by Elaine Huan

If you’ve ever found yourself so engaged in something that your self-consciousness fades and you lose track of time, you’ve felt what it’s like to be immersed in the flow state. First described by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, flow refers to complete mental focus that often leads to more efficient, higher-quality work. 

But with digital distractions everywhere, maintaining flow is more challenging than ever.  Students find themselves planning productive work sessions, only to spend hours scrolling and texting.

In an interview with the New York Times, 14-year-old Allison Miller attributed her middling grades to her habit of multitasking: “I’ll be reading a book for homework and I’ll get a text message and pause my reading and put down the book, pick up the phone to reply to the text message, and then 20 minutes later realize, ‘Oh, I forgot to do my homework.’ ”

Students who work in the flow state more often experience better academic performance. Learning to utilize it stands to benefit students’ time management and grades. 

In an effort to better understand flow, researchers have proposed two main theories: the transient hypofrontality hypothesis, which says that flow increases focus by reducing self-consciousness, and the synchronization theory, which says that enhanced communication across brain regions is to credit. Both theories align with many people’s general experience of flow, where they gain a sense of control over the activity and lose awareness of both time and themselves. 

According to Csikszentmihalyi’s theory of flow, the state is achieved when two key factors – the challenge of the task and the doer’s skill level – are both at medium-to-high levels. 

So what can students do? Setting clear goals is a good start: they’re associated with flow because they lay out a challenge level that matches the capability of the student. Reducing digital distractions is crucial. Flow is a state achieved when doing a single task, not multiple – students should mute their notifications and ask family or roommates to respect their space in order to avoid frustration caused by breaking the immersion of flow. 

Intrinsically motivated students, who are encouraged by internal reasons like enjoyment and creativity, have an easier time getting into flow with the respective task. To take advantage of this, focus on the connections your values and interests have to what you’re doing. You can look for inspiration in a historical figure’s life and use their story to improve your own. Writing those emails may strengthen professional connections with others, leading to opportunities for yourself. 

This mnemonic can help you remember how to achieve complete focus: 

F – Focus On One Task

L – Like What You Do

O – Omit Distractions

W – Write Clear Goals

Getting into flow seems daunting, but it only is when one isn’t already in the state. Harnessing the power of mental flow leads to better performance, more enjoyment, and a higher quality of life.