9 components of the Flow-State
What is FLOW and how to achieve it
Have you ever gotten completely absorbed in an activity such that you lose track of time? During this, have you observed being at the peak of your performance? Behavioural science experts have described this state as the FLOW-STATE.
What is the Flow State?
It is a state in which a person’s performance is smooth, accurate, and optimal. The person gets completely absorbed in the activity and becomes unaware of how much time has passed. Research has proven that those who achieve the flow state can be almost 500% more productive than others!
Sounds like an attractive phenomenon, doesn’t it?
Prof. Csikszentmihalyi, was a Hungarian-American psychologist and the Father of Flow. He pioneered the flow theory, often stated as-
“The flow experience relates to the skill set perceived to be possessed by the individual relative to the perceived challenges of the activity”.
Simply put, the experience of being in the flow state is related to how much skill the person has and what the challenge level of the activity is.
So, a pre-requisite for the flow state is that there must be an activity that requires skill.
When the activity is first approached, if the skill and challenge do not match, the person might get bored, or experience anxiety. But, as both the skill and challenge develop, so does the person’s interest in the task. Soon, the person might experience a state in which there is significant interest. Here, the motivation to perform the activity is intrinsic and similar to having achieved “flow”.
Csikszentmihalyi developed a flow state model to help depict this phenomenon.
Image adapted from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7551835/
If the skill set and the challenge are low- the person is bound to feel a lack of interest in the activity.
As the skill set of the person increases, the experience of the activity goes from generating apathy to boredom to relaxation.
On the other hand, if the skill set of the person is low, but the challenge of the task increases, the worry or anxiety it can cause increases.
Once the skill set and challenge level are both high, the person experiences flow.
But this is not all that the flow state needs.
People who have experienced flow mention 9 psychological components required for flow:
The 9 components
Goals: Clear and concise. The goals of the activity are attainable and align with one’s skill set.
Focus: A high level of concentration.
Self- consciousness: A loss of awareness of self and the restraint that may come with it.
Time: An altered sense of the passing of time.
Feedback: Immediate feedback on the performance of the activity. It’s important to know where you are going wrong, and what you’re doing right so that your actions may be altered.
Balance: The skill and challenge match.
Control: A sense that one is in control of the activity.
Rewarding: The activity itself is perceived to be rewarding.
Absorption: People become so absorbed in the activity that their focus becomes extremely narrow.
Image depicting the 9 components of flow
Some other facts about the flow state
Flow depends on the task:
The intensity of the flow experience depends on the task at hand. Reading, writing, or yoga might have a less intense flow experience associated with it, compared to performing surgery or coding for an app- both considered highly skilled tasks.
Hope for success over the fear of failure
Research published in the Journal of Motivation and Emotion showed that those individuals who remained hopeful for success preferred a balance between skill and challenge and were likely to achieve flow. In comparison, those who had a fear of failure did not achieve flow during this balance.
Flow state during work and recreation
Csikszentmihalyi conducted a study to investigate the difference in flow between work and recreation. They were surprised to find that it was three times more likely to achieve flow during work rather than recreation.
There are some exceptions, of course. Occupational musicians reported that financial strain on the job decreased the achievement of a flow state.
So, that is the end of my take on flow. Well, what I have written is simplified research on the matter- so it's really a psychologist’s take that I am explaining to you! You can read the full scientific article here if you like!
As always, lovely to see you all reading my work and interacting with me. Happy reading :)