I always loved getting immersed in an activity that I loved.
And as a manager/lead, I began to respect it more and more, as I began getting more and more interruptions. My job consists in helping people and communicating with them, so it is sometimes hard to maintain a state of flow.
It’s been some time since I began thinking about flow. I kept trying to explain it to colleagues when they were curious why I dislike interrupting them, or going unannounced at their desks for a quick chat.
As a side note, it takes us approx. 20 minutes to get our concentration back to what it was before the interruption. Imagine getting interrupted at least once per hour.
What does flow mean?
Let me begin with what flow means.
Flow, aka In the Zone, is a mental state of high focus, full immersion and enjoyment while doing an activity.
It happens when we do something we love doing so much, that we manage to lose track of time in the entire process, and is described as being both effortless and enjoyable.
The concept we have nowadays of flow began getting known after some studies done by Jacob Getzels and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the ’60s and ’70s.
How to get in flow
How can we get in the zone?
There are a few triggers we have to look for and feed:
Avoid Interruptors and Give Undivided attention
We need a way to avoid attention thieves: media, notifications, nagging noises.
That way, we can concentrate solely on that activity. This does not mean it has to be a solitary activity, bare in mind it can also be in a team.
Clear goal
As long as we know exactly what we have to do and what the end result is, we will not get stopped along the way with questions as to what we do next, since it will come naturally.
Feedback
Quick feedback enables us to proceed with what we are doing or correcting what we did.
Qualification-Activities Balance
Having a balance between what we are qualified to do and what needs to be done helps us continue working on that activity naturally, without looking for answers constantly, while also having a good challenge.
And should we not forget about it, best way to get into the flow is to love doing that activity and be motivated to do it.
Why should we care about flow? (our or others)
We spend at least 9 hours at work, without adding travelling to and back home. Of course we can live our lives without feeling that flow at work, but it is not a very satisfying life to have when doing that for approx. 30 years.
Also, we should not forget that flow makes us more productive, while at the same time enables us to gather more skill and knowledge, making us subject experts.
At the same time, if we expect others to respect our time and focus, we should show respect for theirs.
And as project managers and not only, having productive and skilled team mates helps us in the long run: we can learn from them, we get more successful projects and we have better work relationships and healthy, growing work atmosphere.
I summarised what I learned and what I try to apply in my daily life.
If you have other ideas, I am more than happy to read them – sharing is caring 🙂
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