Peak Performance
From now on we will discuss a typical scenario, rational behind and strategies that helps you to DesignU. Let’s begin!
Now that you have an idea about PFC, we can talk about peak performance.
Scenario
Have you ever been completely and utterly immersed in a task? Oblivious to the outside world, focused only on your own progress and what’s going on right here and now? Maybe you’ve been doing something you love, like playing music or a certain sport, before realising that time has totally passed you by?
Typically we feel this way when we fall in love. We completely loose track of time, hunger, sleep and other bodily functions. We can be immersed in the activity for hours together. This is called the state of flow. Human beings are very much capable of being in this state when they are in love.
Getting things done without feeling the pain of the task doesn’t happen all the time isn’t it?
Today as knowledge workers we crave for this focused state (aka deep work). This is the only path to peak performance. But we don’t get to be in that state very often.
Are we at the mercy of flow? Can we turn the flow switch ON inside us?
Brain Speak
Our brain says that we can. A right combination of dopamine, norepinephrine and acetylcholine (neurotransmitters) would do the magic. Your brain doesn’t understand fun as fun, it understand it as dopamine 🤷♀️
So here is a formula to harness the state of flow. The formula is simple. It goes like this.
Flow = Fear + Fun + Focus
Formula Credit: Friederike Fabritius (Neuroscientist & Author)
When you are in flow the below is what happens in your neurobiology below.
Strategies
Choose an activity that is a little fun. Don’t be so boring. Even your brain doesn’t like it.
Choose a task which is a little challenging (not so much that you panic and sweat)
Choose an environment which will give you a little focus (dings from phones, meeting requests, open offices, picking brains by colleagues are detrimental)
When you set this environment externally, your internal ambience launches itself into flow. If you are wondering about your personal growth and work environment, just think with these new pair of eyes. May be you need a side hustle to feel the flow. Just saying…
🥂to Flow!
Yo! Thanks for reading. Means a lot to me as attention is the hardest currency 🙏
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Having too many distractions around, it's really difficult to be in the flow. But as you said, setting up the environment which will benefit you to be there in the flow for longer would definitely help. I'm going to try this.