The Amazing Vitamin Z

Ever wonder what makes the difference between clock-watching and losing track of time?  Wish you could get more of the energizing boost that comes from the latter?  What if I could share with you some tips on how to do just that?  And what if I told that getting there would be, at least in part, a balancing act?

O.K., let’s try this on.  Call forth a memory of an activity or an engagement during which you lost track of time.  You know, one of those instances where, at the conclusion of which you may have looked at the clock and wondered, “Where on earth did the time go?” You may have thought of yourself as operating “in the zone.”  I’ll call it getting your Vitamin Z.

The activity really can be anything.  For me, my memories of timelessness are quite diverse, from time spent re-surfacing a wall to a dinner with my mentor and from a 2.5 mile swim to writing a well note (yep, these Wednesday columns really can mean timeless bliss for me). 

Now, got your Vitamin Z memory front and center for observation?   When you’re ready ask yourself:

•   Did I have a real passion for the activity?

•   Did I have a clearly defined goal for the activity?  A goal releases us from worry about “where is this taking me?” and liberates us to enjoy the present moment.

•   Was I getting immediate feedback?  In times of timelessness (I love that), it’s likely your internal critic was off and you were sensing your activity with unobstructed enthusiasm (something like, “I can do this!”).

If you’ve identified three conditions, it’s likely that you are on your way to the identifying a flow experience (when you were “in the zone”).  The architect of flow theory, psychology professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Me-hy Chick-sent-me-hy-ee), said he named this experience flow “because so many people used the flow analogy of being carried away by an outside force, of moving effortlessly with a current of energy.”

And at the heart of Csikszentmihalyi’s state of flow is the fourth condition: the balance between challenge and skills.  As with your awareness around the three previously listed conditions of passion, goal and feedback, you can set yourself up for a flow experience by being deliberate in establishing your challenge vs. skills balance.  Here’s the trick:

To intentionally achieve flow  – and you might do this for the psychological boost and improved productivity flow produces – schedule into your day an activity where your skills (abilities) are fully engaged in a challenge that is just manageable – neither too easy nor too hard.

If your chosen activity (challenge) is too easy given your skills, the result will be boredom.  If the challenge far exceeds your skills, the result will be anxiety and frustration.  Note: For leaders, this is a good framework in which to consider assigning and monitoring projects assigned to your team members.  Important because people generally will produce their best work – and be happier in their work environment -- when this balance is struck.   It’s the often reason people perform well “under pressure” and can be observed “rising to the occasion” with a certain joie de vivre.

Here’s a simple illustration of one way I can be assured of getting my Vitamin Z through a physical activity:

In the last couple of years, I have fallen head over heels for a piece of exercise equipment at my gym called the versa-climber.  It’s one of those fitness contraptions that looks like a torture device and is ALWAYS available – because most people find it too challenging for their fitness level (creating anxiety).  Here’s how the versa-climber contributes to my flow:  Exercise is a passion for me – made even more transcendent by the addition of a great play list on my iPod Touch.  I first set my versa-climber workout goal by establishing the number of feet I want to "climb" within a certain time period.  Next I set the machine’s resistance, pace and step height at levels that challenge my fitness ability and are still manageable (high challenge to high skill match up).   Finally, as I exercise, I get immediate feedback from progress monitors and my own feeling of increased strength and endurance.

Not terribly sophisticated, very do-able – an almost magical “balancing act.”  That’s my Vitamin Z – what’s yours?

Flow.  Zone.  Balance.  It does a mind and body good.