Go with the Flow @ Work

6 min readOct 25, 2022

Put simply, it’s a state of mind we achieve when we’re fully immersed in a task, forgetting about the outside world — a concept proposed by positive psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi.
- When we’re in the state of Flow, we:
- Focus on the task at hand
- Other issues are secondary
- Time becomes immaterial
- Happiness surrounds us
- Creativity and Productivity enhances

One thing I love about Flow is that it takes us being completely in the moment, and applies it to work tasks. Being in the moment, focusing completely on a single task, and finding a sense of calmness and happiness in our work.

How to achieve flow and happiness in our work?

So, how do we achieve this mystical state of being? Do we need to meditate or chant anything? Although meditation can improve our ability to concentrate and Flow is anything but mystical — it’s very practical, and achieving it isn’t mystical or mysterious.

It can take practice, with it, we can get better at it. Here are the key steps to achieving and benefiting While Going with the Flow:

1. Do What We Love

If we dread a task, we’ll have a hard time losing ourselves in it. If our job is made up of stuff we hate, we might want to consider finding another job. Or consider seeking projects we love to do within our current job. At any rate, be sure that whatever task we choose is something we can be passionate about.

We must understand that we can only succeed in our lives when we do things that we love. Without passion, life becomes a burden. We may make a little lesser money in the careers that we love but that is only ladder to achieving happiness in our lives and future lies in doing things passionately.

2. Identify Peak Performance Time

First, we’ll want to find a time that’s quiet. Else, we shall never be able to focus. For me, that’s mornings, before the hustle of everyday life builds to a dull roar. That might be early morning, when we just wakeup, or early in the work day, when most people haven’t arrived yet or are still getting their coffee and settling down. Or in the late evenings, when most people are gone from the office. Evenings work well too for many people.

If we can manage, we can do it at any time of the day if we can find a quiet spot to work in. Whatever time we choose, it should also be a peak energy time for us. Some people get tired after lunch — that’s not a good time to go for Flow. Find a time when we have lots of energy and we can concentrate.

3. Keep Distractions Aside

Besides finding a quiet time and a quite place to work, we have to make sure that we are not mentally occupied or distracted for any reason whatsoever. Creativity and flow don’t occur while one is occupied or distracted. We have to be at peace, focused and at our best when we want to be productive.

This means turning off distracting music (unless we find music that helps us focus), turning off phones, email and cellphone notifications or anything else that might pop up or make noise to interrupt our thoughts. I also find it helpful when my workspace is decluterred even if that means removing miscellaneous papers into a folder to be sorted through later. A clear desk immensely helps.

4. Enhance the Focus Span

Constant Focus and Multitasking just cannot go hand in hand. Multitasking seems like a great way to get a lot done at once. But research has shown that our brains are not nearly as good at handling multiple tasks as we like to think they are in fact, researchers suggest that multitasking can actually reduce productivity by as much as 40%.

One needs to start on his/her tasks and keep focusing on it for as long as one can. At first, many people will have difficulty, if they’re used to constantly switching between tasks. But keep trying, and keep bringing your focus back to your task. We’ll get better. And if we can keep our focus with no distractions, and if our tasks have been chosen well (something we love, something important, and something challenging), we should be able to lose ourselves in Flow.

5. Big Motivation Helps

To stay focused and in flow, we need to be fully motivatated. It is essential to staying satisfied with our work. Without it, we risk becoming disengaged, like 70% of the employees surveyed by Gallup. We’ll merely go through the motions, never fully invested.

Motivation can be intrinsic (from within) or extrinsic (from outside ourselves). Several factors can contribute to our motivation levels, and they can affect our productivity, dedication and commitment to work and success. Understanding the different motivations can help us apply valuable lessons to our personal and professional lives.

Wrap Up

To wrap it up, let’s recall a great saying by Lao-Tzu: “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them — that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like”. No matter how much structure we create in our lives, no matter how many good habits we build, there will always be things that we cannot control — and if we let them, these things can be a huge source of anger, frustration and stress. The simple solution: Learn to go with the flow.
As per Thich Nhat Hanh: “Smile, breathe and go slowly.” E.g., let’s say we’ve created the perfect peaceful morning routine. We’ve structured our mornings so that we do things that bring us calm and happiness. And then a water pipe bursts in our bathroom and we spend a stressful morning trying to clean up the mess and get the pipe fixed. So, staying flexible and going with the flow in life is probably the best idea one can have.