Weekly Insight: Flow

Have you taken on a project that you really love? Whether it be playing a musical instrument and perfecting that specific song or a workout routine that motivates you to spend your time perfecting your moves or your game or on a project that's really important to your career? Studies have found that when you love doing something, you welcome challenges. Flow state gets you results and dramatically boosts your productivity.

"Flow is the telephone booth, where Clark Kent changes his clothes, the place where Superman emerges." - Steven Kotler, The Rise of Superman

Have you ever been so completely caught up in what you were doing that everything else disappeared? You are focussed so deeply on your thought or activity that you have no idea of the time that has passed or that you have missed meals or appointments. This is flow.

Flow, often described as being "in the zone," is a mental state in which one is fully immersed in an activity with an energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process. Reports suggest that flow can make one as much as five times more productive.

Years ago, I was studying at University and working full-time. It is not a small task when you have three children who are going in three different directions and a husband who is not available in the evenings to drive. From when my daughter was dropped off at her ballet lesson to the pickup, it was an hour and a half.

I would stay in the car to do school projects and study. By using these 3 "found hours," I was able to complete my assignments, do the course reading and study the course content. I tried different things to make this work until I discovered how to be in flow. I could accomplish more out in the car twice a week for 1.5 hours than I could with a full two days of studying around my family members and a full-time job.

Steven Kotler, founder of the Flow Research Collective, suggests four stages of flow:

1. Struggle. This is where you dig deep to access whatever you need to reach the flow state.

2. Relaxation. This is where you take a break before diving into the flow.

3. Flow. This is the state he calls the Superman experience, when you do your best work, and everything seems to come together automatically.

4. Consolidation. This is the final stage where everything you have accomplished during the flow stage is often accompanied by a feeling of 'let down' , a sense of mild disappointment or deflation, due to a decrease in the positive chemicals that have been running through your brain during the flow state.

If you have motivation to do a task but do not have flow, you'll eventually burn out. Motivation and flow need to work together and must be supported by a recovery protocol of sleep and nutrition.

It has been suggested that it takes about 15 minutes to achieve the full flow state, and you really don't reach your peak until closer to 45 minutes. You need to make the time to accomplish what you want done, and with the right discipline, you can be in the flow state several times in a day. The key is to do something you love that is a little bit of a challenge—in other words, outside your comfort zone.

Here are some ways you can get into the state of flow:

- Select activities that you are passionate about and offer the right level of challenge.

- Define what you want to accomplish in your activity, breaking it down into manageable steps.

- Create an environment free of interruptions and distractions.

- Developing mindfulness can help you stay present and focused, and techniques such as meditation can enhance your ability to concentrate.

- Look for feedback to help you adjust your approach and stay engaged in the task.

- Adjust the task's difficulty to match your skill level. This might involve setting more challenging goals as your skills improve.

- Focus on the enjoyment and fulfillment of the activity itself rather than just the outcome.

 

By intentionally designing your activities and environment, you can increase your chances of experiencing flow and ultimately increase your joy and productivity.

Does this resonate with you?

Let's talk

- Leslie