五招带你进入“心流”工作状态

绝对没有什么能够和“心流”相提并论。所谓“心流”是指当你全身心投入一件事情时，你所呈现出的精力充沛、高度专注的状态。你曾体会过这种状态吗？全神贯注地工作，抬起头时发现时光飞逝。那是一种全身心投入和精力高度集中的感觉。你可以称它为心流，或者最佳表现或专心致志等。其实就是我们以最佳状态投入到工作和生活之中。

芝加哥大学（University of Chicago）心理学教授米哈里•齐克森米哈里最先提出心流这一概念，并对其进行了一番研究。他相信心流是幸福的终极状态。在《心流：一种美妙的心理状态》（Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience）一书中，齐克森米哈里提到，在心流状态下，工作毫不费力，你会感觉到：

• 完全沉浸于并全身心投入到正在做的事情当中

• 一种陶醉感，感觉自己超越了日常现实

• 内心的纯净

• 对手头任务充满自信

• 一种宁静感

• 超越了时间，几个小时一眨眼便过去了

• 内在激励，即无论会产生什么，心流本身便是一种奖励。

并非只有著名艺术家、作家或运动员才会进入心流状态。人人都能做到。我们都可以学会带着快乐的心情，怀着激情和存在感去更好地工作。但具体应该怎么做？这是一门简单的学问，但最重要的是，为了真正进入心流，我们必须训练自己摆脱每天包围我们身边的干扰因素。如果我们过度科技化，便无法进入心流状态。这意味着我们必须学会“断开连接”。

这当然有难度，但通过以下五种方法可以帮助你实现这个目标：

找出对抗点。心流不会凭空出现；我们必须主动寻求这种状态，这时便会出现对抗点。你必须经过努力才能进入心流状态，必须对抗阻止我们进入心流状态的混乱和干扰因素，包括电子邮件、短信、Facebook、Twitter、电话等。有太多因素会分散我们的注意力，让我们避开对抗点。不要以工作繁忙为理由（如电子邮件、短信、处理所有文件等）；要处理重要的事情。安排出回复电子邮件和电话的时间。像对待其他事情一样，安排你的心流时间。

抛开插电设备，断开连接，放松身心。如果你能关掉电子设备，对抗的过程就会变得容易许多，而心流的一个关键先导因素是从紧张与压力中解脱出来，断开与科技和各种设备的连接，真正让自己放松下来。在这种情况下，我们会改变大脑的运行方式，改变神经化学状态，改变思维方式。只有这时候我们才能进入心流状态。所以，要从电子设备中将自己解放出来。远离干扰。转移注意力和精力，让自己进入心流状态。

活在当下。只有当你活在当下的时候才能进入心流状态。事实上，这也是心流的本质——完全沉浸在眼下。如果你在担心过去或计划未来，便很难进入心流状态。通过设定明确的目标（“今天我想实现这个目标。”）和排除干扰，来提高自己进入心流状态的可能性：关上门，关闭电话和会叮当作响的所有应答设备，告诉人们不要来打扰你。如果内心产生了一种令人焦虑或紧张的想法，把它写下来，然后放在一边待以后再处理。最大程度地减少干扰，让自己专注于现在，保持心流状态。

接受恢复正常状态时的惊惶感。心流会令人筋疲力尽。在心流状态中，我们的大脑会变得疯狂，身体中产生的神经化学物质将创造出高度专注、富有创造力、异常欣快的状态。而这些神经化学物质减少之后，别指望会感觉良好。睡眠、阳光和营养非常重要，所以退出心流状态之后，到阳光下去散散步，然后好好休息一下。不要因为心流状态的结束而感到惋惜，要享受复原的过程。你的大脑需要休息。放松心情，恢复精力。否则以后将很难重新回到心流状态。

随时随地进入心流状态。事实证明，我们进入心流状态的次数越多，就越容易进入其中。心流就像肌肉或习惯；随着时间的推移，进入心流状态更容易。训练大脑进入和停留在心流状态的次数越多，进入心流状态也就越容易。所以，如果你希望在工作中有更多心流状态，可以在周末多拿出时间进入心流状态，做自己喜欢的事情，如园艺、烹饪、跳舞等。

心流是一种人人都能体验到的状态。我不想让人们认为科技是邪恶的。恰恰相反；我热爱科技（我对iPhone手机的爱仅次于我的丈夫和儿子）。但如果我们过度科技化，回复每一条信息和帖子，被电子设备分心和干扰，我们便无法进入心流状态。只有将自己从这些电子设备中解放出来，才能进入心流状态。

