You may have heard the term, "get into the flow," which is when things just seem to click, but what is it really?
What is FLOW?
Flow is often described as our state of mind when we are so involved in an enjoyable activity that nothing else seems to matter. A good example is getting involved in a good novel. You block out everything around you and are fully engulfed in the story.
Flow is an enjoyable experience that we tend to "fall into" by accident, but what if we could create flow around every activity in our lives to create a series of enjoyable experiences every single day? What would your life look like? Work wouldn't be boring, tedious tasks would be fulfilling, and dreaded experiences could be, well, enjoyable.
How Can We Create Flow Everyday?
While it seems simple when it "just happens," creating flow takes conscious effort to develop a habit. It is a process of achieving happiness through control over your inner life.
This is a simple checklist to create a flow experience:
- Achievable task in a short amount of time - instead of writing a book, schedule time to write 500 words or one chapter.
- Full Concentration - remove distractions, turn off phone notifications and let your family know not to bother you during this time.
- Clear Goals - decide what you plan to achieve during this time. If you are decluttering your office, you may decide that for 30 minutes, the goal is to sort through and file all paperwork.
- Immediate Feedback - recognize that the task is finished by a reward, even something as simple as stepping back, admiring your work and giving yourself a pat on the back. Rewarding yourself creates order and positive neuropathways in the brain to continue to seek rewards for completing a task.
- Remove Outside Awareness - full concentration is needed for a flow experience. Forget your stress, the frustration from a coworker or the pile of laundry in the other room. Nothing else exists during this time.
- Sense of Control over your Actions - fear doesn't exist in this space. Feel a sense of control over what you are doing. Worrying about a deadline, or what-ifs doesn't exist in a flow space.
- No Judgement, Sense of Self Disappears - in this moment, there are no worries about am I good enough. A mountain climber can't second guess his ability halfway up the cliff.
- Sense of Duration of Time is Altered - hours seem like minutes when you are fully "in the flow."
With a little effort, plugging the Flow Formula into daily activities will increase your productivity and turn mundane into enjoyable experiences.
*Coming Soon*
If you would like to dive deeper into FLOW and master this concept, grab my course, "Level Up Your Life." Flow is level 2 in this course where we go into more detail and take daily actions through accountability to set up your personal flow routine.
