Work – Life Out of Balance? Try Flow Instead May 22, 2013Expert BlogsOff

Work life balance is a myth for many people. Sixty percent of executives report working at least 50 hours per week. That doesn’t include the additional time they spend thinking about work. Ten percent work more than 80 hours per week. This situation is even more intense for 92% of working women who go home after a full day of work and manage household and family responsibilities.

So how do we cope? The answer is flow, but flow is better than mere coping. It’s about enjoying and finding meaning in what we and doing what we enjoy and find meaningful. Flow refuels us.

The term was coined by Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi of the positive psychology movement. When in a flow state you are immersed in the task and fully focused. Some refer to this as “being in the zone.” It may happen when you are playing music, imagining a new product or solving a difficult problem with your team. Flow increases your reserves. How? Picture yourself floating on an inner tube down a river. There is no resistance. You move effortlessly. While you float your system is replenishing its supply of energy.

For flow to happen, the activity itself must be intrinsically meaningful to the person who is engaged in it. For me there is nothing more profound than being with someone who is gaining personal insight, growing and becoming more authentic. It is as if I am watching a flower blooming in fast motion – a most beautiful sight. It energizes and uplifts me. Is every moment like this? No. I have to manage office expenses, schedule appointments, and empty the trash. These mundane tasks are the rituals that help us prepare for and appreciate the flow.

What Makes You Flow?

If you’ve been there you know it. You are in a state of harmony. All the gears are engaged and synchronized. Work is effortless. A trial lawyer who loves to compete and win is in the flow when she is preparing her case. Her heart pumps faster. Ideas just pop. After working 12 hours she has plenty of energy to care for her two young sons. A landscaper is in the flow when she presses the dirt firmly around the flowers and the scent of damp earth fills her nostrils. When an architect is in the flow it seems that the building draws itself.

Formal assessments and in-depth interviews can help you find your flow. Specific personality assessments can identify whether you refuel by engaging with others or by turning inward, by operating in the realm of emotions or the realm of logic. Certain career assessments determine whether autonomy is more important to you than security, whether pure challenge wins out over working on behalf of a cause. Click here for information about assessments.

The goal is not to structure your life so that you are in the flow all the time, but to make sure you are there enough to refuel. Schedule your non-flow activities in ways that allow you to replenish. If you’re an introvert attending an all day meeting, go for a walk by yourself at lunch. If details are difficult, have lunch with a friend after working on your taxes.

What makes you flow? Are you in a job that calls on your flow state? Does work deplete your energy?

By Anne Perschel

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