here<\/a>\n – and shows both why being in a state of flow can be so productive in \nterms of thought process and logical thinking, but also how detrimental \nit can be when colleagues interrupt this crucial state of mind – plus it\n makes me laugh, which is the main thing. It\u2019s important to ensure that \nyour work environment and surroundings help ease you into this as it\u2019s \nduring this state that we produce some of our best and most innovative \nwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Conditions of Flow<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nFlow can be achieved by anyone with any task, as long as the \nconditions are right. I usually get into a state of Flow simply while \nwriting. I enjoy developing something new and to ensure the task at hand\n has my complete attention, I listen to music through my headphones, and\n after a few minutes I really get into my work, sometimes to the point \nwhere I become completely oblivious to my surroundings – it\u2019s at this \nstage that I produce my best work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are eight characteristics to getting yourself into a state of \u201cflow\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- You\u2019re challenged by the task at hand<\/strong> – This seems\n to be the main factor to achieving Flow and can actually prevent you \nfrom being in a state of Flow. The difficulty of your task has to be \n\u201cjust right\u201d. If the task is too easy, you\u2019ll get bored and eventually \nstop. If the task is too difficult, you\u2019ll get frustrated and eventually\n stop. Either way, you lose – find that balance!<\/li>
- The ability to concentrate is key<\/strong>. If there are \ntoo many interruptions or it\u2019s noisy, you won\u2019t be able to concentrate \non your task. No concentration, no Flow – modern day offices can be \ncounter-productive to this so make sure you have an area you can escape \nto if the environment becomes too distracting or inhibiting. Make sure \nthat the culture that you and your colleagues develop is a supportive \none – headphones and a good mix of Ed Sheeran, Feeder or the Verve can \nbe a life-saver! (disclaimer: music choice not for everyone)<\/li>
- You have clear goals to achieve<\/strong>. Goals establish a\n mechanism to measure your progress and provide a sense of achievement. \nPeople in Flow achieve their goals – simple.<\/li>
- You receive immediate feedback<\/strong>. A sense of pride \nis vital to achieving the flow, when a colleague leans over and says \n\u201cHay! Check this out\u201d, chances are they have been in the Flow for some \ntime and are proud of what they have produced or achieved, it\u2019s vital to\n take interest and encourage this behavior to develop cultures that \nencourage being in the state of Flow.<\/li>
- Your worries and frustrations of everyday life recede into the background<\/strong>.\n This perhaps is one of the greatest benefits of Flow. You\u2019re busy \nconcentrating on your task and the rest of your world just \u201cdrifts away\u201d\n for a short while. Even though you\u2019re challenged, you end up relaxed, \nsatisfied and you achieved something meaningful.<\/li>
- Your sense of self disappears (if only for a while)<\/strong>. When it re-appears, you\u2019re refreshed with an even stronger sense of self – able to take pride in what you have achieved.<\/li>
- You lose track of time and feel great when you\u2019re done with your task.<\/strong><\/li>
- Challenge yourself! <\/strong>Ensuring you spend a portion \nof your week away from meetings and documents, doing something new and \nfresh that challenges you is vital to ensuring that your work stays new \nand exciting – continuous personal development isn\u2019t simply a buzz-word \nmanagers like throw out there, it really does matter to your work-life \nenjoyment and sense of personal worth.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve hopefully made this message clear throughout this short blog, \nbut engaging in a challenging activity is a primary condition to achieve\n Flow and for many of us, this occurs while at work. You\u2019re given a task\n or you volunteer for a project that\u2019s just beyond your current skill \nlevel. I\u2019m a strong believer in never taking up a task or role that you \nare 100% comfortable with, deep down you know you can do it and maybe \nit\u2019s a stretch. But it\u2019s the challenge that intrigues you and ultimately\n expands your knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is how you grow both as a person and professionally – expanding \nyour skills by continuously challenging yourself and moving to that \n\u201cnext level\u201d. It\u2019s at work where the opportunity to grow occurs most \nfrequently. Creating those support structures and cultures to make sure \nthis is possible is vital, and in the new world where ways of working \nchange almost daily and distractions are everywhere, this has never been\n so important.