According to research, nothing can make you happier than work. Imagine: you sit at your desk and after a moment you become immersed in the task. You don’t feel the time passing; you don’t experience any physiological needs. You’re alone with your text editor, spreadsheet or any other tool. Seeing the progress, you’re motivated even more to push forward. Like an inventor on the verge of a discovery, like a mountain climber, like an inspired artist, you forget about the external world.
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Flow: the Optimal Experience
During his research on happiness, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi noticed that artists, sportsmen, scientists, and ascetics of all times and cultures have something in common. They experience a state in which they:
– are entirely focused on the task
– experience amazing clarity: they know exactly what to do
– don’t think about what will happen after the work is done, how will others assess it, what feedback will they receive
– the work becomes autotelic; it’s an aim for itself. They don’t do it to achieve recognition or be rewarded
– achieve incredible productivity.
Csikszentmihalyi called that state “flow”: in that zone ideas come naturally, without a struggle, out of nowhere. Your reserves of creativity or knowledge become easily accessible. It’s like and ecstasy (the term comes from the Greek and means originally to stand to the side of oneself). In the flow, you aren’t aware of yourself: all your fears and emotions disappear from the horizon; you feel like floating or like on autopilot.
You’re happy – happier than in any other situation you can think of, happier than when relaxed or chilled out.
How to get into the zone?
The problem is that much of the flow-producing activities requires an initial investment of attention before it begins to be enjoyable. That’s why after work we prefer to watch TV instead of writing novels – to get the writing flow, you would have to put some energy in and accept the initial discomfort at the beginning. Such expense often seems too much.
But how can you create circumstances in which the flow will be easier to achieve? Csikszentmihalyi indicated some factors.
1. Have a precise aim: to enter the zone of ecstatic work, you must know precisely what you want to do. The task should be divided into small chunks, so the progress is visible. Seeing how you move on motivates you to do even more.
2. The difficulty of the task must match your abilities. Here the interesting part begin. To enter the flow, you must face the task that is neither too easy nor too hard. Too simple jobs bore us while too difficult ones result in frustration. The best effects we achieve when we have to stretch out our powers but don’t feel overwhelmed by the assignment.
3. Total focus. Turn off notifications, isolate yourself from others (no need to leave the town, headphones will do), put your smartphone away and try to restrict your attention only to the task. Your nervous system is incapable of processing more than 110 bits of information per second, so don’t waste your attention.
4. No fear of failure. The task must be intrinsically rewarding, be the aim in itself, so don’t thing about praises you will get or criticism that might follow. You don’t do it for money or recognition. Just turn off “What Will Others Think” mode.
Why flow?
Csikszentmihalyi claims that some people come into the zone naturally. But even those for whom it takes a bit more effort should try. Why?
– You’re happier: when in flow, your work gives you more satisfaction and more joy.
– You’re more productive: when focused on the task, you get better results. Nothing makes you more effective than flow
– You’re more creative: it’s the most desired quality in 21th century (Psychology Today). According to the research, people in the flow state are 7 times more creative. Their creativity is also higher after the flow is over.
– You’re more self-confident: when you know that you can handle challenges, you believe in yourself more.
– You’re less stressed: your tasks match your possibilities. You can focus on the task and don’t bother thinking about what will people say. You get a lot of positive feedback. It was also proved that flow flushes out the stress hormone
– You can combat the 2 biggest obstacles to successful work. More on that below.
What cannibalizes your work: narcissism and boredom
Narcissism: in the short term, it might motivate you to compete with others, but it also often results in perfectionism (“MY project must be ideal”), what stops you from confronting reality and your imperfection. When the project isn’t finished, nobody can tell whether it’s good or bad, right? That’s why so many narcissists procrastinate: they’re scared of ruining their self-image.
Boredom: “Gallup poll found that 71% of American workers are disengaged. “The average business person spends less than 5% of their day in flow. If you could increase that to 15%, overall workplace productivity would double,” says Steven Kotler.
Apathy kills any enthusiasm or will. It transforms you into a zombie.
How to hack the flow
Create the circumstances in which flow will be welcomed.
1. Take risks: do something new. Take on new commitments. Professional athletes are motivated by the risk and by transgression. No need to be too extreme, just try new things at work.
2. Change things: while habits and procedures are vital for streamlining your work, be ready to react when you feel bored at work. When you see your mind chattering, or your thoughts wandering, think of ways to modify your routine. It might be a simple gamification trick.
3. Distinguish primary tasks from less vital ones: in every job you have your key responsibilities, which should be performed in flow, and current, less demanding, mundane duties. Distinguish one from the other.
Use flow to motivate your staff
Does your workplace foster flow? Can your staff a quiet place to focused work? John Reed, the former CEO of Citigroup, kept his office door closed from 7 am to 10 am every day, refusing to take any calls or visits until he opened his door. Maybe you should also allow such practices?
Flow for customers
Flow is not only for you or your customers, it can also become a pillar for your marketing. Refer to that state and help your customers get there. Think of the campaigns of companies such as Patagonia or Zappos: they’re built on values such as engagement, commitment or being immersed in the activity. Their customers share their flow stories.
Waiting for flow
Flow is not only for artists and yogis. It can happen to you, when you work on strategy, write a proposal or create a rule in your Marketing Automation Platform.
Hope you’ll experience it!
Read more
M. Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper and Row 1990.
S. Kotler, The Rise of the Supermen, New Harvest 2014.
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