I have looked at some of the best articles on finding your flow and these are the best tips I have found.
1) Choose a job that you are actually interested in
We've all seen High School Musical and Ice Princess and all of those other movies where the parents want the kid to do X and the kid wants to do Y and at some point the parents say something like, "But this is your dream!" and the kid responds dramatically, "No, this is your dream." What I'm getting at is that all of these Disney movies are secretly trying to guide you to finding your flow. You can't just do what other people want you to. You must choose work you actually love doing.
2) Get rid of distractions
The best way to get in a state of full on flow is to get rid of all those pesky 21st century distractions. Turn off your beeper and your cell phone and your email. Close up your Facebook and Instagram and lock your iPhone away. Turn off the TV and your iPod and your radio (if you have one of those). You might even want to clear off your desk or organize your things if that helps you.
3) Choose a challenging task, but not too overwhelming
Stress is good. If you are stressed then you are motivated, too much stress, however, can really damage your flow. You want a task that requires your full attention, all of your skills. If it is too overwhelming for you then you will spend all of your time stressing out about it and trying to plan it out without actually having a flow experience.
4) Know your flow time
Get to know yourself a bit. Maybe take some yoga classes or travel to Barbados, whatever it takes. You have to find out when it is the best time to flow out. You might need a quiet time, like late at night or early in morning. Some people like the buzz and sounds. Whatever time you choose, it must be the time when you have the most energy and desire to concentrate and let your creative juices flow.
5) Practice and enjoy your flow
Don't be discouraged if you have a hard time finding your flow. It might take time. Maybe you were too distracted or your task was a bit too hard or boring. Over time you will perfect your flow and you will know what brings you true flow. When you do find it, enjoy it. Don't forget to appreciate your flow because your life will be a lot better because of it.
I wish you all luck in finding your flow.
PS. Is flow a noun? Adjective? I'm still not sure.
Good tips for flowing! #2 seems especially important, as it's true that 21st century technology provides a huge distraction in any situation, but specifically when trying to get into your flow. Flow is actually a really handy tool. Somehow it gets someone focused long enough to accomplish something. I still don't understand exactly how flow works, and someone's brain switches into "flow mode", but it's still a pretty interesting phenomenon. Also, flow is a noun :)
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I was absent the day you guys talked about finding your flow, so thanks for filling me in. Overall, these tips seem both logical and plausible. If the goal is to be your most productive self, then these tips are especially important. #4 seems like a tip that most of the world would find helpful. I know that I have a lot of trouble concentrating later at night and earlier in the morning, depending on how much sleep I got, which depends on how much homework I had. Wouldn't it be nice if we could craft our schedules around our flow times? It would be nice, but not likely.
ReplyDeleteI think that this post, is similar to mine last week. Flow, and motivation, in my mind, go hand in hand. When you are motivated to do something, you get in that flow. You must find something that you love to do. For me, I get in a flow of BBYO, but if you put a list of homework in front of me, there goes my flow. I also think that stress has something to do with disruption of flow, because if you are too stressed out, you keep interrupting yourself when working and trying to get in that flow.
ReplyDeleteTo me, tip #3 is really important - you can't be too bored, but at the same time it can't be a task that's too hard for you to complete. I find this in my everyday life - when something is just the right amount of challenging I get into a flow (obviously it is something I'm interested in).
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