The Flow State: Enhance Your Well-being and Productivity

Have you ever been so invested in an activity that time seemed to fly by?

Flow is when everything comes together just right to provide a person with an enjoyable and all-consuming experience. After this experience, usually some kind of productivity has taken place, and it has been proven that people experience feelings of revitalization, tranquility, and positive engagement.

With this in mind, wouldn’t it be wonderful if people could harness flow and use it at their will? Well, unfortunately, getting into the flow state doesn’t work like that. You might liken it to trying to go to sleep. The more and more you tell yourself to fall asleep, the further you get from actually getting to sleep. The more you are mindful of your state, the less likely you are to enter into flow. Flow happens when there are certain conditions in place that naturally let it occur.

For example, I took a high school painting class, and I have always looked back at it with fond memories. I often think about the way that painting made me feel. Like I was in my own world, and like it was therapeutic in some way! I felt equally skilled and challenged at the art goal that I needed to meet, which kept me engaged for the entire hour that only felt like mere minutes. Nothing was going on in my head besides the task itself as I lost my perception of those around me. My focus was solely concentrated on the task of painting, and I felt joyful and invested in this activity I was taking part in solely for the purpose of the task itself. These conditions allowed me to access a flow state which resulted in positive outcomes of enjoyable productivity and increased well-being.

Doesn’t flow sound fun?! As I said, the productivity that I experienced was enjoyable, and I believe that if we could learn how to facilitate flow, then it could be applied to more difficult and unenjoyable tasks that must be done. Ultimately, this state of flow could help people sustain behaviors and become motivated to complete tasks.

Let’s take cleaning for example. I do not love cleaning, but I do love a clean house. In order to attain the goal of a nice, clean home, I must put the work in, even if it is gross and difficult. I would be lying though, if I said I have not experienced close to a flow state when cleaning. Before I had a dishwasher, I had to wash dishes by hand, and I always dreaded doing it. Sometimes though, I would get my hands in the warm soapy water and the next thing I knew, I was done! I had become totally invested in the task, and I may even have enjoyed it a little bit. The conditions for flow all seemed to have come together to make me feel it.

So, how can we increase the right conditions and decrease the wrong ones? Here are two strategies to help you get into your flow!

Leave perfectionism at the door

Perfectionism is one factor that can get in the way of the flow state. If one has too much self-consciousness and is too ego-centered, then one may find difficulty in getting into a flow state. In my art class, I remember feeling this way at the start. I felt self-conscious about everything I did and was never able to fully succumb to the process. Then one day, my teacher told the class to think of the process like a meatloaf. At first, you have all of these raw ingredients. Raw meat, eggs, spices, bread crumbs. These ingredients don’t look good or appetizing on their own, but mixing them together and seeing the raw and unfinished meatloaf is a necessary part of the process. Finally, when the meatloaf is all baked and nice and crispy (and topped with ketchup), it is a lot more satisfying. So, in order to get to the final product, we must let go of our perfectionism and trust the process.

Balance the challenge and your skill 

The next factor that can inhibit access into the flow state would be an imbalance between the presented challenges and the availability of skill. This balance can be difficult to achieve as it differs from person to person. If we can be more aware of skills and abilities and match them with equally challenging tasks, then we are more likely to bring about the possibility for flow.