Discover the Effortless Power of “Flow”

Have you ever ridden down a steep hill on a bicycle?  You most likely found that all of your focus was on the bike, the wind rushing past, and the road beneath you.  The experience was purely exhilarating and there was no room for doubt or anxiety.

What do successful artists, chess players and athletes have in common with that downhill bike ride?  According to psychologists who study human creativity and happiness, they know how to focus on an enjoyable activity and tap into this feeling of exhilaration on a regular basis.

Psychologist Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi has given a name to experiences which are characterized by this energized type of focus – “flow.”  The name is a metaphor for the sense of effortless action that comes with intense focus.  Immersion in almost any activity can bring flow.  Even work can lead to moments of flow when we learn to focus on the aspects of the job that we enjoy most.

More than the pursuit of pleasure or possessions, successive periods of flow make up a happy life. Concentrating on an activity to the extent that time and the self is forgotten, we feel that we have become part of something greater.   According to Csíkszentmihályi, “Moments such as these provide flashes of intense living against the dull background of everyday life.”

For some people flow occurs naturally; the rest of us have to work at it.  Here are some thoughts on how you can bring more flow into your life.

• Flow occurs most often in activities that have a clear set of goals and responses. Examples of this type of activity include chess, poker and tennis.  When you’re immersed in one of these games, you feel yourself reacting to decisions almost instinctively.  Outside of the arena of games, composing a piece of music or writing a computer program are activities that provide the clear goals and responses that lead to a feeling of flow.

• Flow can occur at work when the job has clear goals and rules of performance. In his research studies on flow, Csíkszentmihályi has found that it’s easier to experience flow at work than during leisure activities.  Maybe this is because work is usually more challenging than non-work activities.  Also, there are usually more opportunities to concentrate at work and the product of one’s effort is more likely to be rewarded.

• Structure your leisure time around flow. Hobbies, sports and exercise are far more likely to provide a sense of flow than time spent watching television.  It may seem easier to watch television, and there’s nothing wrong with unwinding by just doing nothing, but expending some effort in a meaningful activity will bring more happiness in the long run.

• Recognize the potential for flow in social activities. Most of us have had the experience of “clicking” with another person and of engaging in a conversation that we remember long after.  When this happens, we are in the social flow.   Interacting in relationships with people who have similar goals to our own can bring a sense of flow.  Paying attention to the goals of others and then sharing our related experiences and feelings can create a social atmosphere that invites flow.

Even though flow is often achieved at work, many people are unable to realize the benefits of flow on the job because of external forces like stress or boredom.  Csíkszentmihályi has some suggestions for taking a new approach to work.

• Transform a routine job by finding something to focus on. A clerk can make a goal of providing the best customer service, a teacher can decide to help those students most in need, and an engineer can attempt to streamline a design process.  These are a few examples of how to find flow by creating focus.

• Add excitement to a dull job by creating challenges. Examine different parts of the job and try to do it better or faster.  Instead of spending time trying to avoid work, expend the same energy in trying to do the best job possible.  When approached with a sense of personal mission, even the most tedious and boring job can bring a sense of flow.

• Reduce on-the-job stress. Stress can occur at work when disorganization or interruptions make it impossible to achieve a sense of accomplishment and flow.  Deal with these issues by making to-do lists and delegating work if possible.  If some tasks seem insurmountable or unknown, get help or training so that they can be tackled.

What are some of the biggest deterrents to being able to experience flow?  Factors such as an unhappy childhood, poverty and poor health can make it hard for a person to see life as a joyful experience.  Yet there are people who deal with seemingly insurmountable problems and maintain a positive outlook.

The ability to control one’s focus is critical when it comes to dealing with life’s problems.  Some people focus on suffering, others learn to live with it and turn their focus elsewhere.

Control over your focus is something you can practice.  When engaged in an activity, whether it’s something simple like washing the dishes or something more complex like doing your taxes, give it your full attention.  You can also give yourself more time for flow by working out your schedule to include more time for activities that you really enjoy.  An occasional change in your surroundings and routines can also help give you a new perspective and encourage flow.  Taking a vacation or redecorating your workplace can give you a new way of looking at your life and go a long way towards helping you to identify what you really enjoy doing.

