In flow, the brain releases norepinephrine, dopamine, endorphins, anandamide, and serotonin. In fact, according to these same McKinsey researchers, if we could increase the time we spend in flow by 15-20%, overall workplace productivity would almost double.Īt the heart of this doubling sits a complicated cascade of five neurochemicals which, when combined, accomplish intrinsically what most organizations fail to achieve by fiat. This means, if you can spend Monday in flow, you’ll get as much done as your steady-state peers do in a week. In a 10-year study conducted by McKinsey, top executives reported being five times more productive in flow. It shows up anywhere, provided certain initial conditions are met - and that includes the world of business.

In my book, The Rise of Superman, I examine how extreme athletes - surfers, snowboarders, skydivers, and others - have used flow to lift athletic performance to levels unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, but the much more important point is that anyone can tap this state.

In this state, we are so focused on the task at hand that all else falls away. In flow, every action, every decision, arises seamlessly from the last. Technically defined as an “optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best,” the term takes its name from the sensation it confers. So how can we keep up? In a word - and according to an ever-increasing pile of evidence - “flow.” Everywhere we look in business, timetables once measured by calendars can now be clocked by egg timers.

Flow on effects environment