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How to reach the sought after ‘state of flow’ and why we need to! Author: Michael Luke Digital Project Manager<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":149,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":192,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions\/192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![here<\/a>\n – and shows both why being in a state of flow can be so productive in \nterms of thought process and logical thinking, but also how detrimental \nit can be when colleagues interrupt this crucial state of mind – plus it\n makes me laugh, which is the main thing. It\u2019s important to ensure that \nyour work environment and surroundings help ease you into this as it\u2019s \nduring this state that we produce some of our best and most innovative \nwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Conditions of Flow<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nFlow can be achieved by anyone with any task, as long as the \nconditions are right. I usually get into a state of Flow simply while \nwriting. I enjoy developing something new and to ensure the task at hand\n has my complete attention, I listen to music through my headphones, and\n after a few minutes I really get into my work, sometimes to the point \nwhere I become completely oblivious to my surroundings – it\u2019s at this \nstage that I produce my best work.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThere are eight characteristics to getting yourself into a state of \u201cflow\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\nYou\u2019re challenged by the task at hand<\/strong> – This seems\n to be the main factor to achieving Flow and can actually prevent you \nfrom being in a state of Flow. The difficulty of your task has to be \n\u201cjust right\u201d. If the task is too easy, you\u2019ll get bored and eventually \nstop. If the task is too difficult, you\u2019ll get frustrated and eventually\n stop. Either way, you lose – find that balance!<\/li>The ability to concentrate is key<\/strong>. If there are \ntoo many interruptions or it\u2019s noisy, you won\u2019t be able to concentrate \non your task. No concentration, no Flow – modern day offices can be \ncounter-productive to this so make sure you have an area you can escape \nto if the environment becomes too distracting or inhibiting. Make sure \nthat the culture that you and your colleagues develop is a supportive \none – headphones and a good mix of Ed Sheeran, Feeder or the Verve can \nbe a life-saver! (disclaimer: music choice not for everyone)<\/li>You have clear goals to achieve<\/strong>. Goals establish a\n mechanism to measure your progress and provide a sense of achievement. \nPeople in Flow achieve their goals – simple.<\/li>You receive immediate feedback<\/strong>. A sense of pride \nis vital to achieving the flow, when a colleague leans over and says \n\u201cHay! Check this out\u201d, chances are they have been in the Flow for some \ntime and are proud of what they have produced or achieved, it\u2019s vital to\n take interest and encourage this behavior to develop cultures that \nencourage being in the state of Flow.<\/li>Your worries and frustrations of everyday life recede into the background<\/strong>.\n This perhaps is one of the greatest benefits of Flow. You\u2019re busy \nconcentrating on your task and the rest of your world just \u201cdrifts away\u201d\n for a short while. Even though you\u2019re challenged, you end up relaxed, \nsatisfied and you achieved something meaningful.<\/li>Your sense of self disappears (if only for a while)<\/strong>. When it re-appears, you\u2019re refreshed with an even stronger sense of self – able to take pride in what you have achieved.<\/li>You lose track of time and feel great when you\u2019re done with your task.<\/strong><\/li>Challenge yourself! <\/strong>Ensuring you spend a portion \nof your week away from meetings and documents, doing something new and \nfresh that challenges you is vital to ensuring that your work stays new \nand exciting – continuous personal development isn\u2019t simply a buzz-word \nmanagers like throw out there, it really does matter to your work-life \nenjoyment and sense of personal worth.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\nI\u2019ve hopefully made this message clear throughout this short blog, \nbut engaging in a challenging activity is a primary condition to achieve\n Flow and for many of us, this occurs while at work. You\u2019re given a task\n or you volunteer for a project that\u2019s just beyond your current skill \nlevel. I\u2019m a strong believer in never taking up a task or role that you \nare 100% comfortable with, deep down you know you can do it and maybe \nit\u2019s a stretch. But it\u2019s the challenge that intrigues you and ultimately\n expands your knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThis is how you grow both as a person and professionally – expanding \nyour skills by continuously challenging yourself and moving to that \n\u201cnext level\u201d. It\u2019s at work where the opportunity to grow occurs most \nfrequently. Creating those support structures and cultures to make sure \nthis is possible is vital, and in the new world where ways of working \nchange almost daily and distractions are everywhere, this has never been\n so important.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How to reach the sought after ‘state of flow’ and why we need to! Author: Michael Luke Digital Project Manager<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":149,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":192,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions\/192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i3works.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/3uyRWGJ.jpg\"){kind=link}