WHAT
An exceptional day at work usually includes some time spent in flow - the experience of working at full capacity and feeling totally absorbed in what we’re doing. When we’re in flow, our attention is where we want it to be and we’re mobilizing our greatest skills and talents to the task at hand.
WHY
Have you found yourself preoccupied by your news feed, depleted by multiple meetings, or distracted by little ones turning your desk into a fort? Many of us are feeling unsettled with our attention scattered on so many different things. Moreover, when our attention is frequently scattered, we can become discouraged and unmotivated. Fortunately, research has shown that we can practice strengthening our attention muscles and return to a state of flow for a more enjoyable, energizing, and productive experience.
HOW I CAN USE THIS
Here are five tips to help you find your flow:
Start with why. Tapping into why you think it’s worthwhile to make progress on the activity at hand is a good way to find some inspiration to give you the energy and focus you need. How will completing the task help you or others achieve something meaningful?
Minimize distractions. The gateway to flow is concentration, so try to find a good window of time for you to pay full attention and block off your schedule. If your child’s naptime is the only guaranteed quiet time, save this period for your high priority work. Reduce distractions: put tech in airplane mode, close email, and communicate to colleagues or family when you’ll be available again. Periods of micro-flow might be most realistic some days, so start with something doable, say 15 minutes and set a timer to keep yourself honest.
Make a ritual. You can signal to yourself that it’s time to focus with a start-up ritual. What’s the smallest first step you can take to get the activity started and what small symbolic act will help you to take that first step? For instance: Take three deep breaths before you start to write or spend five minutes on a puzzle before opening up that data set.
Balance skill and challenge. Flow occurs when the challenge you’re facing matches your skill. It’s all about finding that sweet spot. If the task is too easy, you’ll get bored - so level up. If the task is too hard you’ll feel overwhelmed so try breaking down the hard challenge into smaller parts.
Celebrate when you find flow. Savor the feeling of having devoted your full attention to a meaningful activity. Giving yourself encouragement like smiling, saying a compliment to yourself out loud, or doing a fist pump can feel a little silly at first, but it also boosts positive emotion, which creates an upward spiral of motivation.
Be patient. If you try all of the above and are still struggling to get into a flow state, try prioritizing some self-care first, including more sleep, exercise, connecting with loved ones, and deep breathing.
HOW I CAN HELP OTHERS
Support boundaries. Flow requires active attention and windows of quality time. Some teams regularly block off time in the morning to eliminate interruptions. It also helps to be explicit about how people can signal to others when they need time to concentrate, such as “do not disturb” messages to share on Slack or Skype.
Give autonomy. We are more likely to get into flow with activities that we choose to do. Once a work goal has been set, give people space to accomplish the task as they see fit.
Take a pulse check. Talk with your team about when they are finding flow and what you can do to support them. Remember that flow is all about balancing skill and challenge and that’s a constantly moving target. We can get bored by activities that were once engaging so level-up the challenge to meet improved skills. Likewise, if a person appears frazzled, they may need help easing or re-prioritizing their workload.
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Author
Eudaimonic by Design is a global network of consultants, facilitators and systems thinkers who share a passion for the science of well-being and believe that organizations must be designed to enable it. We harness the best of scholarly thought and years of practical experience to help people be truly engaged, act ethically and pursue excellence.
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