Flow Facilitator Spotlight: Complete Concentration

Wynne
Sep 15
5 min read

Feel like you have adult onset ADHD? You're not alone.

This is the second in a series exploring the 21 +/- conditions that researchers have identified as helping to facilitate a state of flow. The list of conditions is certainly not exhaustive! I'd love to hear from you if you've found other ways to set yourself up for optimal experiences - please share your thoughts in the comments!\

Here is a snapshot of a typical morning as I settle down to work:

Ok! Open laptop. Right. Dang. Forgot to plug it in overnight. Restart and wait for it to reboot. Might as well refill the water bottle while I wait. Ah! A nice cup of tea is a good idea. Just a quick once-over of the dishes in the sink while the kettle boils. Tea’s ready, give it a stir, spoon in the dishwasher.. Oop, It’s full, needs unloading. Quick, done, easy, spoon in, back to computer. It’s ready. Good. Now. What was the name of that guy’s book I wanted to check out? Scan the tabs… oh yeah! I wanted to read that story about orcas sharing prey with humans! Oh and WestJet is having a seat sale, remember to look at that this evening… and these photos from the in-laws’ holiday are lovely, better heart them before I forget… Right. OK. What was I doing again? And how is it noon already?!?

Even if you don’t work in front of a computer, I can almost guarantee you’ve experienced something similar. Chronic distraction is a feature of modern life. It’s not enough to watch a movie anymore; now we play games or doom scroll at the same time. It’s not enough to get some chores done; now we must also get caught up on our favourite podcast or audiobook. We find distractions from our distractions! And there’s nothing wrong with that! Some things are tedious but necessary, and learning a little something new or being entertained while getting through them is a bonus, certainly. But our limitless appetite for and access to distractions has its costs, too.

It may seem obvious, but when our attention is fragmented, productivity suffers. What’s less obvious though, is that so does creativity, well-being, and satisfaction. It’s likely no surprise that distraction is one of the most oft-cited blockers of flow. And to be clear, I am not talking here about a clinical diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which is a divergence from typical brain development, presenting before the age of twelve (although ADHD can be diagnosed at any age), generally thought to be caused mainly by genetic factors and which can be aggravated by environmental and physical factors. What I am talking about, and what you might be experiencing, is more along the lines of what psychiatrist Edward Hallowell has called Attention Deficit Trait: a situational state (meaning, as a result of external factors) stemming from information overload, constant interruptions, multi-tasking – in other words, this phenomenon comes entirely from our environment.

Hallowell has seen scores of adults without ADHD experiencing many of ADHD’s negative symptoms: procrastination, disorganization, tardiness, forgetfulness, difficulty in staying on task, and impatience. He believes that while our brains work to keep track of, interpret, and act on vast amounts of data, we become overloaded, consistently in crisis mode, leading to feelings of fear, anxiety, impatience, irritability, anger, and panic.

In its attempts to do more than is possible, "the brain paradoxically reduces its ability to think clearly." - Hallowell

Will Ferrell as Mugatu in 2001's Zoolander.. Wix.

Unfortunately, the quickest path to relief for many of us is picking up our phones for the quick hit of dopamine (popularly understood as the brain’s “reward chemical”) it provides, temporarily easing our feelings of discomfort or overload -- even boredom. But while it does, in the short term, make us feel better, it also effectively adds stimulus to our overly stimulated minds and in the longer term, our brain’s dopamine response becomes weaker, reducing motivation, shortening attention span and lowering mood – thereby reinforcing the loop. In the context of flow and the flow cycle, this means never progressing beyond the struggle phase, resetting constantly and inhibiting our ability to release and get into our zone.

The good news is, while the effects are internal, the causes are external, and each of us has the ability to bolster ourselves to better manage how we navigate our current age of distraction:

Start simple and small.

Before you try to simplify your life, start by simplifying your space. Declutter. Organize. If you don’t need it for the task you’re trying to accomplish, put it away, out of your line of sight. Make a list – a real, written list! All these steps help to reduce your cognitive load, freeing up your capacity for focus.

Create your own pockets of certainty.

When our brains are overloaded, we simply do not know what to do with all the information. The uncertainty leads to stress, anxiety, and overwhelm. To combat this, create your own pockets of certainty – short bursts of absolute clarity, even if they’re only for 10 minutes.

Decide on the task that’s most important and determine how long you’re going to focus on it. It should be short enough to sustain, but long enough that the struggle becomes part of it. Be precise: “for the next 20 minutes, I will find 5 good sources for my article.” Set a timer (an egg timer works great, and eliminates the need to keep your phone nearby); eliminate all distractions (see previous); and get after it. The most important part is seeing your pocket of certainty through.

You can stack your pockets of certainty.

I recommend pausing and moving your body, however briefly, once you’ve completed a pocket of certainty. And once you get used to the process, you can start to stack the pockets: 30 minute pocket > pause, stretch, reset timer > new commitment to focus.

About those distractions…

Protect your pockets! If you work with a computer, bookmark and close all unnecessary tabs, and block particularly tempting websites. Turn off notifications. Tell everyone around you -- friends, family, colleagues - not to interrupt. There’s even research to suggest that merely having your phone in the room can impair focus! So put it away.

Recognize that the struggle is part of the cycle, and that it’s the first step in getting into flow.

*The flow cycle. adapted from Flow Research Collective, 2022.*

The struggle phase can be frustrating, uncomfortable, and difficult - it’s no surprise that it’s where most people give up too soon, reach for the phone – resetting constantly and never moving forward. Many of us mistake the struggle as a sign we’re not making any progress when in fact it is a necessary step on our way to flow. Once you are able to recognize and understand the discomfort as part of the process, you will be better able to manage it and persevere until you can finally release and shift into flow.

Complete concentration.

The way to reset our minds away from the constant distractions that lead to deficits in our ability to pay attention is to use the skills above to cultivate moments of complete concentration. Each of our flow facilitators drives attention by reducing cognitive load and aligning mental resources with our task at hand. Over time, the struggle becomes our doorway into flow, which itself is our path to motivation, energy, and satisfaction. Protect your pockets, cultivate more pockets, manage distractions, and clear the way for flow.