Have you ever been so immersed in something that you completely lose track of time? Your heightened level of focus makes it seem as if nothing else is happening around you and one hour quickly turns into three. You’ve likely just experienced a state of flow.
Or maybe you’ve experienced the opposite? You’re hustling, but you feel as if your day is just dragging by, you can’t stop clock-watching and one hour seems like three.
Unfortunately for many, the latter happens more often than not.
But getting into flow state isn’t about making the day go faster, it can absolutely have a positive impact on your productivity, help you come up with innovative business solutions and even improve your well-being.
What Is a State of Flow?
Much research has explored how the brain responds when entering a flow state. When we become so immersed in a project that we lose track of time, distraction and procrastination decrease while productivity and performance increase. The experience is immersive and can occur during many types of activities from music and exercise to writing and working.
But in order to get fully immersed, certain conditions must be present.
Go with the Flow: How to Achieve Flow State
According to Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, one of the original positive psychologists best known as the architect of the notion of flow, many considerations must line up in order to achieve flow state or “get in the zone.”
- Choose an enjoyable activity that is not too challenging and not too easy.
- Eliminate distractions to maintain a strong focus.. Minimize technology alerts, turn off social media temptations and stop the hustle mentality, especially with day-to-day admin tasks.
- Keep the bigger goal in mind. Want to trigger flow? The project must be goal-oriented and meaningful so you’re more motivated to continue.
- Be open to immediate feedback. This give-and-take energy keeps the flow state engrossing.
- Pick the time of day (or night) when you can focus optimally. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Do this during a time when your brain is most alert.
- Block off 90 minutes to 2 hours to enter your flow state, but be sure to take breaks to address physical needs. Setting a Pomodoro timer can help with remembering to eat, hydrate and stretch. When you alternate focused periods of time with brief breaks, this allows your brain to be its most efficient without triggering a burnout.
- Detach from your project. Take time to unwind and recover your mind so you’re primed and ready for the next day.
When you enter a state of flow, you may focus so intently on the project that you lose track of time and experience a lack of awareness. You may feel as if you could keep doing the same project forever.
Everything else disappears for that time.
How Flow State Benefits Business
Diving into the zone can give you the motivation you need to get out of the hustle mindset, break through barriers and work on the business, rather than in the business. The benefits of flow state are unmatched. Here are just a few:
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Improve Productivity: Getting into a flow state enables you to perform at your best by fostering a focused and engaged mindset. This energized approach can impact productivity as you’re working on the business and can also lead to a more successful decision-making process.
Increased Innovation: When you’re in the flow, you are more likely to come up with new ideas and approach problems with innovative and strategic solutions. Tap into your creative power using your company’s vision and strategic thinking.
Enhance Well-being: Studies repeatedly show that flow can increase motivation and enhance overall well-being. In Csikszentmihalyi’s book, “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience,” his research showed that when individuals were in a state of flow, they reported experiencing a profound sense of enjoyment, fulfillment, and happiness.
There’s no better way to work on your business than when you’re in the zone and feeling fulfilled. But, it’s easy to get side tracked with the temptation to start hustling in your business again..
Work ON Your Business, Not IN Your Business
Are you caught up in the “hustle harder” mindset trap? As a business owner, it’s easy to do. In fact, the non-stop and relentless pursuit is even glorified. However, that can only lead to one thing: too much time and energy working IN your business. Spending valuable time managing business operations. Executing all the tasks to maintain the current level of results that you’ve created. Checking off the todo list but not making progress toward anything bigger or meaningful. You’re hustling harder…but not seeing progress.
You see, when we’re working in the business, we’re constantly overloading our brain with information. During overwhelm, stress hormones like cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine are pumped into your system in order to amp up focus and alertness. Tension and frustration continues to rise. Problems seem unstainable and the whole situation seems as far from flow as you can get.
“Go faster. Do more.” That’s what keeps you stuck and feeling trapped working in your business. Don’t just hustle. Hustle harder. Longer hours and diminished productivity eventually lead to one thing:
Crash and burn.
Break free from the trap and step back from the day-to-day grind.
Instead, focus on setting goals, developing strategies and exploring new growth opportunities. By taking a step back from monotonous day-to-day tasks, you get to focus on the bigger picture and guide your business towards long-term success.
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Working IN your business is: execution.
Working ON your business is: strategy.
Ready to start investing time (preferably “in the flow”) so your business can be better tomorrow, without obsessing about where you are today? Think about where you actually want to go from here. Take time to redefine: What’s the why or vision? Ask yourself: where are you currently headed? And where do you actually WANT to go?
These are all important questions to help you let go of the “hustle harder” mentality, enabling you to slow down, get in the flow and start working on your business this summer.
Slow Down This Summer to Get in a State of Flow
Make the most of a quiet inbox this summer and use this time to grow your business. The longer days of summer often bring a sense of renewal and can boost motivation to actually slow down. This makes it an ideal time to dive into business initiatives and get into a state of flow.
For many industries like real estate, construction, retail, and even certain segments of hospitality, summer tends to be a relatively slower period compared to other seasons as key decision-makers take vacations. Take advantage of this uninterrupted time to work on your business without being constantly bombarded by routine responsibilities.
Summer is also the perfect time to set meaningful goals and invest in your own personal and professional growth. Take a moment to put on the scuba gear and dive deep. What do you want your life and business to look like 5 years from today? Are there any specific milestones or achievements you hope to reach? What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) you’ll use to track your progress?
Setting goals is crucial for growth, but it’s important to remember that the road to success isn’t always linear. Sometimes that means we have to take a step backwards so we can take two giant steps forward. But, going through that process alone can be very scary.
Experience Exponential Growth with CMDS
Ready to take your B2B business to the next level and experience exponential growth? Get the support you need to break through barriers and get ahead of the competition. As your go-to resource, our team will tailor strategies to fuel your business’ growth and give you the competitive edge to capture market opportunities. You will receive actionable output to move your business forward: we call this our Business Breakthrough Blueprint.
With 20 years of success collaborating with clients, our team understands that every business is unique and has a proven track record of helping businesses achieve remarkable growth. But don’t just take our word for it. Take a look at these success stories that showcase the real results we’ve delivered. Visit https://www.cmdsonline.com/grow/ to see if you qualify for our bootcamp or feel free to give us a call at (732) 706-5555 to schedule a time to chat.