How to Enter the “Flow State”

“You are in an ecstatic state to such a point that you feel as though you almost don’t exist. I have experienced this time and again. My hand seems devoid of myself, and I have nothing to do with what is happening. I just sit there watching it in a state of awe and wonderment. And [the music] just flows out of itself.”

– A leading composer describing the state of flow

Yesterday I wrote in my post “Four Ways to Achieve a Productive State of Mind” that the state of “flow”, has been described by the world’s greatest thinkers as the most productive state of mind in which to work. I then described four methods that can help you achieve the relaxed, peaceful state of mind most conducive to achieving the flow state.  In this post I’m going to talk about how Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi–positive psychologist and author of  Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience–describes the flow state and his advice on how to achieve this state.

During his talk on TED.com in 2004, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi explains that the nervous system is incapable of processing more than 110 bits of information per second. If you’re listening to someone speak you need to process about 60 bits of information per second in order to understand what they’re saying. This is why if there are two people talking to you at the same time, you can’t listen to both of them and understand what both are saying.

He then goes on to explain that when you’re completely involved in the process of creating something new you don’t have enough attention left over to monitor how your body feels–the fact that you’re hungry or tired–or the problems that you have at home. People in the flow state, like the composer in the quote at the top of this blog post, explain that when they enter this state of ecstasy it’s as if they don’t exist. The composer’s body and his identity disappear while he is composing because he doesn’t have enough attention to be able to compose well and at the same time to feel that he exists, because composing is an activity that requires intense concentration. Therefore, his existence is temporarily suspended while he is creating.

It’s also important to note that the composer can “switch off” so that the process of composing becomes almost automatic and he doesn’t have to consciously think of what he’s doing because he is highly skilled and very experienced at composing.  Therefore, an important part of achieving the flow state is developing a high level of skill in the particular area in which you’re striving to achieve a flow state, whether it’s writing, music, athletics, developing software, and so on.  An accomplished figure skater describes “flow” as follows:

“It was just one of those programs that clicked. I mean, everything went right, everything felt good . . . It’s just such a rush, like you feel it could go on and on and on, like you don’t want it to stop because it’s going so well. It’s almost as though you don’t have to think, it’s like everything goes automatically without thinking . . . it’s like you’re on automatic pilot, so you don’t have any thoughts. You hear the music but you’re not aware that you’re hearing it, because it’s a part of it all.”

Chart Describing the Flow State – Point at Which You’re the Most Productive

(“Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on Flow“; courtesy of xdelrey)

Dr. Csikszentmihalyi used the graph above during his TED.com talk to illustrate the point that in order to achieve a flow state, a balance must be struck between the challenge of the task and the skill of the performer.  On the horizontal axis you measure how challenging the activity is, and on the vertical axis you measure your level of skill at that particular task. As you can see from the diagram, there’s a point, let’s call it “the sweet spot”, where the level of challenge is high and the skills that you have to meet that challenge are also high, and it is at that point that you enter the flow state.

Notice how the interplay between how challenging an activity is and your skill level in that activity can make you feel apathy (low challenge, low skills), boredom (low challenge, mediocre skills), relaxation (low challenge, high skills), that you’re in control (somewhat challenging, high skills), worry (somewhat challenging, low skills), anxiety (challenging, low skills), or arousal (very challenging, mediocre skills). If you’re in the “arousal” state you can move into “flow” by developing more skills. On the other hand, if you’re in control you can enter “flow” by making the task more challenging.

How Does It Feel to Be in the Flow?

Thousands of people from every wake of like were interviewed by Dr. Csikszentmihalyi and his team in order to identify the key components of the flow state. These seven points summarize how they responded that they felt when in the flow state:

1. You’re completely involved in what you’re doing: you’re completely focused and concentrated.
2. There’s a sense of ecstasy–of being outside of everyday reality.
3. There’s a great inner clarity: you know what needs to be done and you get immediate feedback on how well you’re doing.
4. You know that the activity is doable, that you have the necessary skills to complete the task successfully.
5. You lose your sense of self and all of your worries and concerns drift away.
6. You lose track of time and you’re completely focused on the present moment.
7. There’s an intrinsic motivation—whatever produces flow becomes it’s own reward.

Interestingly enough, the idea of flow came into being as result of research on happiness. Researchers began asking themselves: “What makes us happy?” and “When are we most happy”? As a result of this research psychologists realized that being able to enter the flow state–which is a very enjoyable experience–is a key component of happiness.

How to Achieve the Flow State

From everything stated above, in order to achieve the flow state you need to do the following:

1. Choose a challenge.  It has to be something that you enjoy doing.
2. Develop your skills in order to be able to meet the challenge.
3. Set clear goals on what you want to achieve and how you will know whether you’re succeeding.
4. Focus completely on the task at hand.  Eliminate all other distractions.
5. If negative feelings, emotions, or beliefs are getting in the way, try one of the methods described in “Four Ways to Achieve a Productive State of Mind”.
6. Make sure that you’ve set aside sufficient time in which you can be free of all distractions.

To conclude, here’s a quote from a poet on the flow state:

“It’s like opening a door that’s floating in the middle of nowhere and all you have to do is go and turn the handle and open it and let yourself sink into it. You can’t particularly force yourself through it. You just have to float. If there’s any gravitational pull, it’s from the outside world trying to keep you back from the door.”

(“Flowing on Three”; courtesy of Soul101)

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