Key Elements of a Flow Experience

“My mind isn’t wandering. I am totally involved in what I am doing and I am not thinking of anything else. My body feels good… I am less aware of myself and my problems.” “My concentration is like breathing… I never think of it… When I start, I really do shut out the world.” "I am so involved in what I am doing… I don’t see myself as separate from what I am doing.” These are real-life quotes from people describing their experience of "flow" to researchers (Moneta, 2004). First coined by Hungarian- American psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, flow is a holy grail of sorts for engagement. Frankly, it's easier experienced than described. You definitely know when you're in it, though: it's a deep state of mental focus where the usual parameters like space and time feel suspended, subsumed by an enthralled attention to the task at hand. Over a research career that spanned half a century, Csíkszentmihályi described several fundamentals of flow: Clear Goals: Flow is most likely to occur when you have clear and specific goals. You should know exactly what you want to accomplish and why it matters. Immediate Feedback: Timely feedback helps you adjust your actions and stay on track, making the experience more engaging. The Right Balance of Skill and Challenge: Flow occurs when the level of challenge matches your skill level. Cakewalk-level tasks are often done with a "Ho hum, this is really boring" attitude. At the other extreme are the too-difficult, "You might as well ask me to fly to the moon" tasks. These may trigger intense feelings of anxiety and overwhelm. Interestingly, both extremes can increase stress levels and contribute to burnout. Deep Concentration: Flow requires your full attention. Those who are good at getting in the flow will ruthlessly eliminate distractions. A Loss of Self-Consciousness: In the flow state, you lose awareness of your ego and self-criticism. You are free from doubts and worries. Autotelic Experience: Flow is intrinsically motivating. People engage in flow-inducing activities for the sheer enjoyment of the experience itself, not for external rewards or recognition. Have you experienced flow? What strategies were most helpful to you? *New infographics every week* #flow #productivity #positivepsychology #litvakexecutivesolutions

Artists often "get into the zone" when creating by achieving a state called "flow," which involves deep focus, a clear goal, immediate feedback on their work, and a balance between perceived challenge and skill level, allowing them to become fully absorbed in the creative process without self-conscious distractions; this can be facilitated by setting up a dedicated workspace, listening to music that inspires them, and minimizing external interruptions. Key elements of getting into the "zone": Clear goals: Having a specific idea or direction in mind helps guide the creative process and maintain focus. Positive mindset: Approaching the creative process with optimism and a willingness to experiment can enhance flow. Suitable environment: Creating a dedicated space with minimal distractions can help artists immerse themselves in their work. Sensory stimulation: Using music, scents, or visual cues that evoke the desired mood can trigger inspiration. Practice and skill development: The more proficient an artist is in their medium, the easier it becomes to achieve flow. Immediate feedback: Being able to see the results of their actions quickly allows artists to adjust and adapt their work in real-time. Brainstorming ideas, sketching rough drafts, and gathering materials beforehand can help artists feel prepared to start creating. Mindfulness techniques: Meditation or deep breathing exercises can help calm the mind and focus attention. Rituals: Establishing a consistent routine or pre-creative activity can signal to the brain that it's time to enter a creative state. Letting go of self-criticism: Allowing oneself to experiment freely without fear of making mistakes can foster creativity.

A powerful concept everyone needs to understand. How to Leverage Optimal Arousal: Do you remember a time where you lost your sense of self and fully immersed yourself into the task at hand? How about a time where perception to execution was seamless? Commonly referred to as the “zone”, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the term, FLOW, to describe one of the most coveted states in the human experience. Let's dive into the science behind Flow and how you can ultimately increase the odds with consistency over time. Studies have shown that achieving said flow state can lead to heightened focus, enhanced creativity, as well as an overall increase in satisfaction and well-being. Finding that perfect balance of challenge and skill is key. Which means pushing your boundaries just ENOUGH to stay calm, but alert. In fact, research suggests that optimal arousal leads to the highest levels of performance. Too little challenge and we get BORED; too much and we get ANXIOUS. Flow helps us experiment with ways to find that Goldilocks zone more reliably and consistently. This is where the true magic happens! Flow states are not just a modern phenomenon. Legendary figures from diverse fields have constantly touted flow states as a universal state that transcends industries and that has been recognized for centuries. So how do you tap into this powerful state? Set Clear Goals: Know what you are aiming for. Clear granular detail. Create a system of belief that allows you to trust that what you are doing today actually contributes to your North Star. Tighten the Feedback Loop: Whether it’s through interoception, or external input, feedback is a flow trigger. Bonus points for objective and subjective measures. Maintain Focus: Environment > Willpower. Immerse yourself in the task at hand. Find full presence in the here and now. Build Interoceptive Skills: Assess your internal environment objectively. Leverage real-time tools to move the needle accordingly. Establish a System of Review: Audit the specifics. Auto-regulate towards IDEAL. Gain strategic accuracy overtime. I challenge you to identify an activity in your professional or personal life where you can start to apply these Flow principles! Remember, it would be great to turn Flow on and off like a light switch. Having said that, it is much more of an odds game. Trust that this is a piece of mastery, that will never be about arrival. Progress > Perfection.

