Get into the Flow of Work

We all know that we do our best work in those exceptional moments when we’ve achieved a state of flow. It’s when you’re so completely involved in what you’re doing that time seems to have sped up, and you’ve forgotten about the world around you. But how do we get into this flow? Here are some strategies that can help you concentrate on doing your best work.

Focus on your work

Remove potential distractions so you can focus on the task at hand. If something takes your attention away from the task you’re working on, your concentration will be broken and you’ll leave the ‘flow’.

Set yourself clear goals

You can enter this into a notebook or an organisation app. Try to clearly identify what you hope to achieve and how you’ll know that you’re succeeding. For instance, your goal may be to create a Facebook ad. You’ll know that you’re succeeding when you’ve chosen a layout, uploaded an image and written the copy.

Make sure that you’ve given yourself enough time

It can possibly take you 15 minutes to start entering the flow of work, and maybe a little while longer after that to be completely immersed. Once you’ve entered the flow of work, you’ll want to make the most of it, instead of being interrupted prematurely by other work.

Strong concentration can bring you into the flow

This is something you can develop and strengthen. For example, practising mindfulness can help improve your attention span, especially when you use mindfulness to recognise when you’ve moved away from your chosen focus point and then bring your attention back. This repetitive activity can help you improve your level of concentration.

The ability to get into the flow of work is something you can improve in your own time. You can practice it at home by simply using your breathing as the point of focus, and keep bringing your mind back to your breathing whenever it wanders. Practicing your concentration on a daily basis can help you get into the flow of work faster, no matter what task you’re working on.