Learn how to overcome distractions and stay focused by inducing Flow State in your daily routine. Get 8 tips to help you access your flow state and avoid distractions at work.
A day in the life of someone without Flow State:
Try to imagine this scenario and how you’ve experienced it in your own life.
You sit down and open up your computer to get some work done right away because you’ve got a busy day ahead.
You check your emails first, getting distracted by the occasional personal email (you don’t want to miss any flash sales, of course!), then move on to the meatier part of your day.
About a minute into starting your big project of the day, you feel a little thirsty.
You get up to go get some water and figure you might as well go to the bathroom while you’re up.
Once you get another couple of minutes into your work, you get cold. You decide to go get a sweater to warm up and return to your work.
Then your phone buzzes- you got a text! Instead of waiting to answer it, you immediately sit down to reply.
Your day goes on like this, and you only ever get 10 minutes at a time for focused work.
By the end of the day, you didn’t get as much done as you wanted to, but you feel burned out anyways.
Every minute of that work was a struggle.
But maybe you’ll be more focused tomorrow…
Has your day every looked a little like this?
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How your day can change when you can induce Flow State:
In contrast to the previous scenario, this day of work was full of activity!
You were SO into what you were doing that you never stopped to consider your body’s needs, the other tasks of the day, or even what day it was.
If you’ve ever experienced this type of focus before, then you have been lucky enough to achieve a flow state of mind.
Maybe you called it “hyper-focus”, or maybe you said that you were “in the zone”, but it is more commonly known in the psychology world as a flow state.
It is a state of mind that not only helps you overcome distractions and stay productive, but it actually helps you stay motivated to work, as well!
That means that you will do more than just get your work done; you will discover how to actually enjoy your work!
Having achieved this on occasion myself, I can tell you it is a wonderful experience and I want you to have it for yourself.
I will be sharing how you can achieve a flow state of mind and get more out of the work you do, whether it is for productivity or play! Let’s jump in!
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What does flow state feel like?
The Flow State is the experience you get when you are so fully immersed in your current task that you lose awareness of every other thing around you.
The task does not necessarily have to be a work task, but it can be.
From some perspectives, this could even be seen as a meditative state of mind.
Symptoms and signs of achieving Flow State at work:
- time is hard to track
- there is no awareness of hunger, thirst, or other bodily needs
- you do not think about things that are unrelated to the current task
- your mind does not wander as easily
- there is a feeling of calm and you feel well-equipped for the task at hand
- you believe that what you are working on is doable
- intrinsic motivation to complete your task is evident
Experiencing these serene, self-confident feelings while doing your work will help indicate that you have reached the flow state. Now that you know what it is, let me tell you why this mind hack is a helpful one.
If you want to know a bit more about Flow State, check out this great video all about it!
Why is the Flow State important?
It’s probably safe for me to say that you can already see how this simple mind hack can be helpful to you, but let me explain a little further.
Doing work can already be a difficult thing, but when you apply this strategy to overcome distractions and stay focused, you will be doing far more than just increasing your productivity.
The Flow State actually changes your motivation, and this is the part that’s so valuable.
Normally, we are encouraged to do work for the worldly things we have to gain.
It could be money, respect, or a promotion.
When you are in the Flow State, however, you don’t care about these things anymore.
Instead of being motivated by the outcome (external motivation), you will be motivated by the good feeling you get from a job well done (intrinsic motivation).
You will work for the sake of working, simple and easy.
As a result, you will enjoy your work deeply and fully.
When inducing the Flow State is applied to other things in your life, it can deepen your enjoyment of those tasks, too.
Learning how to achieve the Flow State and overcome distractions will deepen your enjoyment of so many things in your life.
It is more than worth it to learn how to do it.
And so, without further ado, let’s learn how to induce Flow State, overcome distractions, and stay focused more easily!
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8 Ways to induce Flow State to overcome distractions and stay focused
Achieving Flow State is all about creating a physical space that can foster ultimate focus and creativity.
This means that you are going to have to cater your space to what you, as an individual, need.
Some of the tips I will give you are going to require some experimenting on your part, too.
Have fun with it, and experiment with what best helps you overcome distractions.
1. Choose an appropriate task to do
This sounds simple, but I’m inclined to say this is going to be the most difficult part.
If there is a certain task that you genuinely hate to do, I’m sorry to say that it is unlikely you will achieve Flow State while working on that task.
If you have a big project that involves an aspect that you love, delegate the other tasks to people who are good at it and keep the tasks you are good at for you to do.
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2. Gamify boring work
If there is a task you dislike that you cannot change, you could also try to gamify it.
This just means taking the task and adding challenges that make it a little more fun and engaging.
This can help turn something you otherwise wouldn’t like into an enjoyable activity.
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3. Choose tasks that are a reasonable level of difficulty
Try to choose tasks that are a good balance in difficulty.
They should not be too hard and frustrating for you to do, but they shouldn’t feel too easy, either.
Try to choose tasks that you feel confident you can do with a little bit of effort.
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4. Set a measurable goal that you know you can achieve
It’s not enough to have a general task to do in order to overcome distractions.
You need to determine exactly what you want to accomplish, and more importantly, this goal needs to be something you genuinely believe you can achieve within the given time frame.
You will do yourself no favours if you pile too much expectation onto yourself.
