Mindful habits to get into the flow at home or work
You often hear athletes following a hot streak or a career performance talk about being in the ‘zone’ when the game seemed to slow down for them, the ball looked like a beach ball, or they could do no wrong.
Being in the ‘zone’ is actually a high state of mindfulness psychologists call flow or a state of peak performance. This high level of performance can be achieved not only on the playing field, but at home or work.
At one time or another we have all experienced flow, focusing on a task when we lose all track of time and unaware of the distractions around us. However, these experiences seem to be few and far between. But, you can help yourself get into a state of flow with some easy-to-do mindful habits and a little practice.
The following section describes three steps to help get on your path to a state of flow. Start out relaxed, minimize distractions which could interrupt your flow and develop the ability to stay in the moment.
Relax
At the start of any job or competition one needs to be relaxed and thoughts directed on the upcoming task. This means your attention cannot be on thinking about past performances, the meeting you just had or evening dinner plans. As we have covered in previous newsletters, you have several mindful habits to pick from that will help you relax, these include: 4/6 breathing, a body scan or attention to contact points.
Limit distractions
One of the biggest obstacles to getting in the flow are interruptions. This means before beginning a task turn-off devises not in use and clear your work space. To put it simply, one can only get in the flow when focus is on one task at a time. This means no multitasking. Minimizing distractions will help you fully direct senses and thoughts to the task.
Stay in the now
Getting and staying in the flow means to be in the now or the moment. Think that the events of the past or future do not exist. These thoughts will only serve as obstacles to getting into or staying in the flow. If you notice your attention wondering off or you start to get overrun by outside thoughts, do a quick reset. Take 2-4 deep breaths to relax and redirect your thoughts and senses to the task. WIth practice you should find the periods of flow last longer and you need fewer resets.
Wrap up
Peak performance or flow is a state we experience when total attention is on a task. Over time, practicing a routine of mindful habits when performing a task at home or work can help us experience flow more often and for longer periods of time.