Being in the flow is arguably the most perfect state to work from. It is a state where your awareness of time almost disappears and you are one with what you do.

Although this perfect harmony usually feels effortless, it is the mental state where we produce our greatest results. So you could say flow is the state where peak performance happens.

If we could willingly get into The Zone, how the flow state is also called, especially among athletes, we could use this great state anytime we would want to produce something outstanding.

But how can we get into The Zone?

Flow happens only when you do something challenging. If it’s boring or too easy to do you just can’t reach that special state, at least that was the finding of Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in his concept of flow.

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#1 CHOOSE YOUR ONE MOST IMPORTANT TASK

To get the most out of your mind you need to concentrate all your attention on exactly one thing and one thing only. It should be something that you are really interested in, your most important task at the moment.

#2 AVOID ANY DISTRACTIONS BY CREATING THE NECESSARY ENVIRONMENT

In order to deepen your focus into what you are doing you simply have to make sure that you don’t get interrupted. Set up your working environment accordingly. Close the doors, mute the phone and turn off TV/radio. Consider unplugging from the internet in order to stop you distracting you yourself by surfing somewhere.

If you lose focus by getting interrupted, you lose the depth and therefore the ability to get into flow. So having a quiet space is key.

#3 FOCUS ALL YOUR ATTENTION WITH INTENSITY ON YOUR TASK

Dive totally into it what you’re doing. Become one with it. To reach the state of flow you need to be totally focused at your task. Intensity of focus also creates depth. To increase intensity you already avoid being distracted from step 2. Another thing that helps here is when you are emotional and motivated about what you are doing.

You will never fight for getting into flow; that’s not what I mean by intensity. It feels much more effortless. Intensity means simply that you aim for a deep connection and understanding for your task.

#4 DO IT FOR A REASONABLE PERIOD OF TIME, AT LEAST 1/2 HOUR, BETTER MORE

Flow doesn’t happen in an instant. It builds gradually and takes time. To get into the Zone you need to focus your mind for at least 1/2 hour. Flow happens in the moment when your feeling of time vanishes and you basically forget about time.

I personally reached flow-states after 45 to 75 minutes and stayed there for at least 2 to even 5 hours. My best quality work comes from those times. And also I enjoyed it so much that I almost got addictive to doing it. Or to be less dramatic, I just loved what I did.

#5 STAY WITH THIS TASK UNTIL IT IS FINISHED (!)

To really enjoy and make the most out of the state of flow you have to stay at your task until you are done. If it is a subtask of something bigger then just finish this very part of the task. This is almost more a productivity tip and the ability to focus your mind very effectively helps a lot to be productive and get your stuff done. Since you stay uninterrupted you have the chance to get the most out of yourself for a longer period of time without feeling that you have to put too much effort into it.