What is flow?
Flow is a state of complete absorption in an activity, in which concentration is total, the sense of time changes and the activity feels rewarding in itself. It was studied by Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Many of the people he interviewed described the feeling as being carried along by a current, which gave the concept its name. In everyday English it is often called "being in the zone."
- Meaning
- Optimal experience of total absorption
- Researcher
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
- Key condition
- High challenge matched by high skill
- Related ideas
- Intrinsic motivation, positive psychology
Csikszentmihalyi’s research
Csikszentmihalyi interviewed painters, rock climbers, chess players and surgeons, and noticed that they became deeply absorbed in activities that offered little money or fame. He later developed the experience sampling method (ESM): participants carried pagers and, whenever a signal went off, recorded what they were doing and how they felt.
People experienced flow more often at work than at leisure. Using experience sampling with 78 working adults, Csikszentmihalyi and LeFevre (1989) found that flow was reported far more often during work than during free time. Yet people still said they wished they were doing something other than working.
This is known as the paradox of work. Passive leisure such as watching TV felt relaxing but rarely produced flow.
The challenge–skill balance
Flow is most likely when both the challenge of a task and a person’s skill are high and well matched.
| Challenge | Skill | Experience |
|---|---|---|
| High | Low | Anxiety |
| Low | High | Boredom (relaxation) |
| Low | Low | Apathy |
| High | High | Flow |
Features of flow
- Clear goals and immediate feedback
- Merging of action and awareness
- Loss of self-consciousness and worry
- Altered sense of time: hours can feel like minutes
- An autotelic experience: the activity becomes its own reward
For motivation that comes from within, see metacognition and intrinsic motivation and self-determination theory.
Getting into flow while studying or working
- Break goals down. Instead of "finish the exam material," try "solve 10 past questions in 30 minutes."
- Adjust difficulty. Make easy tasks harder and split hard tasks into steps.
- Get feedback fast. Checking answers right away makes flow easier.
- Remove distractions. Silence notifications and do one thing at a time.
Flow is not always healthy, though. Getting lost in games or work can harm health and relationships, and chronic overwork can lead to burnout.
Frequently asked questions
- What is flow in psychology?
- Flow is an optimal state of complete absorption in an activity, in which people lose track of time and enjoy the activity for its own sake.
- When does flow happen?
- Flow is most likely when both the challenge of a task and your skill level are high and balanced, and when goals are clear and feedback is immediate.
- Who developed flow theory?
- Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi developed and popularized the concept.
References
- Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper & Row.
- Csikszentmihalyi, M., & LeFevre, J. (1989). Optimal experience in work and leisure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(5), 815–822.