The 5 Most Pretentious Productivity Buzzwords - Mike Vardy

I guess I am getting used to seeing my name in other people’s posts on topics I’m interested in, but in this case I think Mike Vardy got what I said backwards, in a piece about productivity buzzwords:

Mike Vardy via The Next Web

5. Flow

Actual Definition: To proceed smoothly and readily.
Virtual Definition: A way to say that you can’t be interrupted or progress will grind to a halt.

I’ll be the first to admit that when I’m writing, I’m in a state of flow. And I hate to be interrupted when I’m in that state. But the prevalence of the term on the Web has created the notion that once flow is broken, then it’s okay that progress stops. And since flow comes at any given time and without warning, then all you can do is wait for it. Not true. Some things require full attention and a state of flow is perhaps the “fullest” of attention one can offer, and some don’t. When I come out of flow, I can work on emails, reading and things that can be done and can be afforded interruption.

“The small shift of consciousness that comes from remaining in the flow setting — messages and posts flitting by, dozens of chats, firing off quick updates to your circles of contacts — seems like the devil to the advocates of industrial age thinking and practices.” – Stowe Boyd

So while not everyone appreciates flow, it is a powerful tool — as long as its power is being used for good (getting the best out of a person) and not for evil (getting hardly anything out of a person).

I think Vardy’s definition of flow is too restrictive, making the case that flow equates to concentrating on a single thing. However, flow means being in a zone where everything seems to be working together, and there is time for decisions to be made, actions to be taken. Think about the players on a basketball team, playing at their peak: they see the floor, the other players, and move effortlessly to where the ball is going to be. They aren’t distracted when a team mate calls to them: it’s all part of the flow.

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi characterizes flow as energized focus, being completely immersed in an activity. But the boundaries of what is part of the activity — and what is outside of it — is as flexible as the range of human endeavor. It is not limited to a single unitary task of short duration.

But for many, flow has become synonymous with a exclusionary focus on a single activity, but I don’t use it that way.