Flow – How to get it back when you need it

Do you ever skim through your Instagram and see all those inspirational quotes telling you to breathe, be in the moment, you’ve got this and think yeah that’s brilliant, amazing but I am just not feeling it right now!  Instead, you might be feeling unfocused, distracted, directionless, stressed and self-critical.

STOP It’s okay! you just lost your flow. You know that feeling when times seems to slow down, your mind shifts into a new space, you feel alive, connected in tune and moving with a precision and poise you don’t fully understand, but at the same time, it feels great – when you are in the zone, you’re in FLOW. Flow is like a state of meditation or mindfulness that happens when you are fully and completely absorbed in what you are doing.

Let’s find a little FLOW in our day to day. Flow follows focus and taking risks drives your focus into the now.  I am not talking ‘white water rafting type adventure risk’ we are in the workplace and it doesn’t have to be that extreme. Take a social risk, speak up at a meeting, share a creative idea, smile at a stranger in the queue waiting for your lunch or on the coffee run.

Change up your environment. The atmosphere around you can trigger flow, novelty, unpredictability and complexity will get you there. In business, the idea is to get out of habits and routines. You need to shake things up, vary your routine if you always use the lift then take the stairs. Going against the grain tricks the brain into demanding focus. Get up, go out and change your habits!

Build a flow fortress. By this, I mean a space free from interruptions no focus equals no FLOW.  Clear your desk of all distractions. Remove yesterday’s coffee cup, close your books, put your paperwork into a neat pile. Close down your email completely.  Exit your browser windows and any other apps not in use, finally put your phone on airplane mode and move it out of site!

Hope found some flow today

Jan