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PRODUCTIVITY

How to Be Happy and GetMore Doneby David Masters 19 Mar 2014

The trouble with thinking "I'll be happy when..." is that it's actually a path tounhappiness. That's because while you fall short of your goal, you're telling yourselfthat you shouldn't be happy. Even when you reach the end of the road and get whatyou wanted, it can feel like an anti-climax.

Success coach Michael Neill explains this conundrum:

The moment we set a goal in place, most of us stop livingfully in this moment and begin living in a series ofcomparative "nows", where whatever is happening now isevaluated in the light of how well we think we're doing atreaching our new goal. If we think we're making progress,we allow ourselves to feel good; if we think we're still too faraway or are never going to get there, we feel worthless,stressed out, pressured, hopeless, frustrated, angry, and ahost of other emotions that follow our insecure thinking likepuppies on a leash. So while setting goals may well help usto achieve goals, they're extremely counter-productive as apathway towards a happy and fulfilling life.

What can you do then, if you want a "happy and fulfilling life"? Neill's conundrumleaves you with two possible choices:

Stop setting goals and scrap your to-do list. Obviously, as you're reading anarticle on productivity, this isn't particularly helpful. Even monks—who are the

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epitome of people pursuing the ultimate satisfaction—structure their days aroundvarious tasks.Stop making your happiness conditional on you reaching your goals.

Neill's solution is the latter. He goes on to point out that when you're happy, you dobetter work. Happiness makes you more productive, and thus more likely to achieveyour aims. So why not choose to be happy every day, instead of making yourhappiness conditional on reaching your goals?

For Neill, being happy means being creatively engaged:

I've noticed that when I'm creatively engaged, I tend to dogood work. Good work often leads to good results, andgood results often lead to more opportunities in the world.

Neill's contention is backed up by scientific research. Studies show that a positivechange to a person's life—such as winning the lottery, or getting married—will impacttheir level of happiness for a short while. But in the long run, they'll return to a standardlevel of happiness, similar to where they've always been. As Chris Bailey, author of theblog A Year of Productivity, explains:

If you expect to become happier because you make moremoney, lose weight, get a promotion, or get more workdone, research has shown that you’re looking for happinessin the wrong place.

Given that your big goals aren't the right place to look for happiness, where should youbegin your search? Let's look at two strategies you can use to find happiness—so youcan enjoy your work every day, and get more done. These are mindfulness, and being"in the zone".

Mindfulness at Work

Mindfulness has hit the headlines in recent months as it has become a mainstream partof life in Silicon Valley. Google has a labyrinth for walking meditation and offersemployees a range of meditation courses. Ebay's offices include a meditation room.Twitter and Facebook are also getting in on the act.

The numerous benefits of mindfulness makes it easy to see why it's a practice that istaking the world by storm. According to a guide published in collaboration with HarvardMedical School, people who practice mindfulness:

Develop attitudes that contribute to a satisfied life;Find it easier to savor life's pleasures as they occur;

Are better able to fully engage in activities;Have a greater capacity for dealing with difficulties;Are less likely to get caught up in worries about success and self esteem;Are better at forming deep relationships with other people.

On top of these lifestyle advantages, mindfulness has a range of health benefits,including lower blood pressure, reduced chronic pain, and improved sleep. It can alsohelp with mental health issues, including depression, eating disorders, and anxietydisorders.

Fortunately, you don't need to work at one of the big hitters in Silicon Valley to bringmindfulness to your working life. Mindfulness is incredibly simple to learn (although ittakes a lifetime to master).

You can practice mindfulness at any time. In fact, it's probably something you alreadydo now and again. Mindfulness involves paying attention to your thoughts and feelings.To be mindful, notice how you are feeling at the present moment. Another way of beingmindful is to consciously focus all your attention on the task you are doing. The moreyou check in with yourself or maintain focus in this way, the more you are beingmindful.

