TechWorkRamblings

by Mike Kalvas

202109091123 Flow state

A state of mental being characterized by extreme focus, productivity, and the ability to hold and traverse an enormous amount of context in your head. It can be described as being "in the zone" or "completely absorbed" in what you're doing.

The term was first coined by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in his work Beyond Boredom and Anxiety: Experiencing Flow in Work and Play1 and later popularized in his widely regarded book Flow: The psychology of optimal experience.2

Despite its name, the 202109091124 Anti-flow state is more related to flow state than against it. The difference primarily arises in the activity that one is absorbed in. Anti-flow makes use of an absorption in something other than the idea we care about in order to allow that idea to have room to evolve in our subconscious mind.


  1. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1975). Beyond boredom and anxiety (1st ed). Jossey-Bass Publishers.

  2. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience (1st ed). Harper & Row.