Flow

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Definition

Flow is a term used to describe a feeling of "intense and focused concentration on what one is doing in the present moment, a merging of action and awareness, and an experience of the activity as intrinsically rewarding".[1]

Flow describes the experience of being completely immersed in a single activity. It is similar to Unitasking, but involves a specific physiological feeling of being in harmony with one's tools or project. This state is thus very cyborg-like, as one often enters a flow state through the use of a piece of technology. In addition, those experiencing a state of flow may lose their sense of time, "typically, a sense that time has passed faster than nomral".[2] Those experiencing a state of flow sometimes refer to it as being "in the moment" or "wired in". The term was first coined by Hungarian psychology professor Mihály Csíkszentmihályi.

References

  1. Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály and Jeanne Nakamura. The Concept of Flow. In the Handbook of Positive Psychology by C. R. Snyder and Shane J. Lopez. Oxford University Press. 2001. Pg. 90.
  2. Ibid.