The Pursuit of “Flow” Is Overrated

The idea of flow is considered by many to be the epitome of productivity. Also known as “being in the zone” or “hitting your stride,” flow captivates us with its promise of becoming so absorbed in what we’re doing that we tackle tasks effortlessly. It’s a kind of productivity nirvana

Flow is elusive

When we have to do something we don’t want to do, like responding to never-ending emails or filing our taxes, finding flow can be impossible.

• Most people can’t afford to wait for flow – learn other methods to do what needs to get done, no matter what.

When we let a task spill out into our day, we don’t see it as play, and we delay and procrastinate

Put a time constraint on the task, and watch yourself sprint to get it done

• You will accomplish much more than you would if you had just let it languish on your to-do list

Find the mystery in something that other people don’t notice

Reimagining difficult work as play is empowering

• Adding a constraint and finding the mystery can help us “play anything”
• Knowing how to harness this power can make any task more manageable, even when flow eludes us

The dark side of striving for flow

The price of relying too much on flow is that when you can’t find it, you’re more likely to succumb to the vicious cycle of distraction-a horrible loop of frustration and perpetual time scarcity.

• If you wait around for flow and it doesn’t come, you have to learn to deal with your internal triggers or you will never get the task done.

Reimagining the task

There’s a way to stay focused on a task without waiting for the elusive state of flow

• It’s called “play!”
• Play can help us persevere when we would otherwise quit
• Instead of trying in vain to find flow, we can do two things to turn any task into play: Add constraints and Find the mystery

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