Find Your Work Flow
Even though we all seem to be addicted to having “busy” lives, our society has generally treated work-a-holics like lepers. Work-a-holics are viewed with pitty and a bit of disdain, avoiding them for fear the lengthy hours will rub off. It’s as if people think, “Can’t you figure out how to not work so much?,” “Don’t you have anything better to do with your life than work?,” or “Why are you raising the bar for all of us by working so hard?”
But what if work-a-holics are the lucky ones—people who love their work and can get lost in it? Perhaps work-a-holics are just in “flow.” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is the psychologist who identified and coined the concept of flow which he defines as: “A state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.”
Learn more about Flow here.
When we are in flow with our work we are more aligned with our motivations. Some people get into flow while running or doing another athletic endeavor. Some people get into flow when doing a hobby. Some of us get into flow with our work, because we are positively attached to it. The activity we do is so engrossing we lose track of time, and we get positive dopamine hits while doing the activity, generating a sense of pleasure.
Finding your work flow doesn’t have to mean you become a work-a-holic, but it does mean you are likely to find more enjoyment and purpose in your work. To find your work flow, Daniel Pink in his book, “Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us”, suggests giving oneself a “Flow Test” based on a testing methodology developed by Csikszentmihalyi:
- Create a timer that goes off at random moments over the course of a week.
- When the timer goes off, note in a journal the time of day and where you are, what you are doing, how you are feeling, and if you think you are in flow or not.
- At the end of the week, review your journal entries and make observations about what times of day, places, and activities generated flow and those that did not.
- Conclude, when are you most motivated and engaged?
The Insight: Perhaps work-a-holic's are the lucky ones who find work flow and are deeply motivated by their work. You can do the same and find your work flow. Do the “Flow Test” noted above or simply pay attention and track the work activities where you lose track of time. Those are the day-to-day tasks and events you should be looking for in your current or next role. You don’t have to become a work-a-holic, but integrating these activities to your daily work will make you happier.