A flow state (or being in the zone) is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. This leads to a tremendous boost in productivity and enjoyment, in anything that you do.
Deep Work
Deep work is professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to the limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill and are hard to replicate.
Deep Work is a concept coined by Cal Newport and discussed in detail in his book Deep Work – Rules for Success in a Distracted World.
Deep work leads to a significant boost in your productivity levels and in your ability to grasp & complete complex tasks. You can learn more about deep work in our blog post: Deep Work: How to focus and get highly productive in your work
State of Flow
When your brain is allowed to work for a period of time without distraction, it enters a state of flow (also known as the zone). Flow is characterised by complete absorption in what one does.
The benefits of the state of flow, have been documented in great depth by the productivity best-seller Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihaly, which along with Deep Work by Cal Newport are considered to be the best books written on the topic of focus.
Flow: Flow is the way people describe their state of mind when consciousness is harmoniously ordered, and they want to pursue whatever they are doing for its own sake. In reviewing some of the activities that consistently produce flow—such as sports, games, art, and hobbies—it becomes easier to understand what makes people happy.
Mihaly Csikszentmihaly – Author – Flow
Peak State: When you are in peak state, your subconscious and conscious minds—which typically fight each other to some degree—are in perfect harmony. Your rational (conscious) mind aligns perfectly with your emotions (subconscious), and together they combine into a powerful force that makes you unstoppable.
Sunil Saxena – Author – Massive Action equals Massive Results
What it means to be in a state of flow?
- Completely involved in what we are doing – focused, concentrated
- A sense of ecstasy – of being outside everyday reality.
- Great inner clarity – knowing what needs to be done, and how well we are doing.
- Knowing that the activity is doable – that our skills are adequate to the task.
- A sense of serenity – no worries about oneself, and a feeling of growing beyond the boundaries of the ego.
- Timelessness – thoroughly focused on the present, hours seem to pass by in minutes.
- Intrinsic motivation – whatever produces flow becomes its own reward.
4 States of Flow
- Struggle Phase: Struggle does not feel good. People are unwilling to challenge their self.
- Release Phase: When you accept the struggle and take on the challenge this is where your brain converts from conscious to subconscious processing.
- Flow State: This is where the person is in the zone, on fire, can do anything and is insanely productive.
- Brain Rewiring and Memory Consolidation Phase: You remember everything that happened during your peak performance and you see the new possibilities that happened.
Selection
The ability to say No: People think focus means saying “yes” to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying “no” to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things we have done.
Kevin Johnson – Entrepreneur, Author – The Entrepreneur Mind
Top Books on Focus
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
Authors: Cal Newport,
While several books discuss the ill consequences of distraction, Newport gives you a guide on how you can overcome this habit. His modern, relevant and practical advice will help you develop a simple, yet life-changing superpower in today’s environment – the ability to focus.
The Power of Focus
Authors: Jack Canfield,Mark Victor Hansen
Seventy-nine years of combined expertise made Canfield, Hansen, and Hewitt come up with 10 principles that will help you develop focus in your life. Backed with the use of interesting stories, every principle shared will make you rethink how you live your life and open your eyes to the most fundamental elements of success – clarity, understanding, and no exceptions.
The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
Authors: Gary Keller,Jay Papasan
You’ve tried taking life all at once. Now try taking it one thing at a time. This is what Gary Keller guides you towards in this bestselling book. He claims that taking on more than you can handle results in poor work, postponed deadlines and half-hearted commitment. This book acts as a guide to work towards your goal, with reduced stress, better results, and focus.
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Authors: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,
What is “flow”? It is a psychological state that makes every experience in life more fulfilling and opens your mind’s creative instincts. Legendary psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihaly, is known for his research into flow. In this book, he illustrates how you can achieve this state, rather than leaving it to fate. As a result, you will discover a new potential you never knew you had.
The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal
Authors: Jim Loehr,Tony Schwartz
Your energy is your most expensive resource. Today’s fast-changing world constantly demands this energy, resulting in issues such as stress and poor time-management. Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz provide a complete guideline on how you can preserve your energy and still achieve your best-ever performance. Discover the four sources of your energy, its expenditure and renewal and many more energy principles that will change your life.
Videos on Focus
Productivity Hack #1 – Deep Work
Understand the tremendous boost in productivity you gain, by being able to engage in deep work, free of distractions. This short video introduces the concept, and provides you a brief idea on how you can incorporate deep work sessions into your own schedule.
Stop Wasting Energy On These 3 Undeniable Energy Wasters
Learn about the 3 energy wasters you need to quit now, to channel you energy more productively: (1) Multi-tasking – why deep work is much more effective (2) ‘Good Opportunities’ – versus strong focus on what matters most (3) Relations with the wrong people – severe ties with people who are not helping you move forward
Other concepts on Productivity
The Right Technique
We often do things the way we were taught, not because it’s the best way to do it. By keeping you mind open to new ideas and a little amount of research, you could be surprised by the vastly superior and more productive techniques that you can discover, that can boost your productivity and efficiency.
80:20 Principle
80% of the outputs result from 20% of the inputs. To increase your productivity and effectiveness, you need to focus on the 20% of high-impact activities, and de-focus on the 80% low-impact activities.
Eliminate > Automate > Delegate
We get so tied down in mundane day-to-day and other routine activities, that it becomes virtually impossible to find the time to work on our more important strategic and longer-term goals. There is a simple solution – ELIMINATE > AUTOMATE > DELEGATE.
Batching
Batching is where you gather all similar tasks and do them all at once. By completing them this way, you can maximize your focus on one type of task over a period of time, and therefore greatly increase your productivity on that particular job.