5 Minute Friday - Issue #6 - Flow State
Welcome to the 6th issue of 5 Minute Friday from The Backpack CPA! Every Friday I share a short email with tips & resources to get you thinking about your
Professional & Personal Development!
Let's start "growing" through our professional journey instead of just "going" through it!
A few words from a wise anonymous person...
"Starve your distractions feed your focus." ~ Unknown
💪 Professional & Personal Development
Getting Into Flow State & Getting Work DONE!
We are the happiest when we're caught up in doing some work we enjoy and we just lose track of time. They say when you're having fun time flies! This is happening because you are in the state of mind called FLOW!
Flow is when we're super focused on one task and operating at our peak & getting the maximum amount of work done. Flow is the state of mind between apathy & anxious state. Apathy is when we feel lazy or a task is too easy, and an anxious state is when things are difficult or we don't know where to start.
So how do you get into a flow state? (the million $dollar question)
Step 1: Have a clear well-defined goal
Before you start the task know what you are trying to achieve. This will help train your mind on staying focused.
Step 2: Eliminate all distractions & have short-term and long-term feedback loops
Make sure you cut out all the distractions (like phone, email, social media, etc.) before you start your task. You can use The Pomodoro Technique (see below under Learning/Tools) to help you.
Have feedback loops so you can gauge your progress and stay motivated.
Step 3: Develop the skills you need beforehand
One of the keys to getting into flow and getting the maximum amount of work done is having the necessary skills and tools/resources before you start your task. Plan out your work and make sure you're knowledgeable about the task you're about to start. You risk putting yourself into an anxious state if you're not well prepared and hurting your productivity.
Step 4: Keep raising the stakes so you don't get bored so easily
As humans, we tend to get bored very easily, and with work, we also risk falling into an apathy state if the work becomes too easy for us. To avoid falling out of flow keep raising the stakes with your tasks/work. If you keep adding extra challenges or goals then you can help yourself stay in flow. It's hard to be in flow when we're doing household chores like dishes or laundry, right? Start with laundry & try making that a little bit more challenging by adding a goal of finishing the folding in X minutes!
📗💡 Learning/Tools
The Pomodoro® 🍅 Technique
A tool I use to help me get work done is "The Pomodoro® 🍅 Technique!" The word Pomodoro literally means tomato in Italian 🇮🇹! The guy that came up with the idea was using a kitchen timer that looked like a tomato and so it got the name "Pomodoro." It's essentially a way of breaking up your working time. You have rounds of 25 minutes of focus/undistracted work, and then you take a 5-minute break, and you do this 3 times and then take a longer break (i.e. lunch😃). The pic below shows how it works.
If you want to chat about anyting feel free to send me a message or even book a time to chat https://calendly.com/vbcpa/thebackpackcpa!
Stay inspired & keep growing 🚀,
Vimal (or Vic)
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