The flowing of flow
When everything you do is just right, and you don’t want to stop working on it.That is called the Flow. And while entering the flow some people called it the “zone”.
“A state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.”
– Csikszentmihalyi, 1990
Feels good isn’t it? When you work but you don’t feel working at all.
But isn’t it hard to trigger it? Well it is not apparently.
Entering “the zone” depends on your mind set. Other than the motivation to enter it you have to be free of distraction. Try the no smartphone habit or podomoro method . Don’t let other disturb you. Let the work distract you from other things.
It’s important to note that one can’t experience flow if other distractions disrupt the experience
- Nakamura et al., 2009
Furthermore, the work you do should be balanced between your skill and the challenge you face. Too easy and you’ll find it boring. Too hard and you’ll lose motivation. It’s like climbing the ladder. The grind is one step at a time.

Now.
Getting in to the zone itself should be discussed exclusively in one article. But, Imagine when you enter the “zone” and you never ever revert back? Sometimes with the correct mind set we might be easily reenter the state of flow.
“I had learned already never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something there in the deep part of the well, and let it refill at night from the springs that fed it.”
-Ernest Hemingway
According to Hemingway, sometimes it’s better top stop while you have the inspiration to start the next time you work. Sleep out your inspiration and idea to kickstart your work or activity tomorrow. Right mindset and a spark of previous flow will surely kick in with your work. We know that a journey of thousand miles begin with a single step. Let the previous step guide you.
Nevertheless, don’t ever stop your work when you stuck. It is your biggest enemy and biggest mind block in entering the flow. Call it the“antiflow”, which might block your trigger to the zone. Imagine when you want to kick of your work and you need to figure out where to step out first. You initially waste your time in finding the trigger!
All in all, entering the flow rely on your state of mind and your surroundings. It seems easy but its hard to master!
Thanks for reading! Please do share your experience in regard of your own flow ☺
