Sitting at a cafe on a lazy Sunday watching all the families wrestle their kids into breakfast and all the other parents escaping for a coffee and paper read. I feel a bit different and unusual with my laptop out, headphones in (Metallica thank you very much), sucking down a large amount of caffeine and finishing my Flow consulting course. But then, I have always felt a bit different...
Anyone with me? Or have I lost those that feel like weekends are for chillaxing and work is confined to Monday to Friday never to cross into 'personal' time.
But this pretty much my routine, it's where I feel in the zone. I do my best work when I have space and time to think and do whatever work I feel like doing, without deadlines and emails pinging every few minutes. It's my time and I love it! I even take holidays to get more of it!
Maybe I need a hobby (or a life) haha But my business is my work and my hobby. I genuinely love it and really enjoy tweaking and improving it bit by bit. Learning something new, implementing it with my clients and seeing how it helps them. I can't help thinking about it! Call me obsessed or crazy (many do) but it's just how I am. My top value is business so duh I like to work.
But why am I addicted to doing this? Why can't I just binge on some Netflix and junk food?
The answer is Flow.
It's my latest fascination. Flow is a peak performance state that is normally reserved for athletes and special forces teams, not spoken so much in business, but it should be. If you haven't read the book 'Stealing Fire' about flow then get a copy, it's crazy good.
The reason it's so addictive is that it gives us physical rewards. Getting into flow releases the big 4 feel-good chemicals - dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. It is literally addictive like a party drug, but free, healthy and even productive!
You will know when you are in Flow when time slides by without you noticing it, everything feels Timeless, Effortless, Richness, Selflessness. You feel great, you want to help everyone, you feel grateful and your work is awesome. Give me some more of that!!
The benefits of finding your Flow are remarkable, yet people don't spend time learning how to get these rewards in their work. So they chase the same feeling in unproductive and sometimes costly habits like shopping, drugs, TV, junk food, social media and more.
But it doesn't have to be that way. If more people understood that EVERYONE could find flow in work, imagine how fulfilled they would be. How their enjoyment of work would improve, their relationships, their finances even their health.
Love your work and you will never work a day in your life is an old adage and it's true. But how? That's the $500 question, which is exactly how much I charge to find your flow haha (excuse my shameless plug).See my website here for details.
But seriously, if you are not loving your work, do something about it. Read 'Stealing Fire', research more on how to find your Flow and start the process of getting more in your work life.
Cheers Andrew
PS Check out Roger Hamiltons video on how to get into flow