How do I get in the flow?

While flow is a highly personal and subjective experience, researchers have identified conditions that can facilitate this positive state of being:

• Challenge-Skill Balance: Choose activities that are just challenging enough for your skill level. Progress to bigger challenges as your skills expand. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi provides two insightful graphs to help visualize where you should aim to be.

• Clear, Attainable Goals: Have a clear understanding of what you need to accomplish. If your tasks seem too vague, refine them until they become more specific. If your tasks seem overwhelming, break them down into manageable pieces.
• Unambiguous Feedback: You should know how well you’re doing as you’re doing it. Even with extensive and protracted tasks, set smaller milestones to help you gauge progress along the way.
• Time-based Goals: When breaking down tasks or clarifying them proves difficult, use time-based goals rather than outcome-based goals. For example, if you're facing a major task, such as writing a lengthy report without a clear plan, set a goal like "write for 30 minutes." Make focusing for a specific period of time the goal itself.
• Follow Your Energy Level: Pay attention to how your energy fluctuates throughout the day. Take advantage of the peak energy times to enhance your chances of achieving flow.
• Designate Time: Schedule time to be in flow to block it out for yourself. Commit and let your brain prepare to fully immerse itself when the time arrives.
• Eliminate Distraction: Before you start, eliminate any potential distractions. Place your phone out of reach and out of sight, close your room door, set your chat program to "Do Not Disturb,” etc.
• Bring Intention: Bring a heightened level of intention and determination. This could be as simple as taking a deep breath, focusing your gaze, or performing a brief ritual that helps you transition into a more concentrated state.
• Bring Personal Triggers: Recognize and leverage personal triggers that help you enter the zone. These could be a cup of coffee, a specific playlist, or a notebook open to a particular page.
• Be In a Flow-Inducing Environment (eg Flow Club): Flow Club is a virtual environment designed to facilitate flow state that you can access any time, from anywhere. Some key features of an optimal flow-inducing environment include:
- Encouraging risk-taking through peer accountability
- Activating reward pathways to stimulate dopamine release
- Offering soundtracks conducive to work
- Inspiring awe and motivation
- Providing a comfortable and supportive atmosphere