As this is the season of holidays and relaxation when we all try to escape a bit from the rigours of work, I thought it might be interesting to examine a term and a concept related to states of mind. This is what is sometimes known as “flow state” a phrase I only came across recently, though I know it well in practice from sport and work. It also known as “being in the zone” and can be described as “a mental state where a person is fully immersed and focused on an activity, experiencing a sense of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment. It's characterized by a deep sense of absorption, engagement, and skill, often accompanied by a loss of self-consciousness and a distorted sense of time.” This could of course apply if you are sitting in the sun on a beach in the Mediterranean with a glass of Campari in your hand, but I am more interested in its application and usefulness to our professional lives.
For some more background on the concept see this Guardian article The flow state: the science of the elusive creative mindset that can improve your life which says that the term “flow” in this context was first coined by the late Hungarian psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi – see his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. His investigations showed that “Contrary to the assumption that we are happiest while resting, he found that the peaks often involved very high levels of mental focus. The specific activity did not seem to matter – it could be swimming, playing the violin or performing brain surgery. What counted was the feeling of immersion and mastery.” According to his research “flow is most likely to occur when we find the perfect balance between our current abilities and the difficulty of the activity at hand.” He was told by a mountaineer “When you’re [climbing] you’re not aware of other problematic life situations. It becomes a world unto its own, significant only to itself.”
Applying this concept to the working world this Indeed article 11 Ways To Experience a Flow State in the Workplace suggests that “Flow is a phenomenon you may experience that predicates a healthier mental state, better mood overall and more productive output”. It proposes that this results in amongst other things:
While this article Demystifying the “flow” state among leaders and managers suggests research has found that a state of flow exists within all of us and can lead to a state of peak performance when “Time lost meaning — there was no past, no future, just the here and now. In that moment, you were so aligned with your task that nothing was beyond your reach.” It cites a study by McKinsey & Company executives over a decade which “witnessed a remarkable 500% surge in productivity when they achieved a state of flow”. In an extract from a McKinsey newsletter on the topic they say, “When we conducted workshops with more than 5,000 executives and asked them to reveal what creates flow in their own work, their answers were remarkably consistent: clarity of role and purpose, trust and respect between teammates, and an exciting challenge with high stakes”. They also observed that “Companies cannot manufacture the flow state, but they can create an atmosphere that encourages it.”
I do however think that being in a flow state like this can have its problems in professional life. Intense focus on one matter to the exclusion of all others may not help achieve broader work goals. I saw a sporting example of this extreme concentration in the final of the Rome WTA tennis tournament earlier this year. The American Coco Gauff who was playing Jasmine Paolini from Italy came out after a break, didn’t look up, and to the surprise of the crowd and her opponent, who was still standing by the umpire’s chair, served into an empty court! In her serving action she is so focused that she does not even look up at her opponent. Still, she must be doing something right because although she lost that match she went on to win the French Open at Roland Garros a few weeks later.
This Psychology Today article 2 Little-Known "Dangers" of Entering a Flow State picks up this theme and proposes that “While the flow state can be beneficial to your well-being and performance, it can occasionally slip into an unhealthy obsession. When the pursuit of that peak performance becomes all-consuming, it may start to drain your energy, blur boundaries and take a toll on your mental health”. It suggests we should strive for harmony “being passionate in a balanced way, without it overwhelming other life priorities.” I would add here “or other work priorities”.
On balance I have concluded from my own experience as well as researching the topic that being in a flow state properly managed can enhance our work experience and professional lives. See this blog Five Principles of Flow in Legal Practice which recognises the challenges in the context of the legal profession “Legal practice, especially litigation, is rarely conducive to flow” particularly because we keep having to respond to different demands. However, “it is precisely because the profession is so reactive that flow becomes not just desirable, but necessary. To sustain a meaningful legal career — particularly one that avoids burnout — we must learn to create pockets of intentional, immersive work: to cultivate flow not in spite of the profession, but within it.” It then proposes five “Principles of Flow for Lawyers” including:
1. Structure your day for deep work. Flow requires uninterrupted attention.
2. Match task to skill level. Enjoyment appears at the boundary between boredom and anxiety.
3. Define clear goals and feedback loops. Flow depends on clarity.
It concludes “Flow is not a luxury reserved for artists or athletes. It’s available — in moments, at least — even to lawyers”.
As Richard Branson said: “In two hours in flow I can accomplish tremendous things.”
While the Swedish author Charlotte Eriksson observed “Spend more time doing things that make you forget about the time.”
