a year, or 5 years?
When you embrace your true nature, identify your blockers, and take action to remove them, you create the perfect conditions for flow to emerge naturally.
This isn't just another productivity hack- it's a complete shift that works with your brain's wiring instead of fighting against it, allowing you to flow towards your goals faster with less effort and way more fun!
P.S. Read this far and still haven't taken action? That's cool. Carry on collecting insights like free hotel shampoo you'll never use - meanwhile, your blockers are filing for squatters' rights in your brain and redirecting your mail to f*ck knows where.
P.P.S. Identify your blockers by taking the FREE Flowjo Finder Quiz → https://www.jamietoyne.com/flowjo-finder
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