Arguably, the most important criteria in the pursuit of flow is to pick intrinsically rewarding tasks that have high consequences (e.g., rock climbing or public speaking), clear feedback, and take place in a rich and varied environment (so not your office cubicle).

• Practice mind control and master it! Get rid of bad thoughts; they will just constantly remind you badly of yourself. Instead, use that flaw as an inspiration to train yourself and get better at anything.
• Pull the trigger by turning that sting into a positi...

Once you gained some understanding in a field, follow citation trails. There will often be dozens of other papers cited and can result in an extensive reading list. Thus it is helpful to limit yourself to the few most promising ones.

Citations need two factors: fre...