Hustle Culture Made You Think Flow Is About Productivity
We're missing the point
From the number of articles and mentions of flow in the context of being more productive, you wouldn't imagine that the core of it is actually enjoyment.
There's so much content about how to use flow to do more in less time. But the real impact is your own happiness.
Well, if it's not about productivity, what is it about then?
Optimal experience.
I'm sure you've heard of the book Flow, but have you read the full title?
"Flow — The Psychology of Optimal Experience"
The state of flow is one where your mind and body are focused on an activity that challenges you, stretches your skill levels without making you feel overwhelmed. In it, your mind is completely immersed in the task at hand, therefore you don't think about anything else and your perception of time passing is affected.
“Enjoyment appears at the boundary between boredom and anxiety, when the challenges are just balanced with the person’s capacity to act” — Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow
This moment is where most people report enjoyment. If you've ever watched the movie "Soul", you'll see this when the souls are "in the zone". The humans are playing an instrument, or a sport, whatever it is. They are in Flow state.
Your mind is free from worries because it doesn't have the space to go off and think about problems and concerns — or food, or what the neighbors were chatting about. The mental capacity is already taken by the activity.
Even more, your own sense of self disappears. You're not thinking about how you look or what someone is thinking about you.
The interesting bit is that activities that are done in Flow state make you grow your sense of self. Because you are challenging yourself, you grow. The feeling that comes after the state of flow is of recognition of your new skills and a sense of accomplishment.
I didn't mention productivity once
It was surprising when the entire first chapter of the book by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was about happiness.
The book explores Flow in many contexts, including work. Work is covered in one chapter. One chapter. Of the whole 240-page book.
And it doesn't even talk about doing work in less time.
It's all about getting more enjoyment out of any activity that you do.
That includes how you spend your free time, how you can improve relationships with your family and friends, and, yes, also work.
But I see where it comes from.
Of course, if you are very focused on something to that extent, you will achieve more in less time. Especially if otherwise you'd be distracted with social media, taking an online quiz about what type of potato you are, or chatting with coworkers.
And raise your hand if you want to work less time, am I right?
It doesn't mean you'll start liking your job
So much content online is about how to do an 8-hour workday in 4 hours, or anything alike.
Now, question yourself: If someone doesn't like their job and uses Flow to get it done quicker, does this mean they'll start enjoying their job?
Wouldn't that be an interesting silver lining?
But the answer is no.
Being in Flow is not enough to make you happy. Even though at the moment your mind was focused and being challenged, you have the last say. You can "cancel" a flow session's enjoyment. Mihaly said it best:
"Even the most favorable external conditions do not guarantee that a person will be in flow. Because optimal experience depends on a subjective evaluation of what possibilities for action are, and of one’s own capacities, it happens quite often that an individual will be disconnected even with a potentially great job" — Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow
If you are in flow for two hours during work, you can finish that session and be bombarded with emails from your boss about the deliveries, meetings, business reviews, and performance feedback. I’m sure the enjoyment from the time in Flow will be forgotten in a second.
Besides, doing your work in less time does not equal free time. Jessica Wildfire's piece "All This Productivity Porn Misses the Bigger Point About Work" will enlighten you about this.
It sells
There's nothing wrong with wanting to do your work in less time.
Besides, you should use Flow wherever suits you.
The author himself clarifies in the book that you should take in what you learn from Flow and apply it to what you want in your life.
And productivity advice seels.
So it's understandable that flow would be used in that context. It makes sense and, of course, it will improve productivity.
Flow and productivity are such common terms now, people think they're interchangeable.
The effort of applying Flow in our lives has been around the context of work.
However, would you rather get more enjoyment out of work or your leisure time?
The good thing is: you get more out of both!
The bigger picture
The reality is that concerning yourself too much with how you work can make you forget about how you spend your leisure time.
Haven't you had that feeling that your weekend was wasted?
Understanding Flow can actually help provide time to immerse yourself in something enjoyable that you can make the most out of. Think of painting, writing, cooking, running, exploring.
Anything can be turned into a Flow activity.
It's possible to apply the understanding of Flow to improve your quality of life in all areas. Leisure time, family time, hanging out with friends.
Flow is a toolbox that you're only using the hammer and leaving all other tools awaiting.
Bringing Flow to your leisure time
Flow rarely happens spontaneously.
"Free time, on the other hand, is unstructured, and requires much greater effort to be shaped into something that can be enjoyed" — Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow
At work, to help get into Flow state, a person will adjust their monitor and chair, put on their noise-canceling headphones, press play on a "music to focus"-type playlist, turn off chat and email notifications, decide what their goal is for the next hour or more, and go for it.
There's the intention behind it and action to make Flow easier to occur.
It wouldn't come as a shock if you said you don't want your leisure time to feel like work.
But it doesn't have to.
'Work' is different from 'effort'.
Think of a Tuesday night when you happen to have no commitments. You make some tea, jump in your comfy pajamas, put on the Mamma Mia soundtrack, leave your phone in the kitchen, and get started with your new 1000-piece puzzle. Helping Flow happen can look like that.
It can look like a lot of things. All that matters is that you set the scene to enjoy your time as much as possible.
