Just-In-Time PM #3: Flow Cycles

In Part 2, I described the sublime and powerful experience of flow, which could be considered the “holy grail” of productivity.

I argued that there is theoretically no minimum amount of time necessary to get into flow, contrary to popular belief. But in reality, as always, it’s a bit more complicated. Let’s look at what this looks like in a typical working session of a couple hours.

The way work is currently organized and performed, it takes a tremendous investment of resources to get into flow.

First, you have to set up your environment: making your coffee, getting your workspace ready, clearing away desktop clutter, opening the programs you’ll need, and arranging the windows on your computer screen, for example.