November 8, 2023

Remember the last time you were working on something, got deeply absorbed in it, and lost track of time? That’s called being in a state of flow. Flow is a mental state that correlates highly to our most productive and effective moments of work. The flow state is also when we do our best learning.

The study of flow states in individuals has been well described over the last 20 years by researchers at Yale and elsewhere. We use different words in different contexts to describe how flow feels. Flow states are described by athletes as being “in the zone.” They’re described by meditators as losing a sense of self. They’re described by artists as having deep immersion in their tasks. If you’ve ever seen a young person in school, deeply immersed in their work, they’re in a flow state. 

Humans seek out flow; we like it. It is also good for us. We know that flow is good for us just by looking at the neurochemical release of people in flow states—it’s a healthier state of being. And so when we think about our waking lives we have three conditions, we can exist…