Getting Flow On Demand

Productivity is such a buzzword, and we hear it thrown around all the time. What does productivity really mean? It’s the measure of efficiency in a system. In other words, the amount of outputs per the amount of inputs.

That’s why I love the Pareto Principle, 80% of outputs come from 20% of the inputs, and if we focus more on that 20%, we start to get better results.

And here is where flow comes in. Flow is a term used in positive psychology, and means the melting together of action and consciousness. Your brain, both the logic and emotion, is focused on the task at hand.

As we’ve talked about before, the results are stunning, with tripling your rate of productivity, we become insanely more efficient by tapping into flow.

So the question remains, how do we get flow on demand?

Let’s get into the 4 actionable things you can do right now to start improving your ability to get into the flow state
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1. Eliminate Distractions

First and foremost, the easiest way to get into flow state more is to eliminate distractions. Messy workspace, phone face up, cluttered files and desktop, phone calls, emails, meetings.

Add up all these distractions, and no wonder it’s hard to focus, harder still to get into flow. You want to have a clear workspace, phone on silent, and dedicate blocks of time (Pomodoro Blocks) to get things done.
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2. Understand The Why Behind The Task​

When it comes to flow, you have to really care about the work you are doing, finding it meaningful and necessary, so make sure that you are thinking and reflecting on the why, why are you doing this task.
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3. The Goldilocks Rule​
​There was a study a couple of years ago that the perfect balance between striving for improvement, and becoming demotivated because a task was too difficult was 4% above your current level.

You see with flow, if the task is too easy, you get bored, but if it’s too difficult, you get demotivated. But when it’s just right at that 4% above comfort, that’s when you get the best of both worlds. So maximize flow for tasks that slightly challenge you, and flow becomes more natural.

4. Feedback Loop

You want to naturalize the flow of dopamine, and we do that by creating tangible milestones of a task, knowing that our progress holds weight. With a feedback loop, it’s important to have reminders that show you the progress you are making, almost gamifying work, making it fun and encouraging you to continue to complete more and more tasks.