And for a concluding word from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi the originator of the concept. “It is when we act freely, for the sake of the action itself rather than for ulterior motives, that we learn to become more than what we were.”
For some more background on the concept see this Guardian article The flow state: the science of the elusive creative mindset that can improve your life which says that the term “flow” in this context was first coined by the late Hungarian psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi – see his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. His investigations showed that “Contrary to the assumption that we are happiest while resting, he found that the peaks often involved very high levels of mental focus. The specific activity did not seem to matter – it could be swimming, playing the violin or performing brain surgery. What counted was the feeling of immersion and mastery.” According to his research “flow is most likely to occur when we find the perfect balance between our current abilities and the difficulty of the activity at hand.” He was told by a mountaineer “When you’re [climbing] you’re not aware of other problematic life situations. It becomes a world unto its own, significant only to itself.”
Applying this concept to the working world this Indeed article 11 Ways To Experience a Flow State in the Workplace suggests that “Flow is a phenomenon you may experience that predicates a healthier mental state, better mood overall and more productive output”. It proposes that this results in amongst other things:
- Loss of self-consciousness: When you're so engaged, you're not thinking about how others perceive your behaviour.
- Sense of timelessness: You're so focused on the present that you don't notice the passage of time.
- Acute attentiveness: You attend to every aspect of the task with the same level of scrutiny.
While this article Demystifying the “flow” state among leaders and managers suggests research has found that a state of flow exists within all of us and can lead to a state of peak performance when “Time lost meaning — there was no past, no future, just the here and now. In that moment, you were so aligned with your task that nothing was beyond your reach.” It cites a study by McKinsey & Company executives over a decade which “witnessed a remarkable 500% surge in productivity when they achieved a state of flow”. In an extract from a McKinsey newsletter on the topic they say, “When we conducted workshops with more than 5,000 executives and asked them to reveal what creates flow in their own work, their answers were remarkably consistent: clarity of role and purpose, trust and respect between teammates, and an exciting challenge with high stakes”. They also observed that “Companies cannot manufacture the flow state, but they can create an atmosphere that encourages it.”
I do however think that being in a flow state like this can have its problems in professional life. Intense focus on one matter to the exclusion of all others may not help achieve broader work goals. I saw a sporting example of this extreme concentration in the final of the Rome WTA tennis tournament earlier this year. The American Coco Gauff who was playing Jasmine Paolini from Italy came out after a break, didn’t look up, and to the surprise of the crowd and her opponent, who was still standing by the umpire’s chair, served into an empty court! In her serving action she is so focused that she does not even look up at her opponent. Still, she must be doing something right because although she lost that match she went on to win the French Open at Roland Garros a few weeks later.
This Psychology Today article 2 Little-Known "Dangers" of Entering a Flow State picks up this theme and proposes that “While the flow state can be beneficial to your well-being and performance, it can occasionally slip into an unhealthy obsession. When the pursuit of that peak performance becomes all-consuming, it may start to drain your energy, blur boundaries and take a toll on your mental health”. It suggests we should strive for harmony “being passionate in a balanced way, without it overwhelming other life priorities.” I would add here “or other work priorities”.
On balance I have concluded from my own experience as well as researching the topic that being in a flow state properly managed can enhance our work experience and professional lives. See this blog Five Principles of Flow in Legal Practice which recognises the challenges in the context of the legal profession “Legal practice, especially litigation, is rarely conducive to flow” particularly because we keep having to respond to different demands. However, “it is precisely because the profession is so reactive that flow becomes not just desirable, but necessary. To sustain a meaningful legal career — particularly one that avoids burnout — we must learn to create pockets of intentional, immersive work: to cultivate flow not in spite of the profession, but within it.” It then proposes five “Principles of Flow for Lawyers” including:
1. Structure your day for deep work. Flow requires uninterrupted attention.
2. Match task to skill level. Enjoyment appears at the boundary between boredom and anxiety.
3. Define clear goals and feedback loops. Flow depends on clarity.
It concludes “Flow is not a luxury reserved for artists or athletes. It’s available — in moments, at least — even to lawyers”.
As Richard Branson said: “In two hours in flow I can accomplish tremendous things.”
While the Swedish author Charlotte Eriksson observed “Spend more time doing things that make you forget about the time.”
And for a concluding word from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi the originator of the concept. “It is when we act freely, for the sake of the action itself rather than for ulterior motives, that we learn to become more than what we were.”
RSS Feed
