In 1994-95, during the placement season at IIT Kanpur, I desperately wanted a job at a company called Hughes Software Systems. Today, hardly anyone has heard of the company, but back then, it was a leader in computer networking — a red hot area (almost like what AI is today).
But there was a deal-breaker: I knew NOTHING about computer networking. I had not done any course on that topic — not to mention that even in the courses I did, I would be hopelessly pathetic (at least till the night before the end-semester exam).
So I went to my buddy Shaleen Saxena, the resident genius of our wing, and asked him how I could crack the technical test.
Shaleen showed me a book, flagged some 200 pages, and said: “I don’t know how you can do this but if you can read through and understand these portions, you will be ready for the exam.”
I immediately went to the library, borrowed the book, and got started.
The book described the concepts so well that without any prior background, everything started clicking. Soon, I was learning about ethernet, collision detection multiple access (CDMA), 7 layers of OSI model, and so on.
I had only a day and a half before the pre-placement test. So my mind let go of everything else and I got laser-focused. And over the next few hours, I learned more than I normally did in 1-2 months. I read through the 200 odd pages at breakneck speed, and the next day, I wrote the pre-placement test.
Out of some 60 odd candidates, the company shortlisted 5-6 people. And I was one of them, probably the only one to have studied the topic for 1.5 days vs. most others, who had done multiple courses in the subject.
And nobody was more surprised than me since I was generally an aimless duffer at IIT.
Looking back, I think I know what happened – I got into the flow state, where I got completely absorbed in what I was doing. As a result, my mind was at its peak capacity during that period.
What is flow?
Normally our attention is consumed by multiple sight, sounds, thoughts, and so on. But sometimes, something grabs our attention so completely that we even lose track of time. That state of complete absorption is called flow.
It unleashes your peak capacity and most Olympic athletes report being in the flow state when they break world records.
So what are the conditions of flow?
There are some eight-odd conditions that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi talks about but here are the most important ones (explained using my experience):
- You have a clear short-term goal: In the above story, my goal was to complete those 200 pages of the book.
- The task is challenging, but not too much – i.e., the challenge level equals your ability: The book I was reading was not super mathematical or too hard, but it did require some ability. So I found it very readable, but still challenging enough to be interesting.
- Intense focus: Since I had very limited time for the preparation, my mind was able to let go of everything else and get fully immersed.
The end result was such deep absorption that in those 1.5 days, I understood the topic so well that even today, almost 30 years later, I can recount many of the concepts from just that one reading.
Such is the power of intense focus.
But why should this matter to us?
Because when we get caught up in busy work, non-stop meetings, emails, and multitasking, we feel that we don’t have enough time. Yet, what we don’t realize is that even 2 hours of deep focus spent on a high value task can give you more value than days and weeks of busy work and fire-fighting.
Think of flow state as the recipe for Olympic-level performance in our daily lives.
And it is accessible to all of us – it doesn’t require any special ability or mindset. Even if you don’t experience the full-fledged flow state, good focus is still extremely powerful.
If you can manage even 2 hours of deep focus every day, you will outperform someone who does 14 hours of distracted work and firefighting.
We all crib about ‘time management.’ But we are solving the wrong problem. We don’t need more time, but more focus.
If you can step out of constant firefighting, email-checking, and multitasking, and find a way to bring in that deep focus, you will discover the best version of yourself.
You don’t need anything else – this is the recipe for success, happiness, and escape from the drudgery of distracted work.
I hope you will give it a shot. And do share with me how it goes – I would love to read about your experiences.
Thank you for reading this.
Rajan
P.S. When you’re ready to build deep focus into your daily routine, Zen Productivity can guide you there, step by step.
It’s our flagship program where we help you reduce mental clutter, and create a simple but powerful system for consistent focus and deep work. Learn how to do your best work without burning out.