Start practicing mindfulness with basic tasks, such as washing dishes. Focus all yourattention on the feel of the warm water on your hands, the pressure of the sponge onyour fingertips as you wipe the dishes clean. Once you've got the hang of payingattention while washing dishes, you can bring your mindful attention to any task.

Other ways to bring mindfulness—and happiness—to your work include:

Slowing down. Rather than rushing through your work, complete tasks slowly andmethodically. Give them your full care and attention. Ironically, you may find thatslowing down helps you get more done, as you will be less inclined to give in todistractions.Take a break from your work to focus on your breath. Don't force yourself tobreathe deeply, just notice the feel of your breath as you breathe in and out.Step back from yourself. Instead of asking "How am I feeling?" ask "How is itfeeling?" Then respond "It is happy" or "It is depressed". When you do this, youbegin to notice that you can step outside your feelings. By avoiding the word "I",you are no longer identifying with your emotions. Your true self is beyond yourfeelings, and you don't need to be controlled by how you feel.When you're in conversation, practice active listening. Focus completely on whatyour conversation partner is saying rather than allowing yourself to be distractedby thoughts of what you'll say next.Take five minutes to do nothing. During this time, allow your body to relax andyour thoughts to wander. Pay attention to where your thoughts take you, but don't

follow them if they urge you to take action. For your five minutes of doing nothing,just observe.

A practice that's similar to mindfulness is getting "in the zone". Like being mindful,getting in the zone will help you focus on your work and get more done. Let's take alook at what it means.

Getting "In the Zone"

When athletes perform at their best, they get completely absorbed "in the zone". Theirentire attention is focused on the movement of their body—though this attention comeseasily and doesn't feel like hard work. As a cyclist told a psychologist after completinga seven kilometer climb as part of a cycling race:

I was totally absorbed, 110 percent; that was all thatmattered in the whole existence. It just amazed me how Icould maintain such high concentration for three hours. I'mused to having my mind wander, especially under pressure.My body felt great. Nothing, you feel like just nothing can gowrong and there's nothing that will be able to stop you orget in your way. And you're ready to tackle anything, andyou don't fear any possibility happening, and it's justexhilarating. Afterward, I couldn't come down, I was on ahigh. I felt like I wanted to go ride, ride up that hill again.

Likewise, creative people can find themselves "in the zone", where creativity just flows.The soldier-poet Lawrence of Arabia said "happiness is absorption", and thepsychologist Rollo May put it this way:

When you are completely absorbed or caught up insomething, you become oblivious to things around you, orto the passage of time. It is this absorption in what you aredoing that frees your unconscious and releases your creativeimagination.

To get in the zone is to find happiness in your work. Being in the zone is characterizedby:

Intense and focused concentration on the task at hand;Being fully immersed in the present moment;A feeling of peaceful serenity or ecstasy—your emotions are beyond everydayreality;Inner clarity—you know what needs to be done, and you know you're doing it

well;Loss of self-consciousness—you're so absorbed in what you're doing, you don'tworry about what others will think of you;A sense of power—you feel in control over what you are doing.Losing track of time. An hour can pass in what you thought was only a fewminutes.

Hungarian psychology professor Mihály Csíkszentmihályi calls this state of being in thezone "flow". According to Csíkszentmihályi's research, it's a state anyone can enter,provided they follow certain principles.

How to Enter a State of Flow

Unlike being mindful, entering flow isn't something you can decide to do. Rather, it's anexperience that descends upon you. An anonymous poet—who described being in thezone as part of an academic research project, explained it as follows:

It’s like opening a door that’s floating in the middle ofnowhere and all you have to do is go and turn the handleand open it and let yourself sink into it. You can’t particularlyforce yourself through it. You just have to float. If there’s anygravitational pull, it’s from the outside world trying to keepyou back from the door.

Although you can't control when you fall into flow, you can increase your chances ofentering flow by tweaking your environment and the tasks you choose to work on.Here's how:

Choose a challenging task that matters to you. It's easiest to enter a state of flow whenyou're working on something that's important