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I started editing video’s when I was about 12 years old. First I would “direct” and act in my own short stories. Later, I would sit for hours, researching a subject, searching for footage, cutting the pieces together and, to me, most importantly; finding and aligning the perfect soundtrack for the emotion I wanted to deliver.
I would do this at the house of a family friend. He had the equipment, an extensive footage library and a wall filled with music. It was heaven. On weekends I would rush to my playground and get lost. Uninterested in external rewards, forgetting the self, losing time, forgetting to eat, hand tightly holding the mouse, my back in a uncomfortable position, eyes firmly fixed on the screen - dry from the lack of blinking. Athletes would say I was in ‘the zone’. Csikszentmihaly would call this state; ‘Flow’.
As a young girl, diagnosed with ADHD, this state was labeled as Hyperfocus. Hyperfocus is defined as extreme focus on a particular task, in which time falls away, and the task at hand becomes the only point of attention. Hyperfocus is typically experienced by people with ADHD, predominantly due to a deficit in regulating focus and the depth of attention. But I have always wondered if ADHD really is an “attention disorder”.
But I never felt I had a problem with attention, rather I felt I had a problem with control. My attention would become deeply fixed in certain tasks. But I lacked the ability to turn this ability on (or off). Hyperfocus wasn't my friend, but the state of flow I felt while editing these video's, that is what I wanted more off.
Hungarian psychology professor Mihaly Csikszentmihaly introduced the concept of; ‘Flow’.
In his TED talk he shares a quote from his interview with an American composer, which in my view, perfectly describe the feeling that I had while editing my video’s as a kid.
This is what I felt like as a 12 year old losing myself in my video projects. This is the feeling we all want and seek when we're creating. The question is, how do we avoid procrastination and strive for flow?
In the early 16th Century, Michalangelo was commissioned by the pope to paint the Sistine Chapel. He spent 5 years laying on his back; the uncomfortable position on the scaffolding putting him in daily agony. Going without food, drink and sleep. Some days he would actually lose consciousness. But, once he awoke, he immediately would return to his work.
Now, I am in no way comparing myself to this type of sacrifice and mastery, but my red eyed, hunched over 12 year old self, forgoing food and water to complete my little video's, did pop into my mind.
Csikszentmihaly wanted to understand what happens to artists like Michalangelo when they behave this way, and in 1960 he coined this state; flow’.
1. One must be involved in an activity with a clear set of goals and progress. Adding direction and structure to the task.
2. The task at hand must have clear and immediate feedback. This helps the person negotiate any changing demands and allows them to adjust their performance to maintain the flow state.
3. One must have a good balance between the perceived challenges of the task at hand and their own perceived skills. One must have confidence in one’s ability to complete the task at hand.
Point three, being the most important, and for which he designed an easy-to-remember model which you can see above. Placing ‘skill’ on the horizontal line and ‘challenge’ on the vertical. Csikszentmihaly explains that flow begins when you are doing what you really like to do while accessing and challenging your highest levels of skill.
Arousal and control are both stepping-stones to flow. In arousal, a lot of lessons are learned, and in control, one is developing greater skill. But challenge yourself above or below your skill level and you fall into a state of anxiety or relaxation, giving our friend the instant gratification monkey a stage for his tricks. We fall pray to procrastination.
This is where the flow model becomes useful as it gives us a framework to reach for flow. Only when the challenge levels are high and the skill level is high, can you reach a state of flow.
I am well aware that my editing skills as a kid were not of a “high” level. However, they were high enough that I could create what I envisioned. I loved creating with this medium, I received immediate feedback as I could rewind, play, change it if it was not right, and feel a sense of accomplishment when it was. And although my skills were high enough for my purpose I also was still being challenged as there was still so much to learn.
The flow model allows us to check in on our (and our teams) state. It can potentially give us insight into how we can enter the stepping stones to flow. Aim for arousal, strive for control and if we fall into procrastination, as we inevitably will. Asses what stage we are in (Is our skill set too low or too high for the project?), check if our project is set up to support flow (are there clear goals and is there opportunity for immediate feedback) and if needed tweak your situation to get you to the desired stepping stones to flow.
Hyperfocus might be reserved for people with ADHD but luckily flow is something we can all strive for.
