Hack your mind: How to get into “Flow state” to be a happier person… and a more productive one.
Diego Lainez Jamieson
Ayudo a líderes y organizaciones a aprender de manera acelerada, a sentirse dueños de su tiempo y a potenciar el talento de las personas | Speaker | Fundador @Dare to Learn
This article was originally prublished on the Dare to Learn page.
Puedes leer este artículo en español aquí.
Content
I. Introduction
II. How does it feels to be in “flow state”?
III. Circumstances that help to detonate and maintain a flow state.
IV. Hacks to enter flow state.
V. Conclusion
I. Introduction
Perhaps you do not know its origin or its exact definition, but I am sure that more than once you have experienced being in a state of “flow”.
Psychologist Mihly Cskszentmihlyi defined it in the 1990s as that state in which one is "completely engaged in the activity itself... His whole being is there, and he is applying his faculties to the full."
Steven Kotler, author and one of the most recognized experts in the field of high performance, more recently defined it as “an optimal state of consciousness, a state in which you feel your best and perform at your best… those moments of complete attention and absorption total, when you focus so much on the task at hand that everything else disappears.”
This is the state that anyone who wants to achieve great things should aspire to enter everyday. It is the state of mind in which great athletes perform at their best (individually and as a team), and in which the most brilliant artists create their best works.
The flow state is the Holy Grail of productivity and high performance and, although it may seem like something worthy of a few, the truth is that all of us, at some point in our lives, have experienced it.
The state of flow is “an optimal state of consciousness, a state in which you feel your best and perform at your best…those moments of complete attention and total absorption, when you become so focused on the task at hand that everything else disappears.”
-Steven Kotler.
II. How does it feels to be in “flow state”?
Today, thanks to the full of distractions environment in which we live, adding to our very tight schedule and an increasingly accelerated pace of life, we experience less frequently and with less intensity what we call a state of "flow". However, there are very clear characteristics of this mental state with which you will be able to realize if you are “flowing” or not.
1. Action and awareness became one-self.
We become "one" with the activity we are doing. Our actions feel as if we do them automatically and without requiring a conscious effort.
2. You lose awareness about yourself.
We lose self-awareness.
3. Time flies.
Our perception of time is altered. We are immersed only in the "now".
4. Effort disappears.
The activity, even if it requires considerable effort, becomes rewarding on its own.
5. Sense of control.
We have a powerful sense of control over the situation. We feel ownership of what we are doing at that moment.
6. Motivation.
Experience is intrinsically motivating. We do it for love, not for money. We do it because the activity itself is so incredibly exciting that it is its own reward.
As you can see, the characteristics of the flow state seem to be taken from some superhuman. Not for nothing Steven Kotler wrote a whole book on this subject called The Rise of Superman: Decoding the science of ultimate human performance.
III. Conditions that help to detonate and stay in a flow state.
First, you should know that there are four conditions that must be met for you to enter and stay in this state of consciousness.
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1. Intense concentration.
Total concentration in the here and now and, specifically, concentration in the activity that you are doing.
2. Balance between the difficulty of the task and your abilities.
The difficulty of what you are doing has to be slightly higher than your ability. If it's too easy you'll get bored, if it's too hard you'll get frustrated. Imagine playing tennis with a 5-year-old or with Rafa Nadal; In no case will you enter a state of flow.
3. Clear goals.
It is critical that we know what we are doing now and what we need to accomplish a moment later.
4. Immediate feedback.
The gap between the action and its effect must be immediate so that we can correct it on the spot.
Now that you know the characteristics of the flow state and the conditions for it to happen and be maintained, I want to share some tactics that will help you to enter a flow state by design.
IV. Hacks to enter flow state.
1. Eliminate distractions.
If you can't concentrate, you're not going to enter a flow state. Period.
Instead of simply wishing that no one or nothing distracts you, take deliberate action to prevent it from happening.
Before you start work, close your browser, put your phone on airplane mode, let them know you're going to be busy, and lock yourself up (literally lock yourself up) somewhere free from interruptions.
2. Set a goal.
Set a goal for the amount of work you want to accomplish and define the time you'll spend doing the activity.
The more specific the activities you will be doing and the progress you want to make, the better off you will be.
To control the time, it is useful to have a timer in sight. If you don't have one, set the alarm on your smartphone.
3. Create a ritual.
Creating a ritual to get into a state of flow is not “rocket science”, it simply requires a series of simple steps that will help you prepare before an intense concentration session.
Make yourself a coffee, put on a playlist, take a deep breath, meditate, and finally...
4. Take action.
V. Conclusión
Mihly Cskszentmihlyi says that “people are happier when they flow”. Steven Kotler says that it is in this state that you "perform at your best" in any activity you do. And yet today it has become more and more difficult to enter this state.
The good news: getting into a flow state isn't something reserved solely for superhumans or high-performance athletes.
With some effort and technique, you can begin to experience the benefits that flow state has for your productivity, your performance, your creativity, and your satisfaction in general.
The next time you need to carry out an activity that requires concentration, try to put the tips in this article into practice, I am sure that you will be able to experience firsthand what others call flow.
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Who is Diego Lainez?
Diego Lainez is CEO and founder of Dare to Learn, a learning consulting firm that helps organizations empower their talent through memorable learning strategies and experiences.
Among its courses and workshops is Time Ownership, a workshop that seeks to reinvent the way in which individuals, leaders, and organizations achieve their goals by being more productive in the right things.
To learn more about this and other workshops, visit our website or write to us and we will contact you.