The Future of Productivity is Flow State
Why finding flow could be the productivity hack for those with a 9–5
I spent a lot of 2020 trying to make my days productive. With work from home becoming the norm, I decided I wanted to use this time to help create routines that could maximize the utility of my time.
This led me to experiment with productivity hacks like calendar blocking, weekly planning, daily to-do lists, and so many more. I created morning rituals and wind-down routines, all with the singular purpose of effectively using my time.
I wanted to get in multiple activities throughout the day. And if there is one clear message from all the productivity gurus out there, it’s that — Routines are essential for productivity.
I followed my routines for a while. Made my to-do lists, set up a schedule for activities like writing, reading, meditation, etc. I pushed myself to follow my ideal daily workflow as frequently as possible. While the start was promising, I quickly faltered.
I have a 9–5 day job, and being present for that with my undivided attention is my priority. And so, my days would usually follow the needs of my job. I started to realize that the variability in my 9–5 daily schedule made following a personal routine hard. Some workdays would start early and end late, and by the time I got done with it, I was too exhausted to tick of items on my to-do list.
It doesn’t take long for one to start feeling low for not being able to stick to their routines. My downward spiral started pretty soon. I felt like a failure for wanting to do so much yet not being able to get most of it done.
I was able to get maybe 1–2 things on my to-do list into my daily schedule. From all the online content on productivity, I knew daily rituals, when done right was the key to unlocking all one’s productivity potential, but all the tools I found online weren’t helping.
I really tried. I did. But I realized while hacks like calendar scheduling, time blocking can be helpful for 80% of the folks out there, it was not the thing for me.
I wanted to be productive, but I also enjoyed the freedom of not always following a ritual. I enjoyed not having a strict routine. But more than that, I felt a sense of relief. Not following a routine meant I no longer had to face the daily evening guilt of not sticking to one.
I have always been a proponent of maintaining a master list of things I needed to complete. But this wasn’t time-bound. This wasn’t scheduled. It was just a free-flowing list of things that I know I need to get done relatively soon.
As I started to free up my time from pre-decided activities on a routine, I ended up using my time to do things from my list that felt most right to me at that time.
After doing a quick gut check on how I was feeling at a particular moment, I would just jump in and pick up one thing to do from my list. It didn’t take me long after picking up a task to get lost in it completely. I would feel like time had slowed down, and I was at one with the task at hand.
I was experiencing moments of flow.
While Professor as the sense of control over one’s thoughts and feelings, there have been multiple definitions throughout the years.
However, what seems to be universal to all the definitions of flow is the absolute engagement in a motivating and challenging activity. It is the state when an individual is unaware of the surroundings and passing of time as they are deeply immersed in pursuing an objective.
Absolute engagement in an activity that is both motivating and challenging.
I realized when I was trying to follow a routine, I was hardly ever achieving this flow state. I was trying to get things done even if they weren't the things I wanted to do at that particular moment.
Before I discovered when writing sessions induced a flow state, I would try and fit them in at a particular time. I was so distracted and disengaged that it was nothing short of time wasted. My productivity was usually low, I wasn’t enjoying the work, and I would end up feeling miserable for having wasted my time.
When I decided to chase this flow state, I started to notice my relationship with productivity change.
Flow is a state of complete engagement leading to, what Csíkszentmihályi refers to as, optimal experiences.
in neuroscience shows that flow can potentially trigger performance-enhancing neurochemicals in our brain. This helps improve our focus on the task at hand, leading to a state of engagement seen during flow.
An essential part of the flow experience is bringing our attention inwards and reducing our anxieties and worries related to our environment. Being in flow increases an individual’s experience of positive emotions such as pleasure and satisfaction.
The more we can create flow states, the more we can lose ourselves in the tasks at hand. The feeling of progression and engagement creates the dopamine rush to pick up more tasks and progress further. Flow ends up creating a progressing engagement loop.
An essential element of achieving flow is pursuing tasks and work that are likely to produce these flow experiences. But timing is important. Not all tasks can help create these optimal experiences at all times. Sometimes we achieve flow with a task at certain times of the day.
Identifying those tasks and the associated times during the day where you are most likely to experience flow working on those activities is critical to this productivity system.
The benefits of achieving a flow state go far beyond just increased productivity. Experience flow state is often seen being associated with benefits such as:
- Lowered negative feelings
- Increased experiences of positive emotions
- Higher feelings of life satisfaction
- Sense of clarity
- General sense of happiness
Working to find my flow has become my go-to productivity system.
Our feelings and capacity to perform fluctuate. Trying to adhere to a strict routine ends up wasting our energy. It’s possible that your current activity does not offer opportunities for flow. If so, find another activity that is more conducive to producing flow at that time.
When trying to create a flow state, it’s important to keep in mind these three important factors:
Challenging Activity
You need to ensure that the activity is just challenging enough to keep you engaged. It should push you to perform at a slightly higher level than other mundane tasks. The challenging nature of the activity guarantees the need for you to give it complete attention. However, it should not be too difficult that you lose the motivation even to pursue it.
Intrinsically Rewarding
Instead of external rewards, focus on the activities that are more likely to give you an internal sense of satisfaction at that moment. If you have to write just for the sake of publishing, you will most likely stop enjoying it. However, if you write to enjoy each moment of the journey, that’s different. The experience needs to be autotelic.
Immediate Feedback
As any psychologist would call out, feedback is important to any habit creation loop. This is the same for when one is trying to achieve flow. Flow needs feedback as to how you are doing. When you have clear and instant feedback, you know exactly what you are trying to achieve and whether you are making progress. This helps keep one engaged in the activity, thereby increasing the flow experience.
Finding flow will not only help you get through your tasks quicker and more efficiently, but it can also help provide a sense of engagement that is usually lacking from our pursuit of day-to-day activities.
It’s ok not to work under a strict productivity principle. Some constraints are necessary, but creativity happens best when you bend the rules a little. Don’t worry about not following all the advice you find in self-help books and productivity content online. Sometimes it's important to just take a step back and realize what truly matters to you.
Experiencing more activities that put one in the flow state is inherently more enjoyable and will help you live a more satisfying (and productive) life.
Find Your Flow.