If you set a goal that you don’t actually think you can accomplish, you’ll have trouble getting into the Flow State at all.
In fact, it’s very likely you will just give up within the first hour!
So give yourself a measurable, achievable goal, and you will find yourself much more motivated and able to stay focused.
5. Know your time of highest functionality
This tip is going to be super personalized to YOU.
Think about your daily routine.
At what time of the day do you feel most awake? When do you feel you do your best work? Are you an early bird or a night owl?
These are all things you need to consider when you think about when you should schedule your work session.
If you feel like you are most focused at night, then do your work session at night. The same goes for the morning.
For me, I tend to have a distracted brain in the morning.
I don’t handle big decisions or minute tasks well before midday, so I save all of my deskwork for afternoon and nighttime slots.
More importantly, I work best when I know I don’t have to socialize later.
Because of this, I will typically plan social activities for the morning and settle down to office tasks in the afternoon.
You will need to make plans according to your own personal needs and preferences.
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6. Optimize your space
Depending on the types of things that distract you, this could mean many different things.
Here are some examples of things you might need to prepare to be sure you won’t be distracted:
- Put your phone on silent or remove your phone from the room completely
- Have a sweater available in case you get cold
- Turn off any music (unless it helps you focus)
- Remove any entertainment from your space
- Clean your workspace
Again, this is all going to depend on what helps you.
I know some people who prefer to work in a messy space and some people who get their best work done in busy cafes.
You need to know what helps you work best.
For myself, a clean, warm space and headphones that are playing instrumental music are exactly what I need to avoid distractions and stay focused.
Find out what works for you and prepare accordingly.
7. Make sure that you won’t be getting any interruptions
Depending on your situation, this might not be easy or even possible, but try your best to keep the interruptions at bay.
There are some things that are within your power to watch out for:
- Explain that you need uninterrupted time to coworkers or whoever else might come in to talk to you
- Plan for appointments and meetings at times that don’t interfere with your work session
- Put your phone on silent so you will not be notified of anything
- Work at a time when emergencies are not likely going to come up
This one can be hard to enforce because life is unpredictable, but do what is within your control to do, and work with what you’ve got.
Don’t wait for things to be perfect before getting started!
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8. Prepare your body for a focused work session
Just as you can get interruptions from other people, you can also get interruptions from your own body.
Before you sit down to work, try to deal with as many things as you can that your body might need.
Make sure you are warm, well-fed, hydrated, well-rested, and have already used the bathroom. These will all help you to avoid distractions and stay focused for longer periods of time.
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How to induce Flow State to overcome distractions when you are engaging in hobbies and free time
Inducing Flow State isn’t just for your work; it can also help you get more out of your personal time.
You can use the same tips provided to overcome distractions while you are enjoying your hobbies.
Here’s a list of hobbies you could use induce Flow State for:
- Cooking
- Crafts
- Art projects
- Practicing an instrument
- Learning a new language
- Writing
- Reading
- Exercise
- Doing chores
As long as it’s something you see value in, you are sure to reach Flow State and boost motivation.
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As you experiment with these tips, remember that progress isn’t instant.
The road to the Flow State can be difficult, but it’s totally worth it!
Have patience for where you’re at, and keep dusting yourself off and trying again.
And enjoy the process!
You’ll be learning a lot about yourself along the way!
Do you have any tricks that help you overcome distractions and induce Flow State?
Oooh i love this and going to apply it to my writing.
I’m so glad you found it useful! It has certainly helped me stay more focused. I hope it helps with your writing! 🙂 Thanks for commenting!
I’m going to apply this to school! Thank you for sharing!
That’s a great idea! I hope it helps! Thanks for the comment 🙂
To blog more is my goal. I will apply this and see what will happen.
It’s definitely great to have a solid goal set if you want to achieve it. I hope these tips help you reach that goal! Thanks for commenting 🙂
Great tips. i have for sure been more successful in getting my to-do list down by making my goals more realistic and bunching similar work together.
Definitely! I’ve noticed a big difference myself when I chunk similar work. It’s amazing how much more focused you can feel this way! Thanks for the comment 🙂
I found this super insightful! Somethings I sit down to do – I’m just into it and time doesn’t exist, while other tasks have the day clunking along
I totally understand what you mean! It’s frustrating when you run into a task that just drags on and on. This system definitely helps to better understand why it’s like that! Thanks for the comment! 🙂
This is something I struggle with all the time! I’m really trying to practice more mindfulness because not only do I get less done, I tend to feel anxious and overwhelmed about how much I need to get done.
Kelly, I totally feel for you! I research this stuff so heavily because I also struggle to stop making lists in my head of the things I need to get done in a day. I mean, most of the tasks I have running through my head don’t even matter, but it can be so difficult to slow down and do less. I’m glad that this was able to offer some suggestions. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
A very thoughtful post for everyone who wants to get done things in a calm and timely manner. Love this!
Thanks for the comment, Pooja! I’m glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂
This was a so needed blog for me, this is something I have honestly struggled with forever, it’s just about finding balance and I am finally learning, great tips.
Nicole, I’m so glad that you found these useful! It is definitely a struggle for me, too. I hope that these tips help you as much as they helped me! Best of luck on your journey; I’d love to hear how it goes! 🙂