As a writer, my # 1 use case for emotional intelligence: → Getting into a state of flow. Flow matters because: - You’re 5x as productive in flow (if not more). Focus sharpens. Motivation increases. - It feels amazing: Your brain releases norepinephrine, dopamine, endorphins, anandamide, and serotonin. All cherished, feel-good hormones. - It increases your creativity. You take in and process more information, faster. Your ability to recognize patterns shoots up. To get my emotions right for flow state, here are 5 strategies I use: ___ 1/ When I sit down to work, I ask myself: Which side of this graph do I fall on? Am I more anxious or more bored? ___ 2/ I use two EQ strategies to move myself toward the middle of the graph. - For boredom: I operate from a mindset of play. I create games/challenges. “How quickly can I do this?” “How accurately?” - For anxiety: I break off a manageable chunk. “What’s one piece of this thing that I can accomplish right now?” “What if I write just that one strategy first?” I like to think of the flow channel as a river. Your job is to push your driftwood through the sand until the river takes it. The hard work is up front. ___ 3/ I force myself to rest before I want to. Hemingway famously stopped writing for the day mid-sentence. “The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day…you will never be stuck,” he said. The same goes for flow. Studies show that the optimal oscillation between focus and rest is something like 52 minutes on and 17 minutes off. Other research suggests working in 45-80 minute stretches. Too far beyond the 80-minute mark, and you see diminishing returns for your ability to start working again. ___ 4/ I exercise hard, about halfway through the day if possible. Author Haruki Murakami has run for an hour a day for 30 years. The main reason he runs? For the neurological benefits. When you engage in aerobic exercise, you produce a rapid increase in the number of neurons in your hippocampus. This lasts for 28 hours. During that time, your neurons wait for intellectual stimulation. If you give it to them, your neurons connect with the existing networks in your brain, broadening and densening your brain in the process. This heightens your ability to learn and remember things. ___ 5/ I try to approach my work with a touch of playfulness/lightness. For whatever reason, we associate concentration with stuffy seriousness. But taking your work too seriously can make it harder to find flow. You’ll get more anxious about decisions. You’ll feel like things need to be just right. You won’t give yourself creative license to take risks. ___ THE EQ TAKEAWAY Flow is a great example of how EQ & productivity intersect. ___ P.S. Follow me, Evan Watkins, for more EQ posts like this one. ___ Dropping my sources in the comments, since I ran out of space here.

