“Be like water making its way through cracks.” This is a saying of the legendary martial arts practitioner and actor Bruce Lee, a man who was an exemplary executor of his craft and whose view of life focused on always performing with excellence.

In explaining his vision of his work, and also of life itself, Lee chose water and its inexorable flow as a metaphor because water is both soft and powerful and flexible and persistent. With its quiet strength, water can in time overcome the most obstinate of obstacles.

This passion and desire to excel at what you do can be accessed in all walks of life, whatever one’s work might be. The mindset that helps the most in doing so has now come to be referred to as “flow.”

Flow is a concept that existed in ancient China, which assigned great value to the gentle and yet powerful flow of the forces of nature. Flow also featured in the thinking of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who described the creative process as “flow” and which he described as “the rediscovery of the seriousness of our childhood as we play.”

I discovered the principle of flow and its usefulness in enhancing productivity after many years in which I very often found it an ordeal to write as a journalist. I tried many productivity techniques from the “pomodoro technique,” which recommends working during rigorous intervals of time while using a clock, to staying up all night or waking up at dawn to write, while plying myself with coffee.

But I always did these things with a feeling of heaviness and stress.

Later, when leafing through literature on the topic of productivity, I encountered the concept of flow, which refers to a highly focused mental state that is conducive to productivity and that is often attained by athletes, musicians, and artists, all of whom engage in a creative process or one that requires a high degree of performance and results.

The idea of flow in the context of productivity was first made popular by the Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. He was inspired to use the term after talking with athletes and musicians who described their experience while performing, or creating, depending on their vocation, as being one of effortless ease. This made them feel as if they were “flowing down a river.”

A vivid example that Csikszentmihalyi gives is that of a musician who enjoys his own playing and always knows which note he will play next. He is totally immersed in his music and is not distracted by anything else. Such a musician, and likewise such an athlete, might not even be aware of where the clock is pointing, because he is following his own internal rhythm as he composes, races, or performs.

Above all, he feels joy and accomplishment merely by virtue of the fact that he is performing well. This in itself becomes his greatest reward, as opposed to being motivated by elements that are external to himself, such as material gain or the validation of others.

Flow, according to Csikszentmihalyi, is a state that anyone who is engaged in a task can attain. Following the template of the musician, flow is reached by setting a clear goal and focusing on it, all the while being present and focused and never multi-tasking or distracting one’s mind with other things.

Another important condition of flow is that the task at hand should not be beyond one’s capabilities, but at the same time should be challenging enough to be enjoyable and give its own reward when it is accomplished.

Flow attained in peak athletic performance is known as being “in the zone,” a popular expression in the world of sports, and it has been vividly manifested on the field by elite athletes who have reached the pinnacle of their discipline, such as Michael Jordan in basketball and Michael Phelps in swimming.

Their performances have seen them cut seamlessly through their tasks in a state of complete immersion in which they are oblivious to everything except for the game or goal at hand. This is an attribute of all great performers and creators in every walk of life.

While it is true that one might not always be fortunate enough to engage in all-absorbing and enjoyable activities and at the same time make a living out of them, I believe that it is within one’s ability, once one becomes aware of internal potential, to conjure up a spirit of flow even in daily tasks.

Their heaviness can be alleviated by focus and presence. If one absorbs oneself in the details of a task, with the aim of perfecting it, it will become more interesting. Interest can replace boredom if we focus on rather than shun a task and distract ourselves from it.

I personally apply the concept of flow to two activities that are very important to me: writing and swimming.

Whenever I have an article that I must write, I will intentionally put myself in a relaxed mode beforehand. I cut out all interactions with other people by putting my phone on silent mode. It is only then that I become free in my own mind and can begin to clear spaces within it. I might listen to music or even a podcast (no screens) whose content can help me prepare for the article that I am about to write as a form of mental warming up.

I might also do something that is totally unrelated to the task that I am about to undertake such as preparing a cup of Turkish coffee and enjoying its slow mixing on a very low fire. With every stir of the spoon, and each sinking of the softly textured coffee into the water, my mind seems to become more – “homogenous” is the only word that I can use to describe it – just like the coffee that is blending with the water.

I clear my desk and begin to write because the ideas are now emerging from a more spacious and relaxed state of mind.

Flow is at its greatest, both literally and metaphorically, when I prepare for my other prized activity, which is swimming. I swim because I love it regardless of any benefit or external reward.

The night before, all the swimming gear is packed and set in a bag by the door. Before I head to the swimming pool, I have already set a clear and definite goal: 45 laps of freestyle swimming for 30 minutes as the drill of the day.

Riding the wave of effortless performance, I plunge into the water and flow.

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* A version of this article appears in print in the 15 August, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly