When you bring up productivity, people immediately start comparing things… measuring things.
HOW MUCH MORE productive?
HOW many more widgets?
How much bigger?
How many pounds?
How many more customers?
How many more dollars?
As a race, we’ve come up with all kinds of ways to measure all kinds of things too!
What MATTERS, to you, now, though? THAT is the question.
For most of us, we’ve come up with a process that we use to generate a livelihood – money, security, etc…
Our job, for example – we measure ourselves however the company decides to measure us. At Intel, it was called the ‘Ranking And Rating’ system. Every year, we were ‘subjected’ to R&R!
In the Navy, it was ‘Evaluations’! oh man…
memories flooding in!
Well, if you are building a business, the list of things YOU can evaluate are endless.
What MATTERS depends on what you WANT.
If you want continuous growth, and YOU are in charge – YOU growing is probably pretty important to you. If not, we REALLY should talk soon! 🙂
HOW though?
Yes, you ARE measured, by your results, all the time. THAT is ACTUALLY ‘where you WERE’ though! (results typically lag personal growth, right?)
HOW then?
My suggestion: Measure your PERFORMANCE by measuring your ‘time in flow’! “HOW THE HELL DO I DO THAT, CLAY?” is typically the next enthusiastic thing someone says.
- Understand flow – do you?
- Build a flow launch and landing routine
- Establish at least 2 flow sessions a day…
THEN – it’s time to start measuring!
(If you have’t established a consistent ‘In Flow Work Session Strategy’, here’s how I can help you: LINK)
There is a very obvious thing you can measure: Time In Flow. That is where most people stop. It’s easy. You can get into flow, and work until you drop, or you can establish those previously mentioned sessions – HIGHLY recommended!
Then, you can grow the number of sessions – that’s pretty easy to measure.
Next, DEPTH!
It just makes sense that if you’re only skimming the surface of flow, or if you are ‘DEEP’ into a LIFE AND DEATH state of flow -you are going to perform at different levels. Right?
So – HOW can you measure THAT?
Everyone of us is different, but the short answer is this: Build your scale. Your experiences, so far, have given you both a 1 and a 10 on this state of flow scale… for reference, here’s a few of my markers:
- Completely absent. Completely unaware of my existence, connected to everything: road, bike, trees, shadows, sunlight spots and the deer.
- My reaction after I got off bike, when I was asked: “Are you OK?” and all I could say was: “I didn’t F’n CRASH!” – over and over, repeatedly. I was AWARE ‘I was’, but I was out of control and in a level of shock. Tingles everywhere, sweating -but cold, brain was exploding with awareness of everything, in a tiny spot right in front of me.
- Before a bike ride – methodically checking tire pressures, gear, lights, putting on gear. Almost robotically doing what is required, but forcing myself to pay attention.
- spacey, looking around, actively seeking distraction. Feeling detached, empty inside with no drive – no purpose…
Here’s the thing – these are some of MY ‘depths of flow’ examples. It takes weeks for most to develop a fully usable scale for themselves. Testing and evaluating the scale itself is obviously required to make it truly effective for you.
When you are focusing on growing your ability to control your mind, YOU ARE focusing on what is ‘needed’ to grow your mind, your business, your relationships… YOU ARE focusing on what truly matters.
This scale concept is for expert flow users. If you’re not already in control of your “In The Zone” patterns, maybe developing a scale and becoming more intentional will help you grow control over your entry and exit into and out of flow!
This is a topic we discuss, a lot, in the Enthused Monthly Membership. To learn more about flow, or the membership: LINK.
Your awareness of your ability to actually control your mind will take your performance to the next level! Build your Flow Measurement System, and start testing it!
