Tasks that encourage flow

To enter flow, you need appropriated self-control, environmental conditions, skills, task and rewards. Besides that, you must know what you’re doing, be able to see whether or not you’re doing it well, and be pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone.

The last point is especially important, it's mastery combined with challenge that brings flow. Too much challenge and we get overcome with anxiety. Not enough, and our brain loses focus and looks for other stimuli.

"In the flow-like state, we exercise control over the contents of our consciousness rather than allowing ourselves to be passively determined by external forces."

1. Intense concentration on the task at hand.
2. A merging of action and awareness - “being and doing become one”.
3. A loss of reflective self-consciousness.
4. A sense of personal control over the situation.
5. A distortion of the perception of time.
6. Autotelic experience: the activity itself is intrinsically rewarding, rather than the expected outcome.

• It’s not easy. Flow is not just a state where we love the work so much it just pours out. Flow is a state where hard work meets joy and meaning. 
• It’s not for beginners. The act of learning how to do something won’t always allow us to get into the flow. Getting into the zone in a specific discipline is something that needs to be learned and practiced.

• The processes, policies, and busy work gets in the way.
• Most jobs don’t have a clear goal.
• Feedback can be inadequate.
• The pace of work has increased, and it’s hard for people to spend time thinking deeply.
• Your skills aren’t well matched to the challenges you are allowed to pursue.
• There’s a lack of control over interruptions or when and how you work.
• The job doesn’t push you out of your comfort zone.

... to push your mind beyond its comfort zone. Flow happens when we get a bit out of our comfort zone. Too much, and you get anxious; Too little and you get bored.

You need to know your physical or emotional limitations and consciously push past them.

1. Having clear goals about what you want to achieve
2. Concentration and focus
3. Participating in an intrinsically rewarding activity
4. Losing feelings of self-consciousness
5. Losing track of time passing
6. Being able to immediately judge your own progress; instant feedback on your performance
7. Knowing that your skills align with the goals of the task
8. Feeling control over the situation and the outcome
9. Lack of awareness of physical needs
10. Complete focus on the activity itself

 “Flow also happens when a person’s skills are fully involved in overcoming a challenge that is just about manageable, so it acts as a magnet for learning new skills and increasing challenges. If challenges are too low, one gets back to flow by increasing them. If challenges are too great, one can return to the flow state by learning new skills.”

Use them to support your body, your emotions, and your intellect.
For this to happen, make sure you:

• sleep well
• eat nutritiously and intentionally
• exercise
• read and find intellectual stimulation
• connect with others
• do things that excite you and give life meaning
• live your values.

It helps you in the process of developing the right mindset of a writer.
Journaling makes you reflect on your life, imagine future possibilities, and you get to play with words because this is also a writing exercise.

Being in a state of flow means being immersed in the activity you are doing that you forget abut the outside world.
And you are most likely to reach this state when your skills are well-matched with your goal’s challenge.

• Set specific goals, that are aligned to your purpose, passions and values.
• Focus all your attention to the task in front of you.
• Enjoy the moment, and do not worry about the result

• Separate some time to deep pursuits and leave the rest open to everything else. Channel your inner monastic for a limited stretch of time. Afterwards, return to regular accessibility.
• Remove the obstacles of “when” and “where” by setting a time and a place for deep work, and making it a habit.
• When you need to do deep work on demand: fit it into your schedule whenever you can. Developing the ability to "switch on" your deep work muscles is less challenging than dedicating the free time to purposeful work.

• Epic meaning and calling to finish a mission.
• Development and accomplishment inspires us to finish the game.
• Empowerment of creativity to bring imagination to life.
• Ownership and possession of rewards.
• Social influence and relatedness or envy.
• Scarcity and impatience to have things we don't have.
• Undpredictability and curiosity of what the next challenges are.
• Loss coins and chances and avoidance of failure.

• Reward yourself for fulfilling one or several tasks

Use surprise rewards.

• Determine a reward by chance.

Engage in time-based challenges

Make a deal with your friend.

• Challenge and motivate each other to finish a task

Pomodoro is excellent for tackling tasks you don't feel like doing or jobs that require little thought.

However, other tasks, like writing or coding, require uninterrupted time. The problem with the Pomodoro method is that the timer is a consistent interruption that prevents you from getting into a state of flow.

It is a modified Pomodoro. And it solves Pomodoro's big problems.

• It works by writing down one task you intend to work on during a focus session.
• Then work until you start feeling tired or distracted, write down the end time, and take a break. A break can be anything from 5 minutes to 15 minutes.

Because you're not tied to a timer, you're more likely to find yourself in a flow state from time to time.

Mentally tough people truly believe they can succeed. That extends to encompass even mundane things in their life.

Whatever you challenge yourself with, believing in yourself is essential. Avoid negative self-talk and instead focus your energy on staying positive and self-encouraging.

Intrinsic motivations are those that come from within an individual and involve doing things for their own sake. They drive them to do better, push harder, be stronger, and persevere.

Mentally tough people don't focus on the possible rewards that may await them at the end of a challenge. Instead, they see participating and overcoming challenges as rewarding in and of themselves.