Keeping Yourself in ‘Flow’ During Lockdown

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With Lockdown restrictions only just being lifted, people have had no choice but to slowly settling into the ‘new normal’.

Having kids at home 24/7, potentially homeschooling and family members in either very close quarters or alternatively total isolation if you live by yourself, all the time, balancing cooking, cleaning, working and not being able to go out - it can be a bit overwhelming and you may be asking yourself what can I do about it?

Did you know that understanding the concept of Flow (states which energise you) can be an immensely useful tool to manage this difficult period and keep you sane?

What is Flow?

 Flow is being ‘in the zone’, is the mental state in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energizedfocus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting transformation in one's sense of time. 

States of Flow are different for different people but once you understand the dominant energy you possess, you can understand which activities work best to keep you in Flow.

 

There are 4 main types of energy which have been characterized by seasons for the sake of simplicity:

 

1 – SPRING

-       highly creative

-       Intuitive (Head in the clouds)

-       Great at getting things started

-       Can easily come up with new ideas

 

2 – SUMMER

-       Extroverted

-       Dislikes being alone for prolonged periods of time

-       Great at connecting with others

-       Loves meeting new people


3 – AUTUMN

-       Team player

-       Reliable at getting things done

-       Sensory (Ear to the ground)


4 – WINTER

-       Organized and Orderly

-       Systems orientated

-       Relishes the details

-       Introverted

From the list above, you might resonate with one in particular but to get better clarity you can take a free test to determine your dominant energy here:

https://www.geniusu.com/my-genius-test 

During lockdown, you may start to feel ‘out of flow’ particularly if the activities you enjoy are restricted. This results in both frustration and feeling de-energised.

Ways to increase Flow

So, how do you increase Flow to help bring about better balance in alignment with your dominant energy: 

SPRING 

  1. Start stratagizing – Start planning or thinking about what you are going to do differently in your business or your job.

  2.  Spend time journaling and putting your thoughts and ideas down on paper. We think at an extraordinary speed and writing down our thoughts slows this speed, so we can capture those golden nuggets of creativity and inspiration. 

  3. Now is the time to tinker with new concepts and ideas that have been cooped up in your brain. Run your these past mentors or friends to get their feedback.

SUMMER

  1. Get some (virtual) Facetime in with friends or family to re-energise you.

  2. Find new ways to connect with people, perhaps take part in an online challenge or attend a webinar where the topic is of interest.

  3. Go Live on Facebook talking about a passion topic so that you are engaging with people again.

AUTUMN

  1. Focus on delivery and getting stuck into the detail.

  2. With people stuck at home and in some cases with more availability, there has never been a better time to use your sensory skills to gauge feedback and find out what’s going on with people.

  3. Spend time learning and developing a new skill or hobby, this will satiate the need to ‘do’ something. 

WINTER

  1. Focus on things which can be automated, systemized and organized.

  2. If you run a business ask yourself ‘how can improve our metrics’ and devise a plan to execute when lockdown is over.

  3. Indulge in a project where you can explore an exsisting concept with a view to make it better.

Hopefully you have found these tips useful or at the very least have learnt a little more about yourself in terms of your dominant energy. It can be both powerful and paradigm-shifting once you have a better understanding of dominant energy and know how to work with it to improve your business and your life.

If this has piqued your interest and you want to further information, you can reach out here: OnPoint Performance – akash@onpointmortgages.com 

 
LifestylePriya RawalLifestyle, Lockdown, Flow