Each one of us must have one of those moments where you work on a certain task
and find yourself immersed in the flow. Some people might call it ,to be in the zone. Some describe it as a temporary zone of intense concentration state, almost as a meditative state of being, and abundance, where it is timeless, effortless and selfless.
Our inability to reach this flow state at will, have been an area of interest. Csikszentmihalyi pointed and tried to describe states of flow in his research. He interviewed artists, writer and athletes who immerse in this flow state, trying to understand and describe it better. This state of ecstasy as he calls it. The state of temporary self suspension and disspaerance of identity existence.
Ecstasy; a greek word that means: stand to the side of something.
What interested me that relates to our medical practice, that if you are passionate about what you do, you can reach your flow state under certain conditions.
To get closer to our state of flow, certain points are important to keep in mind:
You need to be genuinely passionate about this activity. Not obligated to do it. you'l probably even have to make sacrifices to keep doing this passion with no expected rewards.
Keep practicing to be skillful in what you are doing. It's a slow and deliberate and process.
Don't over reach and try to take up higher challenges that doesn't match your skill set. you will be more in the worry and anxiety state which will harm your progress.
Be aware of lingering in the relaxation and boredom, which results from the unchallenging tasks and loosing interest.
Csikszentmihalyi mentioned in his book Flow, to reach your flow state: you should aim to be in a state of arousal, by taking activities that match your skill set but slightly challenging to keep you focused and alert. Don't spend much time on activities that bore you or keeps you in a state of apathy.
To cultivate your flow state:
Have a clear goal defined for what you want to reach.
Set realistic expectations for what you need to accomplish.
Try to minimize distractions.
Set the space and environment to be enjoyable for you. (wether its perfect coffee beans in your favorite mug, Favorite scent in the room, what ever quirky thing is that you enjoy.)
Find your perfect physical and mental time.
For myself I like also to have a white focus music in the background, just light enough to be almost un-notable. I find it to make my working session more enjoyable. There are so many youtube music for this kind of background you can use, I used to use Spotify focus and cafe lists, lately I enjoyed using brain.fm and Focusatwill.
Set a pomedro timer, where you allocate a certain time block. You can do 25 - 40 what ever you find suitable for your day. mini breaks in between and big chunk of a good 20 minutes break after 4 sessions. This mental practice shifts all your attention to the task in hand, setting you for an optimal flow state.
Some people find it very useful to reach their state of flow by quantifying and tracking their productivity sessions, experimenting and tweaking themselves along the way. Personally I find this practice inhibiting to myself, I limit my tracking to certain few habits, but not to time my productivity sessions as I find it to be counter the whole concept of getting in the flow, i.e loose track of time and self awareness.
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