Flow is the psychological state of total immersion in an activity. When in a state of flow, a person feels focused, energized, and intrinsically motivated. This is an active (rather than a passive) state where the activity in which the person is engaged is rewarding in and of itself.
Attention and Agency
Mechanistically, flow occurs when a task consumes 100% of a person’s (finite) attention. Since humans can only process a limited amount of information at once, this complete devotion of attention leads to flow’s characteristic “loss of self” (e.g. “where did that last hour go?”). To maintain a state of flow, a person must experience agency, or a sense of control, over the task. If a person does not feel like they are in control, the state of flow collapses.
Preconditions for Flow
For a person to enter and remain in a state of flow, the activity must meet three conditions:
- It must have clear goals and progress. A person must understand what needs to happen at each step.
- It must provide clear and immediate feedback (e.g. a sentence sounding better after a revision). This allows for real-time adjustments.
- It must strike a balance between its perceived difficulty and the person’s perceived skill. It should stretch a person’s skill without snapping it.
Challenges to Flow
Flow can be a tenuous state. When the balance between challenge and skill isn’t optimal, it can lead to:
- Anxiety (when challenge far exceeds skill),
- Boredom (when skill far exceeds challenge), or
- Apathy (when both challenge and skill are low)