Neil Desai

Image by cloois via Flickr

Have you ever been so immersed in a task that it feels like time speeds by? You can do anything and you’re extremely productive. You aren’t distracted and you’re only focused on the matter at hand. This is a state of flow. Every time I work I try and attain this state. At this state I feel like superman. If you want that feeling all the time then here’s a list of things you can do to help achieve “flow”.

• Minimize distractions. Put your phone in airplane mode. Quit all other applications (if you’re at your computer). Force yourself to focus on only the task at hand.
• Your environment. Find a place where you are comfortable and can get work done. Preferably, work some place where you have previously achieved a state of flow. Try and isolate yourself from other people if it helps. 
• Clear your mind. Write whatever else you have to do down. Clear your brain out so it can focus on only one thing. 
• Challenge yourself. The task that you’re trying to accomplish must be engaging and take some serious brain power. Some say you can make boring tasks more challenging by setting time limits etc to help you achieve a state of flow but I don’t buy it. The task must be truly invigorating to get your heart racing. 
• Have clear goals. Set your level of expectations and what you need to accomplish. If you have good action steps defined then each one you accomplish will reenergize you and get you one step closer to a state of flow.
• Kill the clock. Hide all forms of time away from you. The most important one I’ve done is to hide my clock out of my menu bar/start bar. It makes a world of difference not having an easy to look place to see the time.