Get In The Flow

It sure is easy to recognize when you aren’t in the zone, but how to recognize when you are?


1) You open a letter, deal with it and file it all in one go.

2) You complete one of the “hard things” on your to-do list

3) You need a document that’s stored in the box, no problem you go off to get it.

4) You see a problem you fix it, your internal procrastinator doesn’t get a look in.

5) The more jobs you check off the more energized you feel.

6) Work doesn’t feel like work any more.

Definition of in the flow

1. Clear goals (expectations and rules are discernible and goals are attainable and align appropriately with one’s skill set and abilities). Moreover, the challenge level and skill level should both be high.

2. Concentrating, a high degree of concentration on a limited field of attention (a person engaged in the activity will have the opportunity to focus and to delve deeply into it).

3. A loss of the feeling of self-consciousness, the merging of action and awareness.

4. Distorted sense of time, one’s subjective experience of time is altered.

5. Direct and immediate feedback (successes and failures in the course of the activity are apparent, so that behavior can be adjusted as needed).

6. Balance between ability level and challenge (the activity is neither too easy nor too difficult).

7. A sense of personal control over the situation or activity.

8. The activity is intrinsically rewarding, so there is an effortlessness of action.

9. A lack of awareness of bodily needs (to the extent that one can reach a point of great hunger or fatigue without realizing it)

10. People become absorbed in their activity, and focus of awareness is narrowed down to the activity itself, action awareness merging.

A person cannot force himself or herself to enter flow or even predict when he or she is going to enter flow. It just happens. A flow state can be entered while performing any activity, although it is most likely to occur when one is wholeheartedly performing a task or activity for intrinsic purposes.

Catch22:  I have to succeed at something to enter the zone, complete a difficult task, understand something inspirational, or find a remarkable solution.

I pray that this article empowers you to "Get A L.I.F.E."