Flow is a question of mindset and attitude. Unlike methods and tools, an attitude can’t be put in place overnight.
Six Principles for Getting into Flow Every Day
Only by working on it again and again does it sink in and become part of daily life. What helps me is a handful of basic principles that keep reminding me of the essence and of what matters to me. I’ll go into each of them in more detail later, but here is a first overview:
- Seeing tasks as projects: I try to package tasks into self-contained, finite units: projects. That goes for my work topics as well as for this blog or the gardening. I also try to split ongoing tasks into small project-sized chunks. For me, this has two big advantages:
- I can tell exactly when something is finished, and I notice when something drags on.
- Every finished project gives me a good feeling.
- Flow focus (only doing what I enjoy): I try to take on only tasks that I enjoy and that are fun for me. And the rest?
- Delegate, automate, optimize: The rest gets delegated, automated and optimized as far as possible.
- Small steps and fast feedback: I try to get my projects started quickly with small steps and keep adjusting the route to the goal based on feedback.
- Multitasking with a single focus: I allow myself to move several projects forward at the same time. In my daily work, though, I’m strict about staying with one topic for a longer stretch and only switching once I’ve made real progress. No distractions during that time.
- Regular retrospectives: I regularly review my task lists and my principles, and I check my processes and workflows too. Whatever is obsolete goes, priorities get reset and things get refined. For me, that also means deciding not to do certain things.
These principles aren’t set in stone. They’re more like guardrails I can orient myself by. They’ve changed again and again in the past and will keep doing so. And just like following them, that change and development is part of what keeps me in flow.
