How to Get into Flow
We usually think of flow—or “getting into the zone”—as something that primarily happens to runners and writers. But it can happen to anyone—to all of us. And science has taught us a lot about what flow is and how we can activate it.
Flow was defined by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi when he started his research on the topic in the 1970s. He called it the “secret to happiness.” Csíkszentmihályi is the author of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience — essentially the definitive tome on flow. I heard him give the keynote address at the 2014 International Coach Federation Global Conference in Rio de Janeiro where I was also giving a talk. It was such a fascinating talk and helped me both as a life coach and simply as a person.
Csíkszentmihályi began his research by looking at how happiness related to income. He studied data from other studies that showed that an increase in wealth did not lead to an increase in happiness. That was really surprising at the time. We understand that more today. But, when I see people posting about that on social media, I still see people commenting things such as, “Yeah, but money can afford you the time to do the things that make you happy.”
Maybe. But, just because you enjoy doing something, it doesn’t mean that that activity is going to make you happy—the kind of happiness that Csíkszentmihályi says that we get from being in the flow state.
Psychologists Jeanne Nakamura and Csíkszentmihályi define flow as:
…a state of intense concentration in which we lose the sense of time and even self.
It feels as if our actions have merged into our awareness. We have control over the situation, and we are not stressed by the challenges of the situation.
The key feature of flow is that the activity is challenging and we have the skills to meet the challenge.
Scientists call flow an autotelic experience. That is, flow-inducing activities are activities that have intrinsic value. They are worth doing on their own merits. They are intrinsically rewarding. We don’t need an external reward to do them or to get into the state of flow.
In a TED Talk that Csíkszentmihályi did called “Flow, the secret to happiness,” he quotes a composer who says:
“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.”
I’ll bet that you’ve experienced this before—where you lose track of time and seem to float outside of yourself. You are so into what you’re doing that the thing seems to just create itself—like a gift from the Universe.
In that state, we forget to eat or drink, we don’t take a break, we tend to work through without getting tired. Worry and stress melt away. We’re shocked later to discover how long we spent on the activity. We end the activity on a high, with a sense of complete satisfaction. Best feeling in the world.
As an artist, I don’t always get into flow, of course. But, when I do, the painting definitely feels as if it’s painting itself. I totally lose track of time and self. I disappear. I’m sort of shocked back into existence when the painting reveals itself to me as being finished. Then I’m often surprised about the time—sometimes it’s later than I thought. Sometimes it’s much earlier than I thought. Like, the painting knew exactly what it was going to be, and it just vomited itself out fully formed. I come out on a huge high.
In his TED Talk, Csíkszentmihályi defines what it feels like to be in flow as the following:
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 going
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
He notes that once these conditions are met, the work becomes worth doing for its own sake. We don’t need the promise of a reward. We’re in the moment of the doing, and that in itself is enough.
Studies have shown that flow is good for your health and wellbeing.
Flow can help you stay resilient. During times of stress and adversity, flow can help us refocus our thoughts and distract us from worrying about a situation. In a study called “A better distraction: Exploring the benefits of flow during uncertain waiting periods,” researchers looked at how flow would affect worry while participants were waiting for important personal news. They found that participants who experienced more flow during a stressful waiting period had less worry, fewer negative emotions, and more positive emotions.
In a study called “Flow in the time of COVID-19: Findings from China,” researchers found that people in quarantine from COVID-19 had less stress and less worry and lost track of the amount of time spent in quarantine when they had more experiences of flow.
So, we really want to experience flow, not just because it feels good, but also because it’s good for us.
Nakamura and Csíkszentimihályi created a model of flow in which they plot skill and challenge and the resulting states of being. There is a continuum of eight states of being.
When there is low skill and low challenge, we are in a state of apathy. Sadly, Csíkszentimihályi notes in his TED Talk that most people live in this state.
As challenge rises but skill stays low, we go into worry. As challenge rises more, we enter a state of anxiety. So, in school, a test we’re totally unprepared for. In a freelance business, bookkeeping when we’ve never done it before.
