4 ways to induce a state of Flow
Can you recall a day at the office when you were literally on fire (productivity wise!). You sat down at your desk to finish the assignment that had been on your radar for a few weeks and the words just flew off the page. Steam coming off your heels, you moved like the Tasmanian devil through the rest of the tasks on your to-do list and finished them all before your midday coffee. Time passed in a blur. You’d been a machine of efficiency. You were almost superhuman. Were you superhuman?? Nope. You were actually in a state that’s called flow.
What is flow?
Flow is a state of consciousness. It’s known by other names for example runners high or being in the zone, but it is in essence an optimal state of consciousness when we feel at our best and perform at our best and when we have rapt absorption in what we’re doing in the present moment.
Mckinsey recently completed a 10-year study which showed that when top execs in their business were in flow they were 5 x more effective than out of flow. For the workplace and for the individual this study is compelling. What if you could come to work on a Monday in flow, and then take the rest of the week off and STILL have the same output? It’s the dream right?
How do we know we’re in flow?
In a normal conscious state, our brain operates at beta brain wave, but flow happens at the border of alpha and theta brainstate where we can access creativity and inspiration beyond what’s possible in our normal (beta brainwave) waking lives. In flow we can even delve into Gamma brainwave which is associated with epiphanies.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, often known as the Godfather of flow and Steven Kotler are some of the key researchers into the flow state and they agree on these 6 characteristics which define the state of flow:
1. Action and Awareness Merge. The doer and the doing become one. From the perspective of consciousness, we become the action. In other words, actions feel automatic and require little or no additional resources.
2. Selflessness. Our sense of self disappears. Our sense of self-consciousness as well. Our very vocal inner critic is silenced.
3. Timelessness. We experience an altered perception of time. Past and future disappear and we are plunged into an eternal present, a deep now.
4. Effortlessness. Our sense of struggle and strife vanishes. The experience becomes intrinsically-rewarding or—in technical parlance—“autotelic.”
5. Paradox of Control. We have a powerful sense of control over the situation. We are captain of our own ship; master of this small slice of destiny.
6. Intrinsic Motivation. The experience is intrinsically motivating. We do it for love not money. We do it because the activity itself is so incredibly enthralling that it’s its own reward.
What’s the neuroscience of flow?
So what’s happening inside our heads? The pre frontal cortex (PFC) is our executive brain situated behind our eyebrows and this temporarily shuts down which is an efficiency exchange as the brain shuts down non critical structures. The PFC is an amazing part of the brain responsible for strategic planning, long term thinking, our sense of self… and when it shuts down temporarily our sense of self disappears. This means we are no longer impacted by our inner critic and risk taking speeds up as we literally get out of our own way.
Time passes in weird ways. Our sense of time is calculated all over the PFC so as it shuts down we can’t separate the past/present/future and we are plunged into the deep now. Most human anxiety is linked to imagining our possible future or thinking about our constructed past - in flow these time dimensions disappear altogether.
In flow we get an influx of 5 of the most potent neurochemicals the brain produces - pleasure drugs. These neurochemicals deaden pain, impact cognitive function and massively boost creativity and learning.
Because we are totally focused, we take in more information per second, pay more attention per second, find faster patterns and find faster far flung patterns. Consistently accessing the state of flow trains the brain to think more creatively over time and the more neurochemicals that show up mean there’s more chance of moving that information from short term holding into our long-term dump.
Is it possible to induce this optimal state of productivity?
The answer in short is yes and although the conditions necessary for flow vary from person to person I’ve outlined 4 key ideas which can be applied below:
Create a flow state ritual
Create a set of cues that your body can associate with being in a flowstate. Things you do regularly around your work time. Maybe your ritual is meditating for ten minutes, clearing your mind of all the distractions and clutter of the day. Maybe you take a cold shower to start of the day or maybe you do 10 minutes of cardio to shift your energy. Having a regular set of rituals will signal to your body that it’s time to get into the flow state.
Be clear about your goals
Csikszentmihályi argues thatthe state of flow requires clear goals. You need to be clear about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. In order to create more focus for the day ahead it’s a useful exercise to note down the 3 things you want to achieve the night before so that when you wake in the morning you don’t waste any energy considering what needs to be done and you can get started straight away.
Be strict with yourself when it comes to flow killing distractions
No email, no responding to text messages, no answering phone calls and no mindless browsing of the web. Exercise control over these flow killing distractions rather than becoming a victim to them. There’s no shortcut to this but little things can help improve your focus like working on a single browser as you’re less likely to get caught up surfing the web and removing any automated alerts signalling that your inbox is under email attack. Try to be more aware of where your mind is going. The more you do this the easier it becomes.
Take more risks to push past your comfort zone
There is a balance to an activity which you need to enter the state of flow. Not enough challenge and risk and you get bored. Too much and you get overwhelmed. To enter the flow state work at the edge of your limitations. Do the things that make you feel a little anxious and also a little excited. Speak up at a meeting. Share creative ideas. Voice your opinion even when it feels awkward. Push yourself to the edge of your emotional comfort zone.
Flow isn’t just about being more productive. A growing body of scientific evidence indicates that flow is highly correlated with developing other positive traits, such as increased concentration, self-esteem, and performance. It’s truly a path to being more present and happy in our everyday lives.