Flow states refers to the state of feeling so drawn into what you’re doing, that time seems to disappear. It’s what you might feel while in the middle of a heated tennis match, while engaging in a meaningful project or while challenging yourself in any other venture.

Even when doing tasks that might normally seem unpleasant; such as routinely practicing the same guitar chords over and over, or doing data research that’s repetitive.

By learning to get into the flow state, you can train yourself to enjoy the tasks that you previously found unpleasant. Because the tasks are actually enjoyable rather than just a chore, you’ll be more motivated to do it again next time around, and to do an even better job of it than before.

Here’s how to get into that flow state regularly.

==>Make it Challenging

The flow state comes about by making something challenging for yourself. The goal is to make it challenging enough that you’re stretching yourself, but not so challenging that the task seems impossible or daunting.

If you find yourself getting bored, you’re probably not challenging yourself enough. On the other hand, if you’re getting discouraged or frustrated, the task it probably too challenging and you need to scale it a step back.

Often times the task itself may not be challenging enough to keep you entertained. For example, if you’re transcribing a recording from a meeting, how is that going to challenge you?

The answer, it turns out, is that you need to come up with your own challenges. This comes from setting very, very specific goals, often around one particular skill or area.

==>Setting Ultra Specific Goals

Setting broad goals, such as where you want to be or how much you want to earn in a year is important; but setting very specific goals is even more important. Especially when it comes to flow and self-motivation.

Pick one specific area to improve on at a time. Make it very specific, and make sure it’s something that you can get immediate feedback or metrics on.

Let’s pick two examples: Tennis and transcription.

Tennis. Instead of saying "I want to win tournament X" or "I want to be in X rank," which are great goals but won’t help you achieve flow, set a very specific goal that you can get immediate feedback on. For example, "I want to be able to hit a ball on the opposite side of the court 6 out of 10 times." You can then practice and keep challenging yourself until you hit that goal, which is very achievable for you.

Transcription. In what might seem like a boring job or task, how can you motivate yourself? In this case, you might challenge yourself by trying to type as fast as you can and by creating typing speed goals. This will built a valuable life skill for you, increase your earnings per hour (assuming you’re paid by project,) and help you stay focused and entertained as you try to beat your own times.

The crux of getting into flow states, where you’re so engaged that it’s entertaining and motivating even if the tasks themselves are not, is to pick specific challenges and goals that are achievable for you but are still a stretch. Then go for them 100%.