Back to low challenge, from apathy, as skill increases, we enter boredom. As skill increases again, we enter relaxation. So, a game we’re really good at that’s not challenging. Or some kind of rote, repetitive work that gets boring.
From high challenge and low skill, as skill increases, we enter arousal. Arousal is the area where most people learn from because it’s in that area where they are challenged and they just need to improve their skills.
From high skill and low challenge, as challenge increases, we enter control. Csíkszentimihályi notes that you can also enter from flow from control. You have the necessary skills here. You just need to increase the challenge.
Flow is the eighth state of being. It is where we have high skill and high challenge. So, this is when we are doing something that is quite challenging, that would normally create anxiety or arousal, but now we have the high skills to meet that challenge.
This is when we do our work that gets us into flow. This is how skilled artists, musicians, and writers get into flow. This is how athletes get into flow. Same with craftspeople and cooks. And even surgeons.
While Csíkszentimihályi calls flow the secret to happiness, I view it more as a state of deep satisfaction. For example, when a surgeon is in flow, they aren’t necessarily happy. They may be doing a very difficult surgery on a very sick patient. They’re not necessarily humming and delighting in the work. They are very serious and focused. But they lose themselves in the work. They lose track of time. They’re in the zone. They’re on a high.
For me personally, satisfaction feels better than happiness because happiness is fleeting. For more about this, check out my podcast on “The Relentless Pursuit of Happiness.” Satisfaction feels deeper and longer-lasting. It can create happiness. But, to me, happiness is a mood. My mood can change, and I can still feel satisfied in a job well-done.
So, is there anything we can do to spark that state of flow? Or are we left to random chance of getting into the zone?
There are things we can do.
1. First, make sure that the activity is challenging and that you have the skills to meet the challenge.
If the activity isn’t challenging enough, you’ll be in control or relaxation. If you don’t have skills, you’ll be in arousal or anxiety.
2. Make sure it’s an activity you enjoy.
You’re less likely to enter flow if you don’t enjoy the activity. Yes, you may have high skills in the activity and be able to meet a high challenge. But, if you don’t enjoy it, you may be fighting against it rather than entering flow.
3. Visualize where you’re going.
Athletes visualize the race or event before they start. Artists visualize the piece before they create it. Before I start to paint, I have a mental image of the end result. Now, it doesn’t always turn out the way I originally saw it. Often the painting evolves during the process of creation. But it’s easier to start when you have an idea of where you’re going. You wouldn’t start cooking if you didn’t know what you were making!
4. Put on music to get yourself into the mood.
When I have a mental image of where I’m going but I’m still not quite in the mood, I put on music that reflects the mood I need to feel to get started. When I paint, it’s pretty easy to pick out the music. If the painting is going to be moody, I have a whole library of moody music from which to pick. Think: Radiohead, ha ha.
It’s a bit harder when I need to spark a writing mood. So, I have a playlist called “Elevate.” It’s filled with music that picks up my mood and helps me feel creative. Honestly, in spite of the topic for this post, I was having a hard time getting started. So, I put on “La Ritournelle” by Sébastien Tellier, followed by “Retrograde” by James Blake, then “Guess Again” by Thom Yorke. Bam—the writing started.
Now, I already had an outline and and a vision of what I was going to write. I wasn’t stuck on any of that. I was stuck on getting started with the actual writing. The music got me there, then I turned it off once I started writing and needed to focus.
Putting on some forward-moving, creativity-inspiring music can help in just about any situation. Music has a direct effect on our mood. When we’re in a funk and keep listening to music that reinforces feeling down, we’re just going to stay there longer. I know because I do this, especially when I want to paint from that mood. So, to come back out after painting, I put on more elevating music. It takes a bit, but it does help bring me out.
So, make a playlist of music that can help you get into a creative/flow zone. Then put it on when you need a little nudge in that direction.
What else have you found that helps you get into flow?
Are there specific kinds of work or activities that get you into flow more than others?
