“The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times . . . The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”
-Mihaly Csikszentmihaly
State of Flow
Are you bored easily? Or do you give up immediately after something irritates or frustrates you?
There might be a chance that You are not the problem. It’s not that you are under or over-qualified. It’s just that you are not able to achieve the state of flow.
In fact,
You might have experienced the state of being in a flow, that time when you got fully immersed doing an activity, and your focus levels were so high that you lost sense of your surroundings. The concept of time vanished, and you were “in the zone” as most people would refer to it.
It might have happened because you were doing something you really enjoyed, or you got so involved that you did not care about anything else.
What is the state of flow?
It is a concept of positive psychology that means to be immersed deeply in an activity with profound concentration, losing a sense of your surroundings to achieve maximum productivity.
It is a way of complete and total immersion in a task that you enjoy doing, leading to losing track of time, food, or ego, as described by the Positive Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
The key to achieving the state of flow lies in deep and concentrated work for a brief period. But how to do that?
Well, It’s time to find out.
How to achieve the state of flow?
1. Do something you love.
The easiest way to get bored is to do something you dislike. To achieve a state of flow, do something you really like, where you feel that you are really involved.
When you pour your heart into an activity, you are more likely to continue doing it. It is easier to focus and, you get one step closer to achieving that state of flow.
There is no sure short way but, this is a great place to start. Be self-aware and list down 5–10 things you love doing irrespective of other responsibilities. You will get more clarity.
2. Striking a balance
If you choose a task too easy, you quickly lose interest which leads to boredom. If you pick something beyond your capabilities at the moment, you give up easily, leading to you being anxious.
The sweet spot lies in the middle. It is where you achieve the flow.
It is about choosing an activity that you enjoy doing, which is not so easy that it leads to boredom. But, it challenges you to do better by pushing yourself to the limit, so you get involved deeply.
For starters, pick something that you think you are average at but being good would require hard work. Try to work on that skill to go from being merely good to being truly great. That is where your flow lies.
For me, this article is a way of achieving flow, I have just started with blogs and, it puts me out of my comfort zone. I need to research, clear my thoughts and then write.
So pick a game that you want to play and be better at, rather than choosing something you only win or lose at.
3. Find an optimal time
When I say optimal time, it can mean different things to different people. I prefer to work at night when the environmental noise is less, and most people tend to stay in their rooms. For you, it could mean morning or evening time.
The basic idealogy is to pick a time where the chances of you getting bothered by your environment are minimum.
Your environment should be quiet enough so that your work can get undivided attention and make sure that the time at which you work is the peak for your energy levels and concentration.
Figure out what works specifically for you and make that time for deep work every day.
P.S: Do not judge yourself for being productive at an odd time when all others are either busy or enjoying themselves. The peer pressure is real but, so are the results you get from the flow.
You do you. Always.
Actionable steps to increase your concentration
- While working, keep your smartphone in a separate room. Far enough so that it is not easily accessible to you. If you must use it, switch off all social and email notification pop-ups from your home screen.
- Choose the quietest place possible so that your environment cannot intrude on your plans.
- Choose a time where the chance of someone interrupting you is minimal. (Like early morning or late night)
- Do not multitask and get more work done. Focus on a single task with complete concentration and then move to the next. Do not divide your flow state into multiple duties. It does not work like that.
Conclusion
A state of flow is not something only creative professionals can achieve. With the correct practice and knowledge, anyone can pull off the flow state. You need to make sure that you are gentle with yourself, doing something you love, and being in an environment devoid of any distractions. Go on, be in that state of flow and, you will glow.
If you’ve read it till here, as always:
Have you ever experienced a state of flow?
Share your experiences in the comments below. I’d love to hear them.