本文作者卡米尔•普勒斯顿是虚拟领导力专家、作家、演讲家、高管教练和领导力培训公司AIM Leadership的创始人兼CEO。此外，普雷斯顿还是《重来的决心》（The Rewired Resolution）一书的作者。（财富中文网）

译者：刘进龙/汪皓

There is absolutely nothing like flow, which is that energized, hyper-focused state that you fall in when you are completely absorbed in whatever you’re doing. You’ve felt it, right? Working in such an absorbed fashion that you look up and hours have flown by. Feeling completely engaged and focused. Call it flow, peak performance, or being in the zone. It’s when we work and live at our absolute best.

The concept of flow was first noted and studied by University of Chicago psychology professor MihalyCsikszentmihalyi, who came to believe that flow is the ultimate state of happiness. In Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Csikszentmihalyi says you know you’re in flow when the work is effortless, when you feel:

• Completely immersed and engaged in what you are doing

• A sense of ecstasy, feeling outside everyday reality

• Great inner clarity

• Confidence in the task at hand

• A sense of serenity

• Timelessness, hours seem to pass in minutes

• Intrinsic motivation, meaning whatever has produced the flow is its own reward

You don’t have to be a famous artist, writer, or athlete to get in the flow. We can all get there. We can all learn to work better, with real joy, passion, and presence. How? Well, there’s a simple science to it, but the bottom line is that in order to really experience flow, we have to train ourselves to disengage from the distractions that surround us all day every day. We can’t get to flow if we’re overwired. And that means we have to learn to unwire.

It can certainly be tough, but here are five ways to help you get there:

Seek out struggle. Flow doesn’t just happen; we have to get into it, and that’s where the struggle comes in. You actually have to fight to get into flow and struggle against the myriad disruptions and distractions that prevent us from getting there — emails, texts, Facebook, Twitter, phone calls, etc. There are so many opportunities to be distracted and avoid the struggle. Don’t justify busy work (i.e. email, texts, putting all those files away, etc.); get to work on important things. Schedule a time to answer emails and phone calls. Schedule your flow time like you would anything else.

Unplug, unwire, and unwind.The struggle will be a lot less difficult if you actually disconnect, and a critical precursor to flow is taking time to unplug from the stress and strain, to unwire ourselves from our technology and devices, and to truly let ourselves unwind. When we do, we change the way our brains operate, we change our neurochemistry, and we shift the way we think. Then and only then can we enter flow. So unplug from your gadgets. Move away from the distractions. Shift your attention and energy so you can get into your flow.

Be here now.Flow only happens when you are in the present. In fact, that’s the very nature of flow—being absolutely lost in the present. If you are worrying about the past or planning for the future you won’t get in flow. Optimize your likelihood of getting in flow by setting clear goals (“Today I want to accomplish this.”) and remove distractions: Close your door, turn off your phone and all the responders that go ping and ding, tell people not to disturb you. If an anxious or stressful thought pops into your head write it down and put it aside for later. Minimize distractions so you stay in the present and stay in the flow.

Embrace the funk of recovery. Flow is draining. During flow, our brains go crazy, producing neurochemicals to create the hyperfocused, creative, expansive state. As the neurochemicals recede don’t expect to feel great. Sleep, sunshine, and nutrition are essential, so when you’re out of your flow, go for a walk in the sun and then take a rest. And rather than lamenting that the flow state has ended enjoy your period of recovery. Your brain needs the rest. Relax and rejuvenate. You won’t be able to get back into flow if you don’t.

Flow whenever and wherever you can. Turns out the more we get into flow, the easier it becomes to get there. Flow is like a muscle or habit; it gets easier over time. The more you train your brain to get into and stay in flow, the easier it becomes to get there. So if you crave more flow at work, spend more time on weekends in flow doing what you love—gardening, cooking, dancing, etc.

Flow is a state that we can all experience. I don’t want to leave the impression that technology is evil. Quite the contrary; I love technology (my love for my iPhone runs a very close third to that of my husband and son). But we can’t get into flow if we are overwired, responding to every ping, ding, and post, and distracted and disrupted by our gadgets. Only by unwiring can you go with the flow.

Camille Preston is a virtual leadership expert, author, speaker, executive coach, and the founder and CEO of AIM Leadership. Preston is also author of, The Rewired Resolution.