Your project deadline is today. A potential career maker. You know you’ll be pushed to your creative limits.
But rather than feel daunted, you lock in. Ideas occasionally out of reach are now firmly grasped. The task almost completes itself––you’re merely its vessel. You work off instinct. A sense of mastery takes hold. The workday flies by.
This is flow. We’ve all felt that precious, rapturous state where immersion sets in, time evaporates, and performance peaks. It’s when humans are at their creative best. It could be learning an instrument, being “in the zone” playing sports, or, indeed, producing your most fulfilling work.
But flow doesn’t come easy. It requires deep focus, high motivation, and the sweet spot of a challenge: an intense demand on skills, pushing someone just outside their comfort zone. But not too much, because that sparks anxiety. And not too little; otherwise, boredom creeps in.
The problem is that many workplaces often operate at one of those extremes, says Stewart Donaldson, president of the Claremont Flourishing Center at Claremont Graduate University.
“So many people have jobs designed to promote very uncomfortable states of anxiety, where the focus is on maximizing profits,” he says. “But then many others have roles where they’re not really challenged at all, and end up really bored.” Rather than depth that unlocks flow, shallow or unproductive workdays often follow––whether from a place of stress or apathy.
“Your schedule becomes a meeting on topic A at 9:30 a.m., followed by topic B at 11 a.m., then perhaps a small break before topic C. You never have time to settle into work that’s important,” says Donaldson.
Everyday distractions compete for attention, too, anathema to the deep focus required for flow. “In 2026, we all have multiple algorithms trying to grab your attention, the lure of smartphones, and endless streaming,” adds Donaldson. “When we try to focus on many stimuli, we never really focus on something important. Your concentration is only surface level.”
But while it’s harder than ever to reach a state of flow, the deep, meaningful rewards remain the same. Those able to focus on the most important task at hand are more likely to perform better at work and be effective in their careers. And there are some practical ways to cultivate more time in immersion.
Why it’s not easy going with the flow
The theory of flow was developed by the late Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. His research found that people are happiest when they’re in a state of complete absorption with the activity at hand; he described it as the “optimal experience.” Donaldson worked with Csikszentmihalyi in developing Claremont University’s program in positive psychology, the scientific study of flourishing.
“In a work context, flow is often linked to engagement,” Donaldson says. “You become fully engaged in meeting challenges with your skills, accomplishing things that meet your purpose and meaning in life, and flourish much more often.”
These benefits aren’t limited to individual job satisfaction, says the organizational psychologist and executive coach Natalie Pickering.
“Workplaces that embrace flow time dial up employee presence, improve performance, and decrease burnout,” she says. “Without flow and engagement we often see an increase of mental health challenges that workers carry into their personal lives.”
The data suggests many employees aren’t in workplaces that cultivate flow. As of 2025, Gallup reports global employee engagement at just 20%, the lowest it’s been since 2020.
This is often attributed to burnout culture. “We sometimes find that the biggest barrier to flow is the immediate supervisor who continually disrupts the employee, calls them into meetings and doesn’t let them get into deep state,” says Donaldson. And those bosses are likely to be anxious and stressed themselves.
Some leaders haven’t even heard of the concept of flow, says Pickering. “They come to me with concerns around team motivation or skill competency. They don’t realize that the missing piece is often flow,” she says. “They never experience it.”
The workplace climate compounds the problem, adds Pickering. “Flow typically requires psychological safety. That’s much harder in the current culture of AI, layoffs and pressure to hustle,” she says.
How to make flow, flow
Since workplaces don’t tend to foster flow, it perhaps falls on individual workers to forge it for themselves.
First, Donaldson at Claremont recommends, do a personal audit. “Be self-reflective and examine what you do in your day and where you pay your attention. It’s often on things that aren’t meaningful,” he says. This could be social media scrolling or binge watching. At the extreme end, bored or anxious people may “explore drug- or alcohol-induced states to mimic flow, or get out of an undesirable state,” he adds.
Most knowledge workers have a degree of autonomy. This is particularly the case if they work from home. Compared to open plan offices, home settings can be more curated around the individual, with minimal disruptions and fewer external stimuli, says Donaldson.
A quick win could come from blocking off focus time in your calendar for one or two hours that would otherwise be vulnerable to last-minute Zoom calls. This helps workers stay in the same mental space, says Donaldson. Rather than switch between three topics throughout a workday, you could split two tasks in the morning, then have the afternoon reserved for your most important work.
Further, a “boring” task can often be reframed, says Pickering, the organizational psychologist. A worker could connect it to their career goals, making it more meaningful. Dialing up the challenge also promotes absorption. Adding a self-imposed deadline––say, a 4 p.m. delivery––staves off procrastination, forces intense focus, and rewards the worker with an early finish.
Flow is often associated with head-down work in blissful solitude––but it also encompasses workplace presentations, brainstorms, and collaborations. This places the onus on holding better meetings, says Donaldson. Much of the work comes beforehand: laying out the problem clearly and connecting it to deeper goals so attendees are more prepared, focused, and present.
“There’s a whole stream of research on social flow, and a group pushing each other to new heights,” explains Donaldson. “Imagine being on a Zoom call where everyone cares about the topic, the challenge is slightly greater than the team’s skills, and everyone contributes to the conversation. That’s good group flow.”
Flow takes time. Although it can’t be switched on, it can be cultivated. The more someone enters it, the more adept they’ll be at finding it. It’s a virtuous circle that pushes them to new heights.
“It’s about creating an environment where you’re being challenged and have the skills to meet those challenges,” says Donaldson.
