Have you ever experienced being completely lost in a task? So much so, that you lost all sense of time. And yet you were much faster at completing the task and did it much better than you could ever have imagined! Well, that’s what I am going to talk to you about today. It’s called the state of flow. It’s a beautiful state inside you that when reached, can help you be more productive. And that’s precisely the reason why it forms an integral part of our Productivity Training.
So, what really is Flow?
Let me explain it to you through an example.
A few weeks back, I was writing a blog, just like this one. And guess what, I wrote it in the state of flow! Now what was so great or different about writing the blog while in flow?
I was literally flying through it. Words were flowing from me like nobody’s business. I didn’t have to think about what to write and how to write it. Whether it was easy to understand by the reader or not. They just kept coming out one after the other as if someone else had taken control of me and were using my hands to write. In fact, it’s happening now too! Can you see the flow in the words that I have just written? They are animated, high on energy and paint a picture of me writing while in flow. They perfectly describe what I want to convey and are yet written in one go without any thought.
Cut to the previous blog.
–Amazingly enough, my previous blog on ‘time management,’ waiting for the coincidence, was finished in superb time! Half an hour flat. The fastest that I had ever written a blog. I just had a very different level of energy flowing through me. One that actually made me complete the entire blog in one go! And to top it all, proofreading was a breeze. It was a super easy and super-fast task as the words were just right! So, flow helped me complete my task real fast and really well.
I thoroughly enjoyed writing every word of that blog. It was a very ‘non-pressurized’ task and felt just so amazing and well, in flow. And rather than draining me and making me tired, it actually energized me. I could have written another one straight after!
Lastly, it helped me come into a completely undistracted and undistractable state. I was completely focused on the task and nothing in the world could prevent me from getting up before finishing it.
Sounds supernatural? Trust me, it feels like that too! A state which you would have only dreamt of. One where you can churn out work as fast as a machine, do it perfectly and enjoy yourself while you are at it. It feels rather like the heavens above tell you exactly what to do, how to do it and even give you the energy and skill to do it. All you have to do is follow their perfect instructions and voila! You get the best quality output in a minimal time. And that too, without the struggle it would have otherwise entailed! And now you’re thinking…
Can anyone enter this supernatural state? Can I?
Of course, you can. In fact, many of you may have experienced it when you were engrossed in a hobby or doing something that you really enjoy. Like maybe watching a movie, painting, singing or even dancing. You would have experienced how time flies and you don’t have a clue about it! All you know is that you thoroughly enjoyed every bit of what you were doing. And for those who were creating something; you ended up creating the most beautiful painting, sang the perfect notes or danced like you have never done before.
So, yes. Anyone can enter it. It’s just a question of whether we can also enter it while completing tasks that don’t necessarily figure on our all-time favourite tasks list. Can we enter it at free will or whenever we need to? Even at work? Even during meetings where we have to be our best in front of a customer or our Boss?
You most definitely can. It takes a bit of effort to reach a state of continuous or almost continuous flow. But trust me, you can. And once you are in the habit of inhabiting the state, you won’t want to leave it!
But how do I get there?
Patience my dear Watson, I am just coming to that…
Well to tell you the truth, it’s all at the moment. Which moment? The present moment.
The state of flow can be accessed in the present moment. Not in the future, nor in the past. It’s in the present. And it’s there that you shall receive this beautiful present😊
So, what’s so special about the present moment?
It’s the seat of utmost power. A place where you connect to your core. One which if touched can help you do or achieve anything in life!
You see, as human beings, we tend to spend a lot of time in the future and past. But what does that yield? Well, the future gives stress, anxiety and worry. And the past? It gives you a whole load of regret and ‘I wish I would have done that this way…’ You get the picture! Neither are great places to dwell in.
And what about the present? The present gives you a calm, stress-free, distraction-free, highly focused, state. After all, it doesn’t have the future and past to trouble it and throw it off track! This in turn also reduces the number of thoughts you have at any moment. And with fewer distracting clouds in the mind’s sky, it becomes easier to take decisions and be your creative best. Not to forget that you also become a good communicator. You listen well and ask questions without feeling fear. Your reactions also come down big time and it becomes easy to manage conflict.
I could go on and on about what the present moment has to offer. But I’m sure you get the idea. All in all, it gives you the tranquillity, poise and presence of mind required to complete any task well.
Now what about entering the present moment? How do I do that?
There are different ways in which you can do that. Let me tell you a few:
Mindfulness
– Mindfulness is about being mindful of what you are thinking, feeling and doing in the present moment. It can be practised in different ways like meditation or even while doing daily tasks. For example, you may eat mindfully, walk mindfully, etc. It’s about bringing your mind to focus on your present thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, actions or any external object. And practising bringing it back the moment you realize it has wandered off to the future or past. This slowly but steadily changes the mind’s wandering tendency and brings it to settle in the present moment.
Slowing Down any task
– Try slowing down your movements and actions. For instance, if you are moving your arm to fetch an object, do it really slowly. Or if you are walking, slow down your pace drastically. It will connect you to the present moment.
Focusing
– Whenever you are completely immersed in a task with your full focus on it, you connect to the present moment. And once you have connected to it, it in turn further sharpens your focus and immerses you deeper in the task. Kind of like the chicken and egg story! But you can definitely use focus to gain entry into the endless cycle.
Being in Nature
– Nature has a way of calming us down and helping us get in touch with the present moment. So, make it a point to be in it as much as you can.
Being around people that are calm and composed
– You must have met people whom you feel really peaceful around. It’s as if everything inside you settles down when you are around them. Being around them can also help you in connecting to the present moment. And once the connection is made, you can take the state ahead yourself.
Basically, any activity that helps you calm down and come to a peaceful state connects you to the present moment. In fact, you can also connect to it by doing something that you enjoy. I know I know, we want to be able to connect to the state even while doing tasks we may not enjoy so much. But you see, the tasks you enjoy can easily bring you to the zone. And once in the zone, you can even enjoy tasks that you normally don’t. Possible? Absolutely. In fact, it’s only then that you can enjoy what you do rather than just do what you enjoy!
Conclusion
We all want to be more productive. We want to get more done in less time. Yet we want to deliver the best quality and that too while enjoying what we do.
There are multiple ways to do it, no doubt, as you would learn in any productivity training. These could include improving your knowledge, skills and attitude towards the task and your work in general. But if you want a pathbreaking way that makes your work seem more like a joy ride than an arduous climb up a hill, accessing your flow state is the way to go. The concept of flow was introduced by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the 1970s. But it’s one that is still very much relevant in today’s age. And one that if harnessed, has the power of changing your entire life!
P.S. If you need help getting there, we are more than happy to help! We have had the privilege of experiencing the state multiple times ourselves and are working relentlessly on ourselves to make it a permanent state. We would love to be instrumental in your journey there😊
At The Yellow Spot, we’ve helped many individuals, teams and organizations achieve their goals through our productivity training programs. Our programs are designed to help individuals and teams improve their productivity, reach their full potential and fulfil their dreams and goals. Our most advocated tool? You guessed it! Flow…