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Why you're not finding Flow at work (and what to do about it)
Practice deliberately
Flow depends on having at least enough mastery over your skills to understand when things are going well and be able to adjust on the fly when they’re not. But repeating the same task gets monotonous and make us more prone to small errors, leaving us unable to push and develop our skills and find Flow in the process.
To counter that, take an activity you do regularly, break it down into segments and go through each segment systematically, always looking for ways to get better.
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Key Ideas
Requirements To Enter 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 ...
Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi
"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."
Self control to trigger a state of Flow
To get into a state of flow more often, we need to be able to increase our level of control over our consciousness:
- Find standards to determine whether any action you’re going to take is desirable towards getting into a state of flow.
- Self-control and flow depend on immediate feedback; find ways to constantly monitor your performance and adjust as you continue.
- Be wary of your mental energy. Define your work schedule to account for the variations in mental strength throughout the day.
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Key Ideas
To enter the flow state
- An activity must have a clear set of goals and progress.
- A task must have clear and immediate feedback.
- There must be a good bal...
Tasks that encourage flow
These are tasks that tend to have high consequences (e.g., rock climbing or public speaking), clear feedback, and take place in a varied environment.
Flow = focusing on the present moment
When you are experiencing flow, it seems like the task at hand is almost performing itself.
But there's still a sense of personal control over it, and working on it feels very rewarding.
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Key Ideas
The Flow State
Is an optimal state of consciousness where we feel and perform our best. It happens when we are completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Your whol...
Factors that often accompany the flow state
- Having clear goals about what you want to achieve
- Concentration and focus
- Participating in an intrinsically rewarding activity
- Losing feelings of self-consciousness
- Losing track of time passing
- Being able to immediately judge your own progress; instant feedback on your performance
- Knowing that your skills align with the goals of the task
- Feeling control over the situation and the outcome
- Lack of awareness of physical needs
- Complete focus on the activity itself
Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi
“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.”