Flow State in Okinawa
Japanese professionals are renowned for their perseverance and absorption in their tasks, with thorough attention to detail. We see this in several contexts, from the older people of Okinawa working in their gardens to the college students. They are always in their flow. Flow is the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter. As a result, the experience itself becomes delightful.
Imagine yourself climbing a tall mountain. High above the ground, you move deliberately. You are aware of every placement of your foot.
There is no room for error; one lapse in attention can cost you your life. So you focus intensely; nothing exists but you and this mountain. Time seems to slow down, and your mind shifts into a new space. A sense of the vibrancy of being 'alive,' connectedness, and peace infuse your being. You're in the zone. This is the moment. There is no past, no future, just now and you are in your flow.
Flow State During Mundane Tasks
You don't need a mountain to enter into a flow state. For example, suppose you often lose focus while working on essential tasks. In that case, there are several strategies you can employ to increase your chances of achieving flow. For example, you can focus all your attention on the present moment, avoid multitasking, or unplug from social media.
However, the most effective way of achieving flow is by choosing a challenging but not too difficult task. Every task, sport, or job has a set of rules, and we need a set of skills to follow them. If the rules for completing a task or achieving a purpose are too basic relative to our skillset, we will likely get bored. Activities like this lead to apathy. If we assign ourselves a task that is too difficult, we won't have the skills to complete it and almost certainly give up. The ideal is to find a middle ground. You should identify tasks that align with your abilities but are still challenging. We want to encounter challenges because we enjoy the feeling of accomplishment from pushing ourselves.
Bill Gates
We can also use this strategy to achieve flow in doing the most mundane tasks like washing dishes or doing paperwork. For example, bill Gates washes the dishes every night. He says he enjoys it as it helps him relax and clear his mind. But, crucially, he tries to do it a little better each day. Bill follows an established order or set of rules he's made for himself: plates first, fork second, and so on. It's one of his daily moments of the microflow. We, too, can enjoy these mundane tasks by attempting to do them better than we did the last time.
