Flow versus Burnout
What was I going to say? I think I had wanted to say something about “burnout” although, I can’t entirely remember what it was. This a term I’ve been hearing almost exclusively within tech (maybe because I work in tech). In fact, years ago, there was a designer I used to work with who kept a blog specifically about burnout but, I think she burned out on it. I don’t know where she is now. I would guess in the Bay Area, perhaps a proud cat and cactus mom with separate Instagram accounts to prove it and, who knows, a designer at Twitter or some other very important company. I’d love to ask her if she’s still burned out. I might say, “How’s the burnout going?” and she might reply, “Ugh. I’m beyond burned out. I’m all but depleted.” But she has her cacti to tend to so I imagine, all is right in the world.
I had a theory once, well, maybe I still have it, that I’ve tried out on a few folks who, if they knew anything about tech, have stirred in their seats with a certain amount of discomfort and if they didn’t or don’t, sort of glaze over and I imagine, are wondering what’s going to happen in the next episode of House of the Dragon.
But first, a quick exposition on the theory of “flow.” The Hungarian psychologist, Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, put forth in his book Flow, from 1990, that we are all capable of a state of deep immersion, a temporary joyful condition of existence, in an activity as long as our skill level matches the challenge.
If your expertise in, say, computer programming is rather low and the challenge is minimal, you’re capable of entering flow as your skill level, as mentioned, is equal to the challenge presented, albeit a lower state of flow. And if you’re highly skilled and presented with a greater challenge, the greater the state of flow. However, if your competencies cannot meet the difficultly of the problem or task, you risk anxiety and on the opposite end, mastery of a skill and a challenge that is far too easy, you risk boredom. In short, whatever you’re doing, to avoid anxiety or boredom, stick to problems that match your skill set and as you progress in your profession or hobby of choice, increase the difficulty over time. But what does this have to do with burnout? Yes.
Perhaps unbeknownst to those outside of tech, we operate day to day with one of several chat-based programs that are out there such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Google Chat, that keep teams “productive.” You might have something similar in your non-tech existence such as WeChat, iMessage, or Messages where you exchange texts with loved ones or even tiresome neighbors from morning to night. In fact, you might be at dinner right now with a spouse or partner who is telling you a story you’ve heard three times before and even though you’ve told them you’ve heard it before, they go right on telling it. A notification on your phone interrupts and while your partner is going on about the next election and you’re far beyond political fatigue, an opportunity for distraction presents itself, as it does in every possible life scenario assuming you have your phone within reach (and I know you do).
In order for a flow state to exist, whether high or low (and remember, we’re doing our best to avoid anxiety and boredom), you must be immersed. The mind, as far as I can tell (and Mr. Csikszentmihalyi, however that’s pronounced, might have a thing or two to put in here), is at its best in a state of flow when it is uninterrupted, otherwise, you’re incapable of a flow state. A problem cannot be solved, nor can a partner be properly heard, when the only thing that is flowing is a steady stream of texts or chats.
If a series of flow states throughout life, ideal and most likely improbable, is where the mind most comfortably does what it knows how to do best: solve problems and focus, then it would stand to reason, in my overly distracted mind, that a mind that is continuously distracted, over time, is or will become a state of burnout. What can be done? Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi’s advice is, “If you are interested in something, you will focus on it, and if you focus attention on anything, it is likely that you will become interested in it. Many of the things we find interesting are not so by nature, but because we took the trouble of paying attention to them.”
If interruptions occur every four to twelve times per hour in the workplace, what type of self-discipline is needed as we age and our ability to suppress irrelevant information decreases? In The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World by Dr. Adam Gazzaley and Dr. Larry Rosen, their main finding was that “…older adults [focus on] relevant information as well as twenty-year-olds. Where older adults suffered a deficit was in suppressing the irrelevant information…we discovered that their main attentional issue was that they are more distractible than younger adults.” With email, chat programs, general internet surfing, and TikTok (if that’s your thing), it doesn’t seem likely we stand a chance, especially so if our partner’s anecdotes are on shuffle and repeat. But perhaps there is a little hope. If any of us can withstand the overly abundant notifications, alerts, and updates from any one of our devices, we may just be able to reach even the lowest levels of flow…just try and not to age as you’re doing so.
