~ What ? ~
Flow is a state of extreme concentration that can help you accomplish all your Goals. When you are so concentrated on the task at hand and your brain is working on full power to complete it.
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@Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi the godfather of Flow, first coined the term. @Steven Kotler has identified even more flow triggers. He focuses on the neurobiological side of flow.
Flow Blockers
Loud and noisy environments can lead to your Brain being extremely overloaded with information and not able to concentrate on the tasks at hand.
Social media is full of Procrastination pits.
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Most people check social media in the first 15 minutes after waking up.
Ruining Development Flow is an integral problem for me, as a developer.
Flow Proneness
Get to work within 90 seconds of waking up.
This seems like an extreme workaholic thing to do.
Flow Triggers
Flow triggers contribute to:
- How fast you enter flow
- How deep you enter flow
- How long you stay in flow
There are many triggers that let you enter a Flow state. Things like:
- Gaming for me
- Adrenaline Activities
- Reading for me
- Playing An Instrument
- Programming for me
Clear Goals would let you keep a state of flow, since you have a clear “map” of what needs to be done. Immediate feedback is crucial as well as the results are immediately visible. This reminds me of gambling. Like those addictive phone games? The task is challenging but you have just the amount of skills to actually tackle it.
The Flow Cycle
Struggle
The task is challenging. You could be doing something better right now or relaxing. Why not procrastinate?
Power Through! You can try attention span stretching. Do the work/activity even if you don’t feel like doing it. Do it in increments of a few minutes and at the end of each increment, start another one.
You can be stuck in the struggle phase of the flow cycle for probably most of the time. This is the hardest part.
Release
You’ve overcome the task at hand. No matter how mundane, you’ve managed to push through the barrier. The task no longer feels like a struggle.
Flow
You’ve entered the flow state.
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Elite Productivity, Extreme Accomplishment, Hyper Focus.
Recovery
Effects
You are replenishing your energy and retaining knowledge.