Flow State – Secret to Work More Efficiently and Live Happier

Have you ever worked so hard at something that you forgot the time? Are you immersed in your work without even realizing that the sun’s rays have gone out and the night is slowly falling? If you’ve been through moments like this, you’ve probably experienced flow state – a state of intense focus, happiness at work, and more productive work.

So what is the flow state? Who can also reach this state? If possible, how to activate the flow state in each of us?

This article will give you the answer.

Flow state – a state of intense focus, happiness at work, and more productive work

What is a flow state?

Definition of flow state

Flow state is a concept named by Hungarian-American psychologist – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. It is defined as a state of mind in which you are completely focused and immersed in the work you are doing.

Csikszentmihalyi also explains: “It is a concentration that, when reached to a high degree, gives a feeling of euphoria. You know exactly what you want to do from moment to moment, and get instant feedback on what you do.”

He also describes eight characteristics of flow state as follows:

1. Concentrate completely on the task;

2. Have a clear purpose in mind and respond immediately;

3. Change in tempo of time (faster/slower);

4. Experience your inner satisfaction;

5. Simple, effortless;

6. There is a balance between challenge and skill;

7. Action and perception are merged, without spending too much time thinking;

Feeling in complete control of the mission.

Some examples of flow state include: When the writer reaches the state of flow, they focus completely on the article and do not care about what is around, not aware of how much time has passed. pass. Artists “adventure” when painting, their mind soars, creatively makes their drawings more soulful, vividly illustrating everything they want to convey. Graphic designers focus on creating images, forget about time, and are completely satisfied when completing their work.

Benefits of reaching flow state

Benefits of reaching flow state

When you reach the flow state, you will:

– Highly focused on work to create quality products without being distracted by what’s around.

– When a flow state is reached, like the flow of water, the brain’s potential is “activated” to the maximum, resulting in a smoother and more fluid work.

– Excitement, dispel negative feelings at work.

– Feeling satisfied with what you’re doing.

– The state of flow is connected with the state of happiness. So you are happier from the bottom of your soul.

– Create great internal force, increase enjoyment and motivation at work.

–  Several studies show that reaching a state of flow can enhance work performance, due to absolute self-focus and sublimation at work.

– The ideal state for learning and skill development if you know how to look for challenging change to your mission.

– More creative due to the sublimation at work.

– Show your best self. “Being in the flow state brings out the best in all of us”. This is a quote from Diane Allen, a violinist and coach who helps people achieve flow state.

The great thing is that any of us can achieve flow state, not just scientists, artists or creative people, as many people think. Each of us will also enter the state of flow in different ways. Some people can be when solving problems through charting, or Excel sheets, some people are in alone time thinking, or others are when directing the team to perform tasks.

Alternatively, you can always take the initiative to activate this flow state. Here are a few suggestions for you.

Hints to enable flow state

Choose a little thing that makes you love

Choose a little thing that makes you love

If you can choose a job you love, that’s ideal. But if not, you can also try to find an aspect of your current project that interests you to start with. Because when you do something you love, your brain generates positive responses that make it easier to enter a state of flow.

There is only one small note that is not to choose something too easy. Easy tasks that you can complete quickly without causing many obstacles to get the brain to really work; this is not the ideal condition to enable flow state.

Have a clear goal

Have a clear goal

Not having a clear goal reduces your ability to focus on goal-directed problem-solving, as you wander without direction. Without focus, it is also difficult to achieve flow state.

The goal you choose should be the most important thing you need to accomplish. You can choose 1-3 jobs that are suitable. You can also keep only the one thing that is most important to you and focus as much as possible on getting it done.

Eliminate distractions

Eliminate distractions

It is necessary to completely eliminate surrounding distractions to make you fully focus on your work.

Work at your best and in your most productive time

Work at your best and in your most productive time

Working when you’re too hungry, too thirsty, or too sleep-deprived won’t trigger flow state because you’re not at your best. When you can’t satisfy the most basic needs, you can hardly work effectively.

In addition, each person will have a time in the day when they are most productive. For some people it’s early in the morning, but for others it’s late at night. Whatever the time is, find it and do your most important work at that time. This way, you will easily enter the flow state and handle the work more efficiently.

Practice continuously

Each seemingly simple and short step requires a continuous process of practice, experience, modification and continued application. That way, you can practice focusing more deeply and longer on each task. From there, you can easily sublimate and be creative in your work.

Enjoy the results

Enjoy the results

Once you can get into the flow state, you will feel happy and satisfied every time you finish work. However, do not simply stop there, reward yourself with something meaningful to continue the journey. This will give you the motivation to complete even more difficult tasks and help you persevere in each step forward.