A River Made Me a Nerd

Remember back in school when we used to have 'free' periods? When a teacher is absent and a substitute comes in? Yeah, those periods. Remember what we did then? Well, some students would immediately start begging for a PE or sports period (which most of the time wouldn't be permitted), or they'd all go down on the floor and start playing hand cricket. Some would read a story book that they borrowed from the library, and the artistic ones would start sketching cartoons or dresses. And what was I doing amidst this noise? I was finishing my homework.

Billy: ....

Me: .... Billy: Ew, you're such a nerd, who studi-

Me: IN MY DEFENSE, I thought it was ironic that I finished my 'home' work in class.

Billy: You're a ner-

Aaanyways, there was something about that soft murmuring in the background. It wasn't loud or disturbing, it simply harmonized with me solving maths. For some reason, my brain associated this external noise with my studies. So, even after school, my mind started to look for that noise whenever I sat down at my desk. It wasn't until recently that I realised this behaviour of mine. I noticed that while doing any work, I usually have random monotonous sounds playing in my earphones- like rain sounds, coffee shop white noise, or the same song on repeat. This was my subconscious effort to induce something known as flow state.

What is flow state? In Gen-Z terms, it's what we all mean when we say "Getting in the zone" or "Locking in". But technically speaking, Flow is a psychological concept that was first recognized by Csikszentmihalyi (homework for you to learn how to pronounce the name) . On his quest for happiness and the purpose of life, Mihayli observed various artists who became so engrossed in their art form that they felt detached from reality. They became one with their activity and forgot about their physical existence. Time dilated, worries withdrew, and their skill synergized with the challenges in their work. Studies have shown that when in flow, productivity increases by 500% [mentioned in the introduction of this paper]. After learning about this fascinating state of mind, it's only natural to question: How does one reach flow? For this, Mihayli stresses upon two factors - Skill and Challenge. He says that this state can be achieved with the balance of both these factors. Do you understand why? No? (Even if you did, you have no choice but to read my explanation). Consider this-

1. If Skill > Challenge– Let's talk about the most basic skill- Reading. Say you're reading a novel. If the novel has no suspense or if you're extremely smart and able to predict the next part, then reading becomes boring. Your activity isn't provoking or challenging enough to keep up with your skill. So, sooner or later you'll stop.

2. If Skill < Challenge– If you're reading about Quantum Physics. No further explanation needed.

3. If Skill ≈ Challenge– When there is a good mix of both of them, your skill tackles the challenges and this in turn rewards the brain. So the brain wants to continue the activity, and thus you're in flow. Say if Billy is an athlete, activities like running might put him into flow. If Billy is a pianist, practicing new sheet music might help him flow.

But obviously, it's not immediate. You should persist through the first few minutes of your activity. Yes, this means removing distractions and forcing yourself to focus for a bit. And once you let flow kick in, you become a river. Your task becomes soo in-tune with you that everything else disappears. In that moment, the only reality you'll experience is the effortless effort you're putting in. That is.... until your phone rings or a notification comes, or an inner thought is loud enough to completely distract you.

Billy: Sigh... Now you're scolding me for being distracting? You're such a ner-

Uhm, well, I'm heavily guilty of being distracted too. But the point im trying to make is– In a world where technology and its marketing has advanced such a high scale that it holds all our time and attention; and in a world where everyone is concerned about the focus levels of the young generation, it seems that we have forgotten the value and inner joy of work and its challenges. It's pretty ironic- we don't work because it's tooo easy, but we also don't work because it's tooo hard, but reels and Italian brainrot just slaps right. We should realise that it's okay if we don't support large tech companies with all our free time. And that it's okay if the task you have to do is turning into a monster. Spend a while to find that right balance between your skill and your challenges for that monstrous task. Trust me, nothing slaps right than flowing with flow. So, prioritize the uncomfortable work, watch yourself slowly get in the zone, and it will lead to you being satisfied with yourself.

With that, I'll go crib about my project while listening to rain sounds. Yeah, okay, Billy, call me a nerd.

Signed, Ann. If you'd like to learn more about flow, I recommend you start by watching this Ted talk by Csikszentmihalyi himself. He talks about how he stumbled into psychology—it’s always interesting to hear how people find their path. The video also quotes artists and businesspeople describing flow, even before it had a name. Hearing how they spoke about it really made me realize how powerful this state can be. So yeah, you could give it a shot.