Go With The Flow

 Many of you will know of the concept of a 'flow state' whereby humans enter a mental state where they feel completely engaged and absorbed in the task in hand.  Distractions fade away and you concentrate fully onethe task and applying your skills to it.  It is sometimes referred to as being 'in the zone'. It is when you look at the clock and find you have been heavily focused and working productively for a much longer period than you expected.

The term 'flow state' was assigned  by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi to represent an optimal state of consciousness where action and awareness merge. 

Flow state is blocked by external interventions ands by a real or imagined lack of appropriate skills to deal with a task, and by mental fatigue interfering with full concentration.

Not surprisingly, telephone calls, emails and other forms of messaging interrupt a flow state as does multitasking for most people. Other obvious barriers to achieving a full flow state are anxiety about a task and boredom with the task (or previous similar tasks).

Of course there are things you can do to help achieve flow state - and you certainly need to prepare for it.  

You need to make sure you have everything you need (all the pieces of equipment, tools and so on).  You need (to try) to remove or mute all distractions.  Close down any messaging systems or websites you might be tempted to sneak a look at.

You need to schedule meaningful periods of time - at a time that is in harmony with your natural body clock.

Think about changing your location where others cannot easily reach you.

You will not easily reach a flow stare - but you will have given yourself the best chance of achieving it - and achieving peak performance.