As I sit down to write this blog, I admit, it will probably take me longer than I planned for. I will probably get distracted a few times, pick my phone up a few more times, maybe go to the fridge and see what snacks I can find, all while trying to write this and put some thoughts together. I know I’m not totally alone in acting this way when there is a deadline looming. But if there’s anything I’ve learned over the past two weeks of research, I have learned that being in a flow state, or having intense focus on an activity is possible, if we just stop getting in our own way.

The Boredom Scroll

While studying the loss of focus in our society, I came across this article by Madeline Holcombe about boredom scrolling. This is something I’m sure we are all guilty of, having a few spare minutes to ourselves and choosing to spend it on social media. Only to find yourself hours later still scrolling, bored as ever, wondering where the rest of the day went. What surprised me about the article was that it talked about a study where they found that being able to fast-forward or skip videos increases boredom in all of us. Now I know this can be hard to believe, because when given the chance, most people in the study predicted they would be less bored when given the option to skip rather than being forced to watch only one video. However, once the study was done, it was clear that the participants had a less satisfying and less meaningful experience when they were skipping and forwarding as much as they wanted.

The study then concluded by saying that boredom is linked to our attention. Dr. Tam who conducted this research said it best: “We feel bored when there’s a gap between how engaged we are and how engaged we want to be. When people keep switching through videos, they’re not fully engaging with any one video, and are instead searching for something more interesting.”

Getting past the distraction and into the flow

After hearing about this study, it really made me stop and think about how we try as humans to avoid being bored all the time but instead it seems we are really doing ourselves a disservice. I figured there had to be ways for us to identify when were in a bad, bored rut and a way to get into a super focused, flow state where we can thrive. This led me to an article which talked about the science behind getting into a flow state. According to Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, who has done countless hours of research on this topic, the perfect flow state will come when we are doing an activity that is slightly challenging but not too difficult for us that we want to quit. But not only does it need to be a challenge, but it must be an activity that has meaning to us. We won’t reach a flow state if we are focusing on something we don’t care for, it has to be a passion, something we see worth spending time on.

Once we find that passion or activity we love, finding that concentration within won’t be so hard. Julia Christensen, who was also interviewed in the article listed some other helpful tips to getting into a great flow state time and time again. One of them was to find rituals. For an athlete, it might be to find a fixed set of stretches to do before practice, or a set piece of clothing you wear each time. These things become cues for your brain and will set up new habit loops to help you reach the flow. This makes sense to me, almost as if we are creating a safe space for ourselves, and we all know we do our best when we feel safe and have room to learn and grow.

The good news in all of this is that we can train ourselves into getting into flow states more. Almost like a muscle, once we flex it, it gets easier to use. Most scientists on this topic even suggest it can be as easy as removing distractions from the environment you’re trying to focus in. If we have a goal and want to achieve something, the first step is setting yourself and your surrounds up for success. That may look like going someplace quiet, putting your phone in another room or putting other tasks aside to focus on this one. Over time, these flow state can become more frequent, and while It may require us to reevaluate our efforts, it will certainly be worth it.