Csikszentmihalyi, M., Finding Flow, 1997, p. 31. Ever wondered why big firms give so much importance to the Happiness of the employees? They are well aware that there is a connection between the employees' happiness and productivity, and ultimately the company's profit. This is proved by the study conducted in 2015 by Oswald and Sgroi; which found that treated individuals were approx 12% more productive than the control group.
We individuals can learn to be more productive by bringing happiness to our lives too. One way of doing this is by being in the flow state.
Using this Flow model (by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi), one can successfully find the highest level of Productivity and Happiness.
This model explains that as the level of skill (or our ability to do a particular task) is high, and the challenges faced during the completion of the task are high then the person achieves the state of flow. When in this state, the person shows maximum productivity. The person gains clarity. There is an achievement of higher energy levels. Also, the task now seems doable as the person loses the sense of time until the task is completed.
Higher happiness (Bonaiuto et. al., 2016) Studies have found that people in a Flow state of mind achieve a sense of happiness or ecstasy. This benefit can help us fulfill our goal of becoming more productive.
Better performance (Koehn, 2012) As discussed earlier, as happiness increases, so do performance and productivity.
Increased level of creativity (Šimleša, 2018) One can relate this to the artists, athletes, poets, chess players, and mathematicians who lose track of time and get fully immersed in their work. Many people (especially artists) have given credit to this phenomenon of flow state for their creative work.
Now we have learned about the benefits of the Flow state and its relation to productivity, but what can we do to achieve it?
Well, these are directly dependent on challenges and skills. Thus, flow state can be achieved by:
Adding an optimal level of challenge: If the level of challenge is low, then it results in "Apathy". whereas, if the challenge is high (* Skill--> low), it results in "Anxiety".
Increasing skill to an optimal level: If the level of skill is low, it results in "Apathy". Whereas, if the skill is high (* Challenge--> low), it results in "Relaxation".
Example:
Day-1
You can solve 10 maths problems in an hour.
Skill level: low
Challenge level: low
You will feel a lack of interest in problem-solving.
Eventually with practice...
Day-30
You are able to solve 10 maths problems in 40 mins but you allocate to take1 hour instead.
Skill level: high
Challenge level: low
You will feel relaxed or slightly bored now.
Then, you must get out of your comfort zone and try to complete 10 problems in 30 mins instead. The challenge level must be made higher as the skill level has increased.
Skill level: High
Challenge Level: High
You will now enter into a state of flow. You will not only feel happy in solving problems but will get completely lost in mathematics. You will now be able to solve all problems without getting much tired and won't realize that 30 mins passed since you began.
Happiness also increases by sharing it, So Please Do share this and make a difference.
We would love to hear your story of maximizing productivity, so please do share it in the comment section and we will share it to inspire billions!!!
Oswald, A., Proto, E., & Sgroi, D. (2015). Happiness and Productivity. Journal of Labor Economics,33(4), 789-822. doi:10.1086/681096
Bonaiuto, M., Mao, Y., Roberts, S., Psalti, A., Ariccio, S., Ganucci Cancellieri, U., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2016). Optimal Experience and Personal Growth: Flow and the Consolidation of Place Identity. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 1654. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01654
Koehn S, Morris T. The relationship between performance and flow state in tennis competition. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2012 Aug;52(4):437-47. PMID: 22828465.
Šimleša, M., Guegan, J., Blanchard, E., Tarpin-Bernard, F., & Buisine, S. (2018). The Flow Engine Framework: A Cognitive Model of Optimal Human Experience. Europe's journal of psychology, 14(1), 232–253. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v14i1.1370