In the book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi analyzes the much-desired and often-elusive “flow state,” which is basically a fancy term for being “in the zone.” It’s that feeling of being completely absorbed in something, to the point that you lose track of time. It is, in a word, delicious.
It’s also hard to come by in a global pandemic.
Most of us have had our daily lives completely disrupted. The rules and structures that used to govern our lives are gone (or drastically changed). The biggest change for those of us with families is that we now have children at our feet while trying to work at home. Csikszentmihalyi says that flow experiences happen apart from everyday life; but most of us now do not have an “apart” from our daily lives. Everything–work, family, partnership–has been jumbled together. And, things like the news and social media just contribute to the anti-flow state. Our attention is divided like never before.
Photo by Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash
In Flow, Csikszentmihalyi talks about how rules and structures can liberate us even as they constrain us: With rules and structures, “one is freed of the constant pressure of trying to maximize emotional returns.” To put this in simple terms: I am much more productive with my writing when I have a small window of time to write than when I have a whole day in front of me. Too much time to contemplate things never serves me well. This is the only explanation I have for the fact that I have become much more productive since becoming a mother (I know, it’s annoying and it makes no rational sense).
I decided early on in this pandemic that I needed to create some structure in order to still experience a little bit of flow (for me, that flow state is so important for mental health and happiness). My husband puts his job on hold from 3pm-5pm so I can have a window of time to find some flow. Sometimes I work on an essay. Sometimes I just clear out my email inbox. Sometimes I just make a list of all the things I intend to do when I have more flow time. I’m always a much more zen person after my two hours.
A couple essays that have resulted from my flow time:
7 Reasons Why It’s a Terrible Time to Be a Woman, Medium.com
The Realities of Child Care During COVID-19, ScaryMommy.com
If you are an artist or writer, are you finding flow during these crazy times? If so, how?