Research has found that when we engage in an activity or task that is a fully immersive experience we receive multiple benefits including:
- improved emotional regulation
- increased creativity and productivity
- more reported happiness and life satisfaction
- as well as improved performance
With all this scientific data proving the numerous benefits of this amazing psychological state – it’s a wonder we don’t make it a priority on a daily basis.
In my personal experience, it’s not that I don’t believe in the outstanding power of flow. My inability to access this high-performance state has much more to do with real and perceived barriers in my life such as lack of time and exhaustion from all of my other responsibilities (aahhrrmm – working!!)
The truly amazing thing is – that with a few mindset tweaks over the past few months, I have found ways to infuse more flow into my daily routines and responsibilities instead of only waiting for that perfect stretch of time to engage in my most loved leisure pursuits.
Let’s dive into the three tips which have helped me access flow state on the regular and some practical ways you can as well.
How to Achieve More Flow
1. Select activities YOU are motivated to do
Listen – not every task we have to get done in life is going to be something that we are highly motivated to do. Trust me – if I never had to wash another dish in my entire life I’d be cool with it. But alas, sadly that isn’t the case.
In my experience, there are definitely ways you can rearrange your life to bring in more of those activities that you are motivated to do vs. those you would happily pass on to someone else. Take stock of those things that you are doing regularly and see how you can: 1.) Slightly change to align with your personal motivation (bike to work instead of driving) or 2.) The trade-off with someone else for a win-win type situation (I’ll vacuum and mop if you can do the dishes…forever…).
2. Improve skills or increase/decrease the challenge
If you know about flow – you know that there is a flow channel where skill and challenge perfectly match up – that is your goal. This tip definitely takes some serious self-reflection and creativity to master but is totally doable. As you are engaging in an activity or task consider your stress vs. boredom level as you do it. If you feel hella overwhelmed, it might be time to up those skills needed to engage. If you are bored and feeling more relaxed than the situation should allow. Find some ways to raise the stakes and make it more exciting.
3. Limit distractions
Let’s face it – we live in a HIGHLY distractable world. From cell phones to emails to our boss asking us to drop everything we are working on and immediately get them that report they need – it is near impossible to remove ALL distractions from our lives. This is why we focus on limiting vs eliminating. What is within your locus of control when it comes to distractions? Here are a few ideas to let simmer in your mind:
External Distractions: social media, cell phones, demanding boss/family, etc.
What you can do: website blocking application, strategic use of using airplane mode, having a frank but important conversation about boundaries.
Internal Distractions: racing mind, distracting/ruminating thoughts, etc.
What you can do: aim to form a regular meditation practice, journaling purposefully to allow time for your distracting thoughts to be expressed.
Do you have any tips for how you incorporate more flow into your life?
I’d love to hear your take in the comments below 🙂