Finding “flow” and being in the zone or groove the experience of losing track of time when immersed in a task.
Flow states might help you operate more efficiently or provide an explanation for your incessant social media scrolling habit. In general, they’re advantageous: According to productivity expert and assistant professor of organisational behaviour at Stanford Graduate School of Business David Melnikoff, people enjoy being in flow states.
The conventional view, which dates back to the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s invention of the phrase in the 1970s, states that flow results from spotting a task in which one can fully immerse oneself.
Melnikoff’s research refutes that notion, stating that all it takes to be extremely productive is to take an uncertain circumstance and figure out a way to exert some control over it.
Imagine someone spending hours at a slot machine, suggests Melnikoff. Even while they may not seem to be working very hard or on a particularly difficult assignment, they are nonetheless in a state of flow. Pulling the lever causes an outcome that was previously uncertain to become certain.
Melnikoff claims that social media is made to function similarly. He tells CNBC Make It, “Social media is an emotional roulette wheel.” “We spin the wheel as we scroll to help us feel less uncertain about how we’ll feel next.”
Contrary to popular belief, he claims, you may apply the same idea to increase your productivity. The following are Melnikoff’s top three suggestions for consciously entering a state of flow:
Rephrase your assignments to create ambiguity
Although it may sound counterintuitive, Melnikoff claims that adding more uncertainty to your work is the best method to create flow. You will have more opportunities to make each unknown into a specific result the more unknowns you have to deal with.
According to him, most tasks may be reframed to increase ambiguity. Instead of attempting to go through every email in your inbox at once, set a timer for 15 minutes and see how many emails you can get through in that amount of time.
“You really want to try to mentally represent or frame your tasks in ways that make your outcomes as uncertain as possible, so that by taking action, you can reduce as much uncertainty as possible,” advises Melnikoff, “if you want to foster flow in your own life.”
Do not ask binary questions.
Melnikoff advises against asking yourself yes-or-no questions. He doesn’t ask himself if he can complete a certain portion in the following hour when he sits down to compose an academic paper. Rather, he sets a goal for himself to write for the entire hour, asking himself how many words he can produce in that time.
According to Melnikoff, tasks that have only two possible outcomes—success or failure—are not highly favourable to flow. Try setting a goal for yourself to finish as many of the 12 things on your to-do list before 5 p.m., rather than worrying about whether you can get them all done.
“Rather than thinking about the number of words as a binary outcome (which has two and is therefore very certain), you should think of the number of words as a continuous outcome that can be anything from zero to thousands and thousands,” advises Melnikoff.
Think in terms of streaks.
Melnikoff suggests that you consider streaks when thinking. Put yourself to the test by asking: How many questions in a row can I answer? On a basketball floor, how many consecutive shots are I capable of making? What is the bare minimum of tries required for me to declare myself successful?
Melnikoff also says that instead of focusing on a certain number of consecutive successes or failures, you can use a more ambiguous measure, such as the possibility of making five consecutive shots.
He emphasises that none of this is designed to take the place of your other productivity techniques. Instead, these strategies are meant to make it easier and less stressful for you to complete the tasks on your to-do list or time-blocked schedule.
Melnikoff says that the goal should always be to enter a state of flow when one has the opportunity to dedicate a significant amount of time to a task. “People cherish the feeling of productivity and unity that comes from being fully involved in an activity.” People are happy when they feel fulfilled and have a purpose.
(Tashia Bernardus)