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How to Find Your Flow for Better Productivity and More Satisfaction in Less Time
The Flow State
Flow happens when we hit a rhythm and our work hums optimally; when we find "the zone" of productivity. It’s a state that’s easily disrupted by distractions but can be achieved and sustained more easily through training and making smart choices.
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Tactics To Get Into Flow
- 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.
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What Deep Work Is
A process of performing “professional activities…in a state of distraction-free concentration that pushes your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve ...
Shallow work
The non-cognitively demanding, logistical-style tasks, often performed while distracted, tend not to create much new value in the world and are easy to replicate.
Recognizing our limited willpower
...is the first element of deep work.
That means you won’t have the mental discipline to stay concentrated on a single task unless you prepare your mind and environment to it.
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Reduce the stress of clutter
- Apply constraints and stick to them: to tabs open in your browser, notebooks, magazines etc.
- Use small storage spaces: Less room means less room for c...
Find places that inspire you
You might not be in a position to choose your workspace, but there are quick fixes: look for a spot with natural light from a window or skylight, take a walk outside when you feel stuck, or simply explore a new location.
A new environment can quite literally lead to new ideas.
Task association
It's when your brain knows that when you’re in a certain place, you’re taking a certain action.
Take advantage of the way different locations affect you. Our brains love habits, and if we can associate certain qualities with different places, it can help us get into a better working flow.
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Surviving Screens In Isolation
There are many people self-isolating due to the escalating pandemic, with their phones being the essential link to the outside world. Technology becomes a double-edged sword, connecting and isol...
The Distraction Spiral
Technology, just like the mind, is a very good slave, but a bad master. The technologies by itself are life-giving and useful, but if we are spending the whole day on Twitter, fighting with whoever we don’t agree with, we are ruining our psychological health.
We tend to spiral into the news black hole for hours, but just looking at the front page of the New York Times or Washington Post once or twice a day should be enough.
Accidental Benefits Of Technology
Technology is neutral by itself, and how we use that tool matters.
- An email is a great tool, which completely transformed how an office works, though it wasn’t designed for offices.
- Similarly, the Facebook Like button was designed as a shortcut to writing a good comment, but it unexpectedly turned out to be a tool to measure the popularity of a post.
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