The other day, I was talking to one of our awesome engineers (that’s not enough of a clue because they’re all awesome! – but in this case, it was you, Philip). We were talking about the way that lots of people think that when an engineer gets a problem, they start coding, and code and code and code until it’s “done.” And then code and code some more until it’s even more done. For most engineers -- including Phil and me, back when I used to write code--It isn’t that way. We think. We scribble. We ruminate on a problem. We might see what other people have done to solve similar problems, and then--with all of that context in our minds, we start putting 0s and 1s together. (No, neither Phil nor I code in binary.)  We live in a world where busyness is often glorified. People fall into the trap of equating success with long hours, relentless effort, and a never-ending todo list. I worked for a guy who told me that he worked at a company that rewarded pain rather than effectiveness. So he adapted by doing things like writing cron jobs that checked in his code at 3AM and emailed his boss (or team) something like: “Well, I finally nailed that bug, tests pass and the code’s there for the team to use. I’ll be in once I’ve gotten enough sleep to be useful.” Eventually, he got tired of that and went to somewhere with a better culture. I’m back in a more creative/individual contributor role after years of mostly management. I need to keep reminding myself and my teammates that achieving excellence does not require more hours at the desk or sacrificing family or personal well-being. Yes, it’s a cliche, but it’s true: the key to unlocking potential is working smarter, not harder. How do I work smarter? One way is to aim for “flow” hours. Flow is a state of complete immersion in an activity. It’s intense focus, a sense of timelessness, and deep fulfillment. When you're in flow, you're fully engaged and highly productive. Being in flow is being In The Zone. I get in a flow state by eliminating distractions--I silence my phone, put on my headphones, and listen to music (usually musicals!). I set very specific goals, which helps me stay focused. I take strategic breaks. Sometimes it is a walk around the block, a jog, a meditation, or a bit of yoga. These all help keep my energy levels where I need them. Not too relaxed, not too wired.  On a macro level, I make sure I get quality sleep! I allow other creative inputs or conversations to take my mind off my immediate problem, so I can come back with a different point of view. Flow is more likely to happen when I’m well-rested, happy, and engaged in a task that I find genuinely interesting. Flow isn’t time-linear. It is heavily influenced by my environment and my frame of mind. These days I don’t focus on how many hours I’ve worked, I figure out how to feed my flow. How do you get into flow? (Photo of me and some of our awesome engs.)

Imagine completing your entire day in just handful of hours? That’s the power of flow. Flow is a mental state where you’re: - Fully immersed in an activity - Experiencing effortless action - Laser-focused - Operating at peak productivity This isn’t magic—it’s science. Flow occurs in the Theta and Alpha brainwave states. Your prefrontal cortex temporarily “shuts down,” silencing the voice of self-criticism. Dopamine and endorphins flood your brain, enhancing creativity and focus. A McKinsey study found that being in flow can make you 500% more productive. The truth is, entrepreneurs that can access flow states regularly, have the ultimate edge. Getting more done, in record time. So here are 8 tips to accessing flow more regularly: 1. Set Clear Goals Your brain thrives on clarity. Define exactly what you’re working on. Pro Tip: Break big tasks into “micro-missions” for certainty and focus. 2. Reduce Decision Fatigue Reduce the cognitive load to stay flow-prone by separating planning and execution to streamline your focus. When you keep your cognitive load low and flow proneness high, you put the accelerator on your execution. Pro Tip: Plan your next day’s key tasks in detail ahead of time. Begin with your most challenging and critical priorities. 3. Match Challenge to Skill Flow occurs when the task is challenging enough to engage you—but not so hard that it’s overwhelming. Neuroscience identifies the “4% Rule”: the task should be just slightly beyond your current ability. Tip: If it’s too easy, raise the stakes. If it’s too hard, break it into smaller, manageable steps. 4. Eliminate Distractions Flow requires deep focus. Turn off notifications and keep your phone out of sight. Pro Tip: Start your day with a “no phone until noon” policy or use apps like Freedom to block distractions to preserve your attention span. 5. Reboot Flow with Mindfulness and Parasympathetic Activities When you want to reboot flow, use mindfulness and parasympathetic activities. Pro Tip: Meditation, gratitude, breathwork, foam rolling, exercise, or even a cold plunge can retrigger flow. 6. Time Your Flow Sessions Your energy naturally peaks at certain times of the day. Pro Tip: Use your chronotype to find optimal work windows. 7. Mastering the Flow Cycle Flow isn’t a single event—it’s a cycle with four stages: Struggle: Effort, frustration Release: Let go to shift into subconscious thinking Flow: Peak productivity, creativity, focus Recovery: Essential for re-fueling brain chemistry 8. Sleep is one of the most critical drivers for achieving flow states, as it builds the neurochemical reserves your brain relies on during peak performance. Imagine living up to your full potential—free from the exhaustion ceiling that poor sleep creates. Pro Tip: Use sleep masks, ear plugs, and cool temperatures. Remember, flow isn’t luck. It’s a trainable skill. Ready to learn more? Join my newsletter in my featured section.