How to Achieve Flow
What is flow? Can we achieve it? And if yes then how?
You will learn all that, so go and read down!
Table of Contents
The Why
reasons to experience Flow
Why some times, every minute feels like an hour while completing to-do list. While people with high success works sometimes hours without being conscious about it!
How they do so? Simple Answer– Flow
According to psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, He describes flow as” being completely involved in an activity for it’s own sake.
The ego falls away, Time flies. Every action, movement, and though follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz.Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to utmost.”
Working with Flow also gives you the feeling of pleasure that you didn’t get in other activities.There are some methods with some rules with it.
Flow can change your life. Read below to learn how!
The What
Understanding Flow with Rumi
This Graph tells us how a balance between your Skill level and Challenge level can help you achieving flow.
Rumi was working on a project that she loved to. And she was so focused that she had no idea, how afternoon had become night and she missed multiple meals in the process. The time she spent was so productive and effective that she can’t forget that experience!
The experience, she had called flow (or state of flow).
After Rumi came out of flow, to make sure, that the experience she had was Flow. She compared it from the 7 characteristics of Flow and she understand why its a important skill(Yeah it’s a skill)
Here’s the 7 characteristics of the State of flow~~~~~~~
- Absolute Concentration.
- Total focus on goals.
- You feel comfort with what you are doing.
- A sense of effortlessness.
- A feeling a reward/joy from the experience.
- The experience is challenging, but not overly!
- The sense that time is either speeding up or slowing down.
The How
Achieving Flow
Rumi and you know what flow is, but did you know how to achieve it? Now we will understand How to achieve a state of flow!
5 steps to achieve Flow
1.Challenge Yourself …a little– Its means you have go outside of your comfort zone, but not a way outside it.
2.Eliminate Distractions– It can take 20 mins approx to reconnect after a distraction with a high focus!
So how it’s ever possible to work with flow, if you’re consistently being distracted by Social Media?
So put everything aside and try to concentrate on what you are doing.
3.Do Something You Love– Don’t try to be that fish, which tries to achieve flow in the process of climbing trees.
It’s like the difference between driving a old Junker and driving a new Ferrari.
Both might get you to the place you want, but you will always prefer Ferrari.
So do what you feel is your Ferrari (read this if you don’t have passion )
4.Give Yourself Enough Time– It takes minimum of 15 min to achieve and 45 min to achieve its peak level of productivity.
So you need minimum of 2 hours with no one to disturb you! Remember, 1 Disturbance/Distraction = 20 min of productivity wasted…!
5.Have Clear Goals– One of the most preventers of flow is the lack of clarity. It must be something you are excited to achieve and have a clear mission. Let’s take an example of a right and a wrong mission.
Wrong Mission: I want to do math or any project.
Right Mission: I want to complete a chapter of math or a part of a project (don’t make a huge goal, let it be small otherwise you will lose your productivity).
Quality > Quantity
Now Rumi know a lot and she is trying to work with flow but she is having some problem there are some enemies of flow!
Conquering 4 Enemies of Flow:
1.Multitasking– The reason, why you should always ignore multitasking is that When you jump from one task to another your brain absorbs a lot of oxygenated blood and make you feel frustrated!
So just ignore the idea of multitasking if you really want a flow in your work do one thing at a time.
2.Fear of Failure– “Perfectionism reduces creativity and innovation” says Hara Estroff Marano. In Flow you are try to push your comfort zone…a little, and it’s obvious to fail.
You can’t achieve flow and its peak with perfectionism and without small failures.
3.Stress– Everyone have some problem, and distracts you from flow. Do a simple thing to eliminate worries.
Example: Think you have a family issue, and it distracts you, Just write it one a piece of paper and say a specific time to think about time, let’s say 4:15.
Why time? Because if you don’t tell a time you have to mess with it now! And if it’s still distracts you then go and something for the problem, and come back later!
4.Lack of Conviction– If you doubt yourself, then ask yourself these three questions –“ Do I have the necessary skills to do this? Do I have enough passion to do this? Do I have all the information to do this?”
And if the answer to any of the question is no, then set the task aside until you can answer each as yes. And your all answers are yes!
Then my next Question: ‘Are you ready to achieve state of flow and enhance your productivity?’
So we have learned 5 things to achieve flow and 4 enemies of it and how to conquer them.
It’s enough to achieve flow(read this book to learn more), but it’s not important that you will achieve it at the first trial.You need practice, lastly if you practice daily then I’m sure you will achieve flow once a week and the number grows!
If you achieve it even once a month then also it’s really worth it!
Benefits of Working with Flow
• Improved Performance- In a research, researchers have found have flow can actually improve your performance including creativity, athletic, teaching and more.
• Leaning and Skill Development- While Flow, your focus level improves dramatically as a result- better learning and skill development.
Applications and Examples
• Flow in education- learning a concept with a certain level of challenge balanced to your skill level, can lead you towards flow. In result, better understanding and productive learning.
• Flow in work- Flow can also occur while workers are entirely engaged with what they are doing. Making their work more productive and fun.
• Flow in the Sports- Just like other stuff, engaging in a athletic activity, that you really enjoy or maybe passionate about can lead you to a Flow State of Mind.
Now Rumi and you have understood a lots of stuff. Let’s just revise what we just learned!
Summiting It Up
- Understanding Flow–Starting
- 7 characteristics of flow – To make sure the experience you have is flow.
- 5 Steps to achieve flow–Eliminate Distraction, Give yourself enough time, Challenge yourself… a little, Have Clear Goals, Do something you love.
- Conquering 4 Enemies of Flow-Multitasking, Stress, Fear of Failure, Lack of Conviction.
- Achieving Flow–this lesson will end when you really achieve flow.
Enhance Your Learning (answer without look up)
- What is flow? Tell at least 3 characteristics of it.
- Think I am your friend; Can you give me some tips to achieve flow? Give it in comments.
- Who are the 4 enemies of flow?
- Can you answer all questions in comments without looking the answer?
Conclusion
So now as you have read, conclusion. Conclusion always makes me sad. It also makes me remember a new great story, awaiting.
I want the next great story to be yours. And if it happens, please let us know.
Let’s consider this, how many of your friends know about flow. Do your parents know about flow? How many of your relatives know about flow?
Today you know about flow.
To get into flow is not easy. But yeah, if you are ready to put the efforts, great reward shall be yours.
I personally love to help this world out with Love Books. I cannot whole-heatedly dedicate myself to it. It is because I am not so productive. My major is studying.
You might also have same story. I am improving with flow. You also have a chance today. Write down in comments, how you are going to use flow in your life?
If you write, your chance of doing, increases? And if you don’t ogod luck with your miserable life.
Flow: The Psychology of optimal experience
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s famous investigations of “optimal experience” have revealed that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called flow.
During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life.
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience teaches how, we can discover true happiness and greatly improve the quality of our lives.
Flow is a superpower and we know everyone can achieve it by practice and persistence.
But I want to know, why you want to achieve this superpower?
Comment down below and tell us why you want to achieve flow!
See you in the comments below!