Always Late? Flow is Your Best Excuse

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Isn’t is ironic? On one hand, we blame poor time management when someone else arrives late. On the other, one could waste a lot of time reading up on how to manage time.  What if wasting time could be valuable?  What if our tardiness is trying to tell us something?  The answer may lie in what diverted our attention and “made us” late in the first place.

Distractions – they’re NOT all created equal

It’s common to read and hear about the deleterious effects of distraction. Most of us agree, it kills productivity and can put us in serious danger (ie. distracted driving). But, can we blame social media, texting, and other forms of light entertainment for every missed commitment?

Society trains us to regret every digression from what we’re “supposed” to be doing.  Are we procrastinating?  This would explain why we avoid doing the things we hate.  What about when we miss the commitments we tolerate or even look forward to?   Surely some stronger force must be at work to tear our attention away?  Think of the favorite hobby or activity that immerses us so fully an hour can pass without notice.  Do we feel guilty afterward because of the commitment we missed or the enjoyment we felt in doing so? 

Flow – A Good Kind of Distraction

There is a mental state we enter we enter when doing something that grabs our attention, causes us to forget time, and brings us sheer joy.   Social scientist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, calls it “Flow”.  Think of how we feel enjoying intense hobbies or performing jobs we love. There’s an unmistakeable focus that can be seen on the face of Olympic athletes, surgeons, musicians, and others enjoying their craft. It’s as if a bomb could go off behind them and they’d scarcely notice.  They are experiencing flow.

Think of flow like going to one’s happy place.  One can access incredible reserves of energy when in this state.  “Even if I’m tired I always find the energy to …”, might be a good way to describe a flow activity.   Needless to say, they are usually pursuits we are good at.  Positive Psychology pioneer, Martin Seligman, goes further to explain that, when people use their strengths everyday, their overall level of hapiness improves.  And, happier people are healthier and more productive at work.   

The People’s Joy Experience

Make no mistake, we have good reason to regret lost productivity. Most of us need to work to survive and that entails being on time and on task.  And, we can’t just quit our jobs to knit sock monkeys or do whatever else we truly love.  That’s the stuff of millionaire entrepreneurs and celebrities, right?

Not necessarily. Flow activities don’t have to require career changes or large-scale interruptions.  Assuming one works 40 hours a week, and sleeps 7 hours a night, we have over 175 days left over for family and flow. We all have free time whether it be in the morning, evening, or lunch hour. Ironically, (again) encorporating flow into ones life may just be a matter of time management.

The clock is ticking!

We know we have plenty of time to experience flow, and that’s why we put off doing it.  Still, forty minutes of screen time per day can use up almost 11 days per year (Thank-you Apple!).  Our daily commutes may also steal as much or more time. Our hobbies are never going to demand our attendance. It’s only when we remember time’s scarcity that we free it up for things that make us happy.  Until corporations allow us mandatory flow time (I’ll pause for laughter), we’ll have to carve out our own.  And, we can also choose to cut ourselves slack when we miss commitments for good reasons like flow. 

Our charge is not to be selfish and blow off obligations. Instead, we can re-commit to being more happier and motivated versions of ourselves, all by allowing ourselves to flow.  

Now, stop feeling guilty, get out, and waste some time!  (In the right way, of course)  

Sincerely,
Meaning2work.com