In my last post, I shared how the Japanese concept of ikigai, your reason for being, often reveals itself in the small, everyday moments of work. I ended by promising to explore one of those moments more closely: flow.
Flow is that state when you’re so immersed in what you’re doing that you lose track of time. You’re focused but not tense, challenged but not overwhelmed. The edges blur, and for a little while, it’s just you and the work.
I’ve noticed that my own “flow triggers” tend to pop up in several familiar places:
- Writing a blog post and realizing I’ve been deep in it for hours without checking my email once.
- Creating content or images and thinking, this captures exactly what I meant.
- Planning an event and watching the pieces fall into place like a puzzle.
- Being in a conversation where ideas and connections spark so naturally that the rest of the room fades away.
These aren’t headline-making moments, but they leave me energized long after they’re over. And I’ve come to see them as markers that I’m working in my “ikigai zone”, that sweet spot where meaning, skill, and enjoyment meet.
The challenge, of course, is that our workdays are rarely designed for flow. We’re interrupted, overscheduled, pulled in a dozen directions. That’s why I’ve been paying more attention to what helps me find it and what pulls me out of it. A clear block of time. The right amount of challenge. A sense of purpose in the task itself.
What about you?
When does work stop feeling like work and start pulling you in?
And how might you make a little more space for that this week?
By: Elizabeth Hill, MWI Director of Communications and Development and Co-Editor of Ombuzz