Once, when I was leading tooling efforts on Xbox One, I was writing a utility to de-elevate the permission of a process (people usually write utilities to go the other way). I was “in the zone”, and was writing and debugging for most of the day without noticing time, and I loved it. I was in what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes as “Flow”.
Chick-Sent-Me-High
In Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Csikszentmihalyi describes eight characteristics of Flow:
Complete concentration on the task
Clarity of goals and reward in mind and immediate feedback
Transformation of time (speeding up/slowing down)
The experience is intrinsically rewarding
Effortlessness and ease
There is a balance between challenge and skills
Actions and awareness are merged, losing self-conscious rumination
There is a feeling of control over the task
Now, Flow isn’t about getting things done - when we’re in a state of flow, we’re happy. It’s also important to note that Flow isn’t just about work. Spring is here, and I’ve gone on a few 10-ish mile hikes the last few weekends, and I checked all of the Flow boxes above. I do a lot of things where I find Flow.
Deep Work
In his book, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, Cal Newport discusses the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. Deep Work occurs when you're able to push your cognitive capabilities to their limit, creating new value, improving your skill, and producing high-quality work.
Flow is a state of complete immersion in an activity where you're fully engaged and lose a sense of time. There’s overlap here, but there’s a difference.
Both Deep Work and Flow are about intense focus and immersion in the task at hand. They both require the elimination of distractions, a clear focus on the task, and a level of challenge that matches your skills.
A state of Deep Work can often lead to Flow. When you're engaged in Deep Work, you're concentrating on a cognitively demanding task without distractions, which is exactly the environment needed to achieve a state of Flow. When in Flow, you're not just working deeply; you're working at your peak performance level, creating high-quality output, and often experiencing a deep sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.
However, there's a subtle difference between the two. Deep Work is more about the discipline of focusing intensely on demanding tasks and producing high-quality work. Flow, on the other hand, is the optimal state of consciousness where we feel and perform our best; it's a more holistic concept that also encompasses the psychological and emotional aspects of being fully immersed and enjoying the process.
I don’t get nearly as many opportunities for Deep Work as I used to (in fact, writing this weekly blog post is one attempt of mine to find more Deep Work). But I still strive to find Flow.
Flow and Leadership
It can be difficult in a leadership role to find Flow. Meetings, managing, and making decisions are often interrupt driven - and that breaks Flow. But…one thing I’ve discovered is that while the eight characteristics of Flow can be recognized retroactively as the result of deep work, if I keep those characteristics in mind when I approach work, I can make flow happen.
Here are some ways I strive to find Flow in my work.
Engagement in Problem-Solving: As a leader, a big part of my job is solving problems. Whether it's creating strategy, managing a crisis, or organizing my team, when I'm knee-deep in figuring out solutions, that's my Flow. I'm in the zone, zeroing in on the issue, and playing my part to fix it.
Effective Meetings: While meetings are often seen as distractions, they can also be a source of Flow if managed effectively. The key is to make sure the meetings are purposeful, have clear objectives, and promote engaging discussions. This is difficult, but worth it.
Long-term Visioning: Part of a leader's role is to envision the future of our organization. Envisioning the future of an organization can be a bit like navigating a ship through fog. But when I'm piecing together information, trends, and possibilities to create a clear, inspiring path forward, I'm totally in the zone. That's Flow for me.
Coaching and Mentoring: I often find Flow in the act of coaching or mentoring team members. When deeply engaged in helping someone else develop and succeed, I often lose track of time, and feel a strong sense of purpose.
Being Happy
Back when bookstores existed, I’d spend hours (and $$) browsing and buying. I don’t recall exactly how I found it, but I stumbled across 10% Happier by Dan Harris, and it’s something I re-read from time to time. get. The book revolves around mindfulness, meditation, and the pursuit of happiness. The book is a story of how the author, who was stressed and burned out discovered that mindfulness and meditation were valuable tools to mitigate stress, enhance focus, and ultimately, make him "10% happier."
Harris's "10% happier" refers to the incremental increase in overall happiness he experienced from mindfulness and meditation. Flow, similarly, can increase satisfaction and happiness, because you're working at your peak and are fully engaged in what you're doing. The feeling of accomplishment when a task is completed during a Flow state can lead to increased happiness.
10% Happier and Flow approach the concept of optimal experience from different angles - one from the perspective of mindfulness and meditation and the other from a psychological and work-focused standpoint, but there's significant overlap. Both underscore the importance of focus, presence, and engagement in tasks, and both associate these states with increased happiness and satisfaction.
From the Inside
It could be the strong introvert in me, or maybe there’s something more, but one of the reasons I love long hikes or bike rides is that it gives me time to think and reflect - and these are the times of my largest self-growth. Similarly, meditation - even in tiny amounts helps me find balance, solve problems, find flow, and indirectly, get things done.
Find time to find your flow.
-A