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Stay Productive by Learning in the Flow of Work 

Most of us know that delicious feeling of being in flow. We're completely concentrating, time means nothing, and we feel mastery - it's almost effortless. Turns out, it's great for achieving peak performance. Flow expert Steven Kotler says flow could be called the _source code_ of **ultimate human performance**.

Look at the stats. Top executives report they are **500% more productive** when in flow. $McKinsey$ Other studies show flow improves learning and memory $+ 240%$, creativity and innovation $+400%$, a sense of meaning and purpose $+100%$, and more.

From his live and virtual masterclass for Growth Faculty: _The Art of Impossible: The Blueprint for Peak Performance_ _with Steven Kotler_ we learned what flow is, what flow does to the brain, what gets you into flow, and how you can get more team into flow. Heres a brief summary.

Flow, known also by terms such as being in the zone and peak experience, is when we feel or perform at our best in the act of paying **rapt attention** to something.

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi named the core characteristics of flow as:

- Complete concentration

- Merger of action and awareness

- Loss of self $self-consciousness$

- Time dilation $time speeds up or slows down$

- A sense of control

- Autotelic $euphoric$ experience. It feels effortless

Our masterclass delegates said these things got them into a state of flow:

_Working with team on a project, training for a hike, ocean swimming, reading, doing something they love, speaking with someone they connect with on a shared idea or thought, surfing, boxing, teaching, client meetings._

Growth Faculty global headliner Patrick Lencioni would say its when youre in your [area of working genius.](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/6typesofworkinggenius)

[****](https://thegrowthfaculty.ac-page.com/monograph-leadership2022)[**Free Download** : 10 Leadership Qualities That Will Help Solve Challenges in 2022](https://thegrowthfaculty.ac-page.com/monograph-leadership2022)

What is flow?

Flow helps with **overwhelm** and improves your sense of enjoyment and meaning. Both are excellent for [retention](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/retentionmethods) and creating a [positive workplace culture](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/positiveworkplaceculture).

In flow your brain shuts down non-critical functions so you can pay more attention to the area in flow. This called localised transient hypofrantality  your brain performs an efficiency exchange.

As a result, youre plunged into **deep effort** and things like the concept of time, stress levels, and the ego slip to the background.

Studies show flow combines five of the chemicals associated with **love, reward, and pleasure** : norepinephrine, dopamine, endorphins, anandamide, and serotonin.

On this performance high, we see a lift in motivation, learning, and creativity. Importantly, our **inner-critic** gets quiet so we feel freer to be creative, take risks, and innovate.

What flow does to the brain

Flow is actually a high-energy state, so it needs:

- **Sleep**  7 to 8 hours a night

- **Nutrition and hydration**

- **Social support** - In challenging situations, your brain will assess if you are solo $requiring more energy$ or with friends $energy can be freed up$.

It also works best when youre de-stressed, so try these:

- **Gratitude** $5 mins$  write down what youre grateful for

- **Mindfulness** $11-20 mins$

- **Exercise** $20-40 mins, or until your brain is quiet$

How do you get more flow?

There are more than 20 **flow triggers**. Steven calls these the high performance toolkit:

- Curiosity/passion/purpose

- Autonomy

- Complete concentration

- Risk

- Novelty

- Complexity

- Unpredictability

- Deep embodiment

- Immediate feedback $such as Agile software development$

- Clear goals

- Challenge/skills ratio $ideally you want to be performing at 4% above your skill set  think of it as stretch not snap$

- Creativity/Pattern recognition

- Complete concentration

- Shared goals

- Shared risk

- Yes, and..$when those around you encourage you on, rather than saying an automatic no to conversation or ideas$

- Close listening

- Autonomy/A sense of control

- Blending egos

- Familiarity

- Equal participation

- Open communication

For example, **Toyota** famously employed the triggers of autonomy and challenge/skills in its Kaizen model of incremental improvements as in the equation below:

Triggers for flow and high performance

Complete concentration is improved with:

- **90-120 minutes** of time $but start by starting$

- **Task** orientation, not ego orientation

- **Autonomy** matters $if you dont have control over your tasks try to reframe the task so you feel more control  i.e. pull out parts of it with meaning or benefits to you$

- **Distraction** management  turn off the phone or notifications.

CC (complete concentration) + C/S (challenge/skills balance) + IF (immediate feedback) = A formula for innovation

Flow has to cycle through four stages to be sustained. They are:

- **Struggle**  the post-it note stage where frustration is high.

- **Release**  taking our mind off our task with a walk or gardening

- **Flow** - for around 90 to 120 minutes

- **Recovery**  at the tail end of the flow state, when youre still excited, thats when to stop and leave a little in the tank.

The four state cycle of flow

First up, flow is **contagious.** Leaders who are in flow drive their teams into flow.

To motivate your team, come up with goals that can lead to **collective** ambition  rather than individual ambition.

Ensure that your team leaders are [multiplier leaders](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/multipliersanddiminishers) and not shutting down the team. The brain normally takes in **nine negative** pieces of information to every one positive so invest in [leadership development](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/leadershipdevelopment), and try the flow trigger of saying **_Yes\! And.._**

And finally, encourage team members to do their **primary flow activity** for about four hours per week, whether its salsa dancing, hiking, coding, or reading.

As Steven says, the **_flow on_ effect **is great for high performance, and even achieving the impossible.

_Find out the Top 10 Leadership Qualities this year, and see how you measure up. Download our FREE guide:_[ **_https://thegrowthfaculty.co/leadershipqualities_**](https://thegrowthfaculty.co/leadershipqualities)

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Experts top triggers for you to work more in flow

Masterclass on flow with performance expert Steven Kotler

Keep informed
Stay Inspired

Experts top triggers for you to work more in flow

Masterclass on flow with performance expert Steven Kotler

Keep informedStay Inspired

Keep informed
Stay Inspired