The Flow State
What is the flow state and how can we use it?
What is the flow state
The flow state is a state of consciousness where we are fully immersed in an activity. You may have experienced this before during sports, playing an instrument, working, studying, or even during activities such as playing video games.
When in a flow state we experience a feeling of awareness and total focus on the activity. This immersion allows for peak performance and is a pleasant experience comparable to that of meditation.
The experience of flow includes:
- Loss of ego (sense of self)
- Merging of action and awareness
- Intrinsic satisfaction and fulfilment
- Intense presence
- Increased sense of agency
- Increased capability for learning
How do you enter the flow state?
As the flow state is a state, it cannot be entered at will. Similar to sleep you can not choose to just sleep as an action, but can create the best conditions for it and increase the likelihood of it happening to you.
One of these conditions is a healthy amount of stress often referred to as eustress. This is a healthy balance of stress that is not overwhelming but is seen as beneficial to staying focused on the task at hand. To achieve this level of stress, the task or activity must be not too easy leading to boredom but not too difficult as to overwhelm you. It is usually most beneficial to have the activity or task slightly exceeding your skill level.
If you have a set task and find it under or overwhelming you can mentally or literally adjust it to achieve a healthy level of stress and therefore focus.
For example, if a task is too overwhelming you can take a step back gain emotional stability and break it down. The task as a whole may be overwhelming but when broken down into parts may be more manageable.
If a task is too boring you can likewise adjust it to make it more difficult, you can literally or mentally reframe it. For example, if you are studying, think of a situation where the learnings apply in the real world, or imagine you have to give a lecture on the subject.
It is also notable that the chances of entering the flow state differ based on the time of day. For the majority of people during the mornings after waking up or later on in the evenings, we are most likely to enter the flow state. This is likely due to the higher dopamine spike during the day and your mind being much clearer in the early morning and late night.
What to avoid?
While there are conditions that encourage the chance of entering the flow state there are also conditions that hinder it.
This mainly includes distractions, if you have a phone nearby that is buzzing or people talking to you constantly it will make it extremely difficult to enter or remain in a flow state. Perhaps put your phone out of your way and limit any distractions to your senses. The main critical trigger to the flow state is a complete and total focus on your task or activity, therefore anything gaining the attention of your senses will divert this focus.