At one point or another, you have probably experienced being in “flow” state. The result was incredible and you get a strange sense of happiness and fulfillment. Maybe you learn how to utilize the “flow” state to deliver some of your best work. The problem is that sometimes the “flow” state is short-lived because it can come to an end from a simple tap on the shoulder and a “Did you get my email?”.
So, what can you do to help yourself get back into flow quickly? That’s what I am going to be sharing in this post. As a disclaimer, what I am about to share is based on my experience, so your results may vary.
1. Get into a Habit of Taking Notes
I have mentioned about the benefits of adding pseudocode into your software development routine. In the case of interruptions, having the pseudocode would really be helpful in helping you get back into context quickly. However, even if you don’t pseudocode, you will still benefit from having some notes. The idea is to have something to keep track of what you’re doing while in “flow” so when you do get interrupted (you will) you can continue where you left off. Interruptions become costly only when you get put to a complete halt from them.
2. Have a Clear Goal
To take full advantage of the “flow” state, you need to have a clear goal you are trying to achieve. When you have a clear goal, you can plan to take steps towards reaching it. These steps serve as a high-level approach to the problem you are solving. So, when an interruption comes along, chances are you will at least remember which step you are working on. This allows the context of what you need to continue your work to come back faster.
3. Don’t Get Sidetracked by the Interruption
After an interruption, you might get sidetracked from what you are doing. Maybe a new task came up and your first instinct is to start thinking about it. Well, when you start shifting some focus to whatever new arises, you’ll throw away the information in your brain for what you were doing beforehand. This means losing context on what you were doing and taking a significant amount of time to get started again.
So, what can you do when something new comes up from an interruption? Take note of it and address it after you’re done with what you are currently doing. There are exceptions like if it is something super urgent, but you’ll probably figure that out from the conversation.
4. Ask for Any Additional Details Discussion to Happen over Text
This might not always work, but it doesn’t hurt to ask someone to have any follow-up discussion(s) through text while you’re in “flow”. For example, with Slack or some other messenger. This is from my experience only, but when I am in “flow” and I need to answer something simple, I can get back into flow significantly faster when I answer it through text. To put it into perspective, it would take a few minutes to get into flow if I need to speak out the answer. While providing a text response I can get back into flow under a minute.
I hope this post was helpful to you. If you found this post helpful, share it with others so they can benefit too.
What are your experiences with the “flow” state? How do you handle interruptions?
To get in touch, follow me on Twitter, leave a comment, or send me an email at steven@brightdevelopers.com.