Sometimes, the only way that I know I’m on the right path is because I totally black out, lose track of time, and have no sense of the world around me. It happens when I’m working with total concentration and dedication in a frictionless and immersed state known as flow. It’s so peaceful and fulfilling, it doesn’t even feel like work at all.
To be slightly less woo and a touch more scientific, flow is defined as “a state of full task absorption, accompanied with a strong drive and low levels of self‐referential thinking.”1 Sounds nice, huh? The same research gets a little more technical as to why the brain likes being in a state of flow: “dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems mediate the intrinsic motivation and activate mood states that are typical for flow. The interaction between three large‐scale attentional networks, namely the Default Mode Network, Central Executive Network and the Salience Network is proposed to play a role in the strong task engagement, low self‐referential thinking, feedback and feelings of control in flow.”
Blah, blah, science, nice way of saying that when all of the metaphorical stars align, you enter a flow state where you can work hard without trying, focus without working to concentrate, and feel motivated, effortlessly. It’s a relative state that probably feels different for everyone. For me, it’s the quick passage of time, the ability to work with total focus for very long stretches, and most critically, a feeling of happiness all the while.
So, you may have experienced this feeling before, you know it’s a good thing, but what can you even do with this information? Is flow just a nice-to-have that we stumble upon sometimes, or can we use it as a tool? Both, but I’m a fan of using flow as part of a life strategy, particularly in our professional lives.
In our personal lives, we do the logical thing: we give ourselves more freedom to run towards flow states. Me like dance, me dance more. Me happy when basketball, me try basketball all the time. But in our professional lives, for some reason, we don’t allow ourselves to do this. “Work” is called “work” for a reason; if it weren’t hard, then it would be called “fun,” right?
Early on in my career, I thought it was just a lucky coincidence if I had a day where I experienced a flow state. Oh, isn’t that nice that I was so locked in during that brainstorm? Gosh, I felt great during that one meeting, talking about the editorial calendar. Goddam, I loved writing that article. But because of various sunk cost fallacies, meta-narratives, and societal pressures, I’d ignore what this information was telling me, and continue the slog of doing things that were not fulfilling, not engaging, and that were full of friction.
Thinking about marketing all the time did not put me in a flow state; in fact, I can recall sometimes wondering if anyone else in some of the meetings I was in actually cared about what we were talking about, or if everyone was miserable, pretending for a paycheck and a gold star. It’s no wonder then that the friction accumulated then culminated in burnout.
By paying attention to the moments where we enter a flow state, we can keep shaping our professional activities in a more fulfilling direction. Flow is a compass, pointing us to where our fulfilment lies, what types of activities can make us forget the world around us, and engage us totally.
The intrinsic motivation part of flow is worth zeroing in on. When working in a state of flow, there is no need to push yourself, to drag the effort out of oneself for a raise, a title, or even security. The joy of the activity, of the work itself, is so complete that you just do. Imagine a career where you feel that way every day? Not a terrible way to spend decades of your life.
So how does one make use of this flow compass? Here are my tips.
Be present enough to notice when you’re in a state of flow, and when you’re really not. You can operationalize this presence by asking yourself once a day: how did work feel today? If it was good, keep asking what was good until you get to the kernel of what you enjoyed. Same for if it wasn’t fun: what did you resist, what was hard, and why?
Learn to recognize the markers. Make it easier for yourself by knowing what a flow state feels like for you. What are the signs and symptoms?
Lean into moments of flow. If there are parts of your work you really enjoy, prioritize them, try to do them more, volunteer to do them if you have to. Do them outside of work if you must.
Ditch stuff that feels like the opposite of a flow state. This option isn’t available to everyone, but keep in mind that your slog might be someone else’s treasure. For example, most people detest making presentation decks. I love it. Give me all your deck design work, it doesn’t feel like work to me. Oddly, I loved doing expense reports, too, back in the day. See what I mean?
Ask the hard questions that flow states can create. Does your work allow you opportunities to do the flow activities, or not? If not, how can you add more of them to your day? If you can’t, what does that mean for your role? Career pivots aren’t always practical, so how can you enjoy flow state activities, and still pay your mortgage? Maybe it’s hobbies, volunteer work, mentorships.
If you manage people or teams, put this knowledge to work. Asking people about what tasks have them in or near a flow state can help you better position them within a team or assign responsibility in a way that will be more fulfilling for everyone. Giving people work that they like to do, that is deeply meaningful for them means greater career satisfaction, and allows organizations to have to rely less on external motivators to get things done. Plus, happy teams means lower turnover, and lower recruiting costs. Happy teams are always the best strategy.
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