HP Innovation Issue 22: Fall 2022 | Page 58

56

WO RLD-CHANGING IDEAS >>

If you ’ re struggling to leave your emotions at the door when you sit down to work , try meditating for five or 10 minutes . Concentrate on your breathing and let the emotional thoughts pass through without focusing on them . Or try a grounding exercise like the 5-4-3-2-1 technique . Bring your attention first to five things you can see , then four things you can feel , three things you can hear , two things you can smell , and finally one thing you can taste . These exercises should snap you out of your thought spiral and bring you into the present moment .

Finding meaning is key to achieving flow at work The other half of the flow equation is the work itself . The two opposing states to flow are apathy and anxiety ; when the work is too easy , you feel bored and disengaged , but if it ’ s too hard it becomes overwhelming and stressful . The activity must fall in the sweet spot of your skill set . And as you get better over time , the task needs to become more challenging to keep you in a state of flow . Alex Honnold didn ’ t start off climbing mountains without ropes . But as he got better and better with decades of practice , he kept seeking out more difficult climbs to keep himself engaged and interested .

If a task is too easy ( or boring ), try making a game out of it . “[ Set ] a goal and subgoals as ways of making the work more challenging and to improve your skill ,” says Gute . “[ Make it ] a little game that you play with yourself to try to find more engagement , meaning , and interest in the work that you ’ re doing .”

You should also have a clear idea of your desired outcome , both short and long term , and be able to evaluate how you ’ re doing . Flow has been described as optimal high-speed decision-making , with each choice effortlessly flowing from one to the next . You know exactly which musical note to play or which chess move to make . There are clear goals every step of the way , and there is immediate feedback that the choice you made is the right one .

Make the wrong move in chess and your piece will be captured ; play the wrong note and your ear will hear it .

Keller says that these three main requirements for flow — a task that fits your skills , a clear objective , and real-time self-evaluation — are all related . “ You cannot experience a perceived fit of skills and task demands without clear task instructions and without the ability to identify whether you ’ re making progress ,” he explains .

It ’ s also easier to enter a flow state if you find the work meaningful . If at first glance a task appears boring , approaching it with curiosity and a desire to learn might reveal intriguing elements that can spark your interest and help you become more engaged . Or try thinking about what the wider impact of your work might be .

“ If you know who is using your services or products , what the impact will be on their lives , and how you can actually help them or support them , that will definitely increase the internal motivational level ,” Vecesy says .

FLOW ISN ’ T ALWAYS something you just fall into — it ’ s a skill like any other that you can work at and cultivate . In other words , sometimes it ’ s up to you to find the flow , and it may be less about the task itself and more about your attitude toward it .

It ’ s this aspect of flow — the practice of trying to find enjoyment and fulfillment even from everyday activities — that led Csikszentmihalyi to believe that living in flow was the secret to happiness . His research showed that the more flow people have in their lives , the happier they are , possibly because their work becomes intrinsically rewarding .

So the next time you ’ re putting together a PowerPoint deck or working on an annual strategy plan , try to make the task a little more interesting or meaningful by keeping your focus in the moment , making a game out of it , or probing why the activity is valuable . You might be surprised by how much you enjoy it .