Csíkszentmihályi suggests that as we search for goals that will allow us to focus our attention and achieve a sense of flow, we need to choose goals which will produce some good in the world.  He calls flow a “source of mental energy,” an energy that must be used for constructive purposes.  He encourages us to develop a sense of serious playfulness that will make it possible to be both focused and free at the same time.

According to Buddhism, we should “act always as if the future of the universe depended on what you did, while laughing at yourself for thinking that whatever you do makes any difference.”

Flow: The Psychology of Experience by Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi. If you are interested in reading this fascinating book which I have discussed in this post, simply click on the book image and you will be taken to Amazon.com where you can read reviews and more about this book. Definitely a must read.

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My question for you…

Tell me about what you do to get into “flow” in YOUR life.

13 Ways to Spark Intense Creativity

One of the things that really sets humans apart from the other animals on this planet is our capacity for creative thought.

Not only is it a necessity for the advancement of the species (after all, someone had to come up with the idea for harnessing the power of fire), but it brings us a lot of enjoyment, too.  Why else would we spend so much of our time and energy reading books, decorating our homes, or listening to music?

It can be argued that creativity is something that is divinely inspired, that some people “have” it and some people don’t.

The fact of the matter is that we all possess the ability to think creatively. Sometimes, however, we need a little spark to get us started.  (Just like the person who decided to bring fire into the cave!)

“The world is but a canvas to the imagination.”  Henry David Thoreau

Whether you’re trying to stretch your limits or you’ve just found yourself with a bit of a mental block, here are several exercises that can help get your creative juices flowing.

1. Brainstorm. When faced with a challenge, solutions can seem hard to come by.  Let yourself see that this isn’t truly the case by writing your problem at the top of a piece of paper and then coming up with 30 ways to solve it.  These are just quick, bite-sized ideas, not fully developed plans.  Sure, 30 is a big number, but what you’ll find is that once you’ve covered the obvious stuff, your brain will start coming up with more and more creative approaches.  Some of them will be unrealistic, but don’t censor yourself until your list is complete, and then you can go back and evaluate each item.

2. Change your approach. If you’re sitting in front of the computer trying to write the next Great American Novel but just can’t seem to get a handle on the words, you may find that you’re pushing too hard in one direction.  Look to other forms of expression to motivate yourself.  Trying to write a song? Instead of listening to music, head out to the local art museum for some visual stimulation.  Having trouble with graphic design?  Go to the symphony and let yourself be inspired by a completely different art form.

3. Draw a mind map. Mind maps are a great way to generate new ideas because you start thinking in different directions.  Begin by writing your challenge in the center of a sheet of paper.  (There are several online tools that can help you do this, too.)  Surround this word or phrase with related thoughts.  As you do so, you may find that you want to delve into one or more of them more deeply.  Continue by surrounding the new phrases with related thoughts.  By the end, you’ll often find that you’ve come up with solutions that would never have occurred to you if you hadn’t made these seemingly random connections.

4. Check out other industries. If you keep doing things the way they’ve always been done, then that doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for growth.  Why not see how other businesses/companies/industries do things and determine what ideas you can bring back to your own endeavors?  It’s worked for Amazon and Zappos, so why not for you?

5. Free write. Most of us have an internal editor who constantly critiques our thoughts and ideas.  Shut this guy up by sitting down with a piece of paper and writing stream-of-consciousness style for three minutes.  Don’t take time to fix your grammar or spelling, as those things give that internal editor the opportunity to nay-say.  Just write everything that flows out of your mind on your particular topic.  When three minutes is up, you may discover ideas you never realized were rattling around in your brain.  Another alternative is to do a “brain dump,” where you write everything you’re thinking about on a sheet of paper so you can get it out of your head and move on to focusing on the actual problem.

