When i read the book "Flow" from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi i was blown away.
What he found out is that people aren't happier during time of relaxation or comfort, but when they push their abilities to the limits and are completely absorbed into a challenging, but manageable task.
These people are experiencing the flow state.
People describe flow as:
Feeling completely absorbed into the activity
Absence of toughts or ruminations inside the head
Ego dissolution
Sense of control over one's actions
Studies show that the more flow you experience during the day and the more happier you get.
You can experience flow during work, hobbies, studying and physical training.
I read a lot of books and articles and i've learned how to induce flow in nearly all the activities that i have in my day: training, work, content creation, writing.
How was i able to do that?
There are conditions that make it easier to enter inside the flow state and i'm going to explain the main ones down here, so that you can apply that to your work or your hobbies.
Deep focus and avoid distractions
If you can't focus, you won't be able to get into the flow.
Avoid distractions as much as you can:
Put your phone into another room
Focus on just ONE task. Avoid multitasking as hell
Ask people in your house to not disturb you while you are working or doing the chosen activity
Practice focused meditation:
Sit in a comfortable position
set a 5 minute timer
stare at one point in the space for 5 minutes
If you find yourself looking away, simply redirect your attention to the point
Increase time over the course of weeks
2. Skill challenge balance
This is crucial.
If the task doesn't challenge you a bit, your brain have no reason to focus on what you are doing.
If the task is too hard, you will get overwhelmed, get self conscious and be more focused on your worries than your task.
Balance challenge by changing these parameters:
Complexity: for example if i have difficulty writing about a certain topic, i try to switch writing about something less complex. Or if in the gym i have difficulty to perform a certain movement, i chunk it down to a simpler one
Volume: manage the number of inputs that you do in your deep work
Example: if i get bored i aim to write 3000 words instead of 2500, or i reduce it if that's overwhelming for me
Density: this is my preferrend modality and what i believe is the most practical one
You perform the habitual volume of work but challenge yourself to complete it in less time.
3/4 or 2/3 of the original time is what i believe works the best
3. Clear tasks and goals
State beforehand what you are going to do. Don't go into your deep work block or your gym training with no idea about the type of tasks or exercises that you are going to do.
Be as specific as you can. Use numbers
Example:
I will write 3000 words
I will do 5x5 at 75% 1RM of bench press and 3x8 of pull ups
I will record 3 videos
This will free cognitive load and allow you to focus more on your task.
4. Immediate feedback
This is a tricky one, cause not every activity has an immediate feedback.
Basically an immediate feedback is a cue that gives you information wheter you are getting closer or farther from completing your task.
For example in videogames when you kill an enemy, it give you XP
when you get hit, you health bar lowers down
Every action that you take make it very clear to you if that's something good or bad, so that you can readjust yourself.
Feedback is very context specific, but some application could be:
Using checklists when you have completed tasks
Find some measurable outcomes (in writing i like to see the words number getting higher, or when you are lifting in the gym you might feel the weight getting lighter the more you progress)
Have someone that can evaluate your work
5. Make it riskier
Do the activities that you enjoy, but add an element of "danger" to it
Physical: for example instead of just practicing your sport, try to go into some competition when you have a little chance of getting injured
Social: Like trying to speak your mind and opinions in a place where you can be criticized for it
Creative: Share your work publicly instead of keeping it to yourself
This is part of what i've learned and applied about flow state in my life.
Hope that could be useful also for someone else
If you are curious or you would like to apply to this knowledge to something specific, feel free to DM me. I will be happy to help.