6. Use an online idea generator. This one from Idea Champions is called “Jump Start.”  You enter your problem or challenge in the form of a question that starts with “How can I?”  Then you click the button, and it generates a list of adjectives to help you answer that question in new ways.  It then helps you to brainstorm ideas, as well as to uncover the “underlying principle.”

7. Ask for suggestions. Do you Twitter?  Facebook?  Blog?  Use a phone?  All of these are great ways to reach out to other creative people in order to tap into some great ideas.  A writer friend of mine recently named a character in her romance novel based on suggestions sent to her via Twitter.

8. Start at the end. We often get so hung up on how to solve our problems that we become paralyzed.  Avoid this by taking a “backwards” approach to problem solving.  Start by imagining what things would look like if the problem was already solved.  Once you have a good mental representation, back up one step and determine what was the very last step that would have needed to happen for you to get to that outcome.  Then, back up again to figure out what you would need to do to reach the step that you just imagined.  Keep going until you’ve backed up to your current point, and you’ll have a step-by-step list of how to get to your desired outcome.

9. Become an idea collector. When you come across quotes, pictures, and other snippets that inspire you, write them down, cut them out, or capture them in some other way.  Compile these ideas where you can browse through them from time to time for inspiration.  Some people put them in binders, some pin them to bulletin boards, and other go all arts-and-crafts and create a scrapbook-style idea book.

10. Be someone else. When you have a challenge that just seems insurmountable, imagine what you would do if you were someone else.  Don’t have enough money for that great new gadget you want to buy?  Consider how your favorite athlete might solve that problem.  What would you do if you were a child?  Heck, how would you solve your dilemma if you were a dog?  This is especially effective if you put yourself into the mindset of someone you really admire and respect.

11. Reword the challenge. Continuing with the earlier example, we can say that the challenge is not having enough money for a new gadget.  Consider changing your perspective to see if there is a different problem you could be solving.  In this case, the problem might be “I want the newest gadget.”  Looking at it from that perspective, you may discover that you can solve your problem by finding a comparable product that costs less or even buying a refurbished one.

12. Cube the challenge. This exercise allows you to come at your challenge from multiple directions.  For each problem or challenge, take the time to do the following:  Describe it, compare it, associate it, analyze it, apply it, and argue for and against it.  This can be extremely helpful in showing you where patterns occur in order to get to the true heart of your challenge so that you can solve it.

13. Carry a notepad. Creativity isn’t just about solving problems and meeting challenges.  Sometimes it is all about capturing a good idea that you can use later on down the road.  Keeping a small notepad or voice recorder gives you a way to preserve those great ideas so that you can pull them out and dust them off at a time when you can give them more attention.

While creativity is certainly a natural ability, it also needs to be nurtured, and occasionally encouraged, in order to develop.  Using these ideas can be a great way, not just to solve a particular problem, but also to open up your mind to allow more creative thoughts to flow through you.

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What methods or secrets do you use to spark creativity in your life?

I would love to hear your answers. Feel free to comment below or if you liked this article, I would appreciate you sharing it on StumbleUpon or Twitter. Thanks!

15 Killer Productivity Blogs You Shouldn’t Overlook

Productivity isn’t something that generally just happens. We have to work at it.  Fortunately, there are quite a few resources out there that can help us find a better way to do something, get motivated to start, or even offer suggestions for how to keep the momentum we’ve built.

While some blogs seem to be a bit of a distraction when we’re really trying to be productive, there are plenty of others that can get us pointed in the right direction.

When reviewing the list I have personally created below, you may notice that many of the best blogs covering productivity also touch on other aspects of self improvement, both physically and emotionally.  It makes sense, as our ability to move forward with our jobs and responsibilities (even the things we enjoy) is dependent on how we feel about ourselves.

Here are 15 “killer” productivity blogs you shouldn’t overlook…

43 Folders – This blog can be a little irreverent, but it offers tips, hints, and suggestions on a wide variety of topics.  Much of the content is geared toward being more productive in your work/creative life.  43 Folders has been around since 2004 and has an incredible amount of information for productivity hounds to mine.

Black Belt Productivity – Written by Jason Echols and Michael Ramm, this blog is sort of an ode to all things GTD (Getting Things Done).  They help readers find ways to be more efficient with their time and to simply get a bit of perspective.  From multitasking to dealing with a case of “The Mondays,” they’ve got ideas for putting it all together.

Craig Harper – This Australian personal-trainer-turned-motivational-speaker shares his interesting, and sometimes controversial, ideas on all things personal development.  His humor keeps the blog interesting, and he doesn’t mind making you feel a little uncomfortable if that’s what it takes to get you thinking and behaving in new ways.

Dumb Little Man – While originally started by Jay White, this blog now shares tips, hints, and ideas from many different writers who have something good to contribute.  Advice here reaches beyond just work productivity to give suggestions on how to improve all aspects of your life.

LifeDev – “Empowering Creative People” is the tagline for this blog, and it focuses on simple strategies you can implement in your work life to make things easier, as well as to be more successful at what you do.  The posts manage to be comprehensive without being overwhelming, which makes this blog an easy read that packs a punch.

Lifehacker – Probably the most famous of all the productivity blogs, Lifehacker’s slogan is “tips and downloads for getting things done.”  Simply put, a “hack” is a shortcut, and it is often used to refer to methods to fix or work around a computer problem.  Lifehacker takes this concept to a whole new level by offering advice not just for technology, but for all areas of your life.

Pick the Brain – This blog may fall under the “self improvement” category, but it does so by giving great advice on how to improve personal productivity and motivation.  The articles are designed to help readers find the best ways to get themselves into the right mindset to become productive and successful.

The Positivity Blog – This site centers on ways to improve oneself to live the best life possible.  The author has a fairly unassuming quality about him, and his advice is based on things that have worked in his own life.

Productivity Café – Think the best productivity secrets have to be complicated?  This blog might change your mind.  It offers simple tasks that you can do in order to “sharpen your skills so you know what tasks and projects to do and when and how to do them.”

Productivity Goal – This particular blog seems to hit on most of the major areas of getting things done with its subheading of “Work productivity, time management, organization, tools and tips.”  While it may not have as many subscribers as some of the bigger players in the productivity niche of the blogosphere, there is a sizable archive full of great advice and suggestions stretching back to 2006.

Stepcase Lifehack – With a focus on how to make life a little easier in order to improve productivity, Lifehack is one of the most popular blogs of its kind.  The goal here is to “get things done in a faster pace” through organizing and automating.

StevePavlina.com – This blog bills itself as “Personal Development for Smart People.”  The author is a bit of an Internet phenomenon, with his lengthy posts and huge following.  His topics range from personal habits to money and careers to relationships to spirituality.  The main thrust of it all is to take responsibility for yourself and then to take action to become the person you want to be.

Unclutterer – While this blog claims not to be a productivity site, it sure does offer a whole lot of advice that can help us all become more efficient.  The main focus is on organizing your home and office.  It can help you streamline your processes, get rid of distractions, and—yes—unclutter your little corner of the world.

Wise Bread – Part of improving productivity is learning to work with what you have.  Wise Bread is all about “living large on a small budget,” and they offer great advice on how to be frugal and how to actually have fun and live a great lifestyle while spending less and saving more.

Zen Habits – It’s nearly impossible to compile a list of the best productivity blogs without talking about Zen Habits.  The tagline is “simple productivity,” and the goal is to help others achieve better lives through simplicity, organization, habit building, and health, among other things.  A great place to start is The Beginner’s Guide to Zen Habits.

Of course, spending hours and hours reading the archives of all these blogs would have a decidedly negative effect on your overall productivity.  Instead, consider choosing one or two blogs a day and limit yourself to no more than one hour of searching old posts for topics that are the most relevant to your current needs.  After all, the ultimate goal is to get more done, not to simply read about getting more done.

Do you have a favorite productivity blog that is not in this list?

I would love to hear about it. Feel free to add your comments below.

If you loved this article, I would appreciate you submitting it to Digg or StumbleUpon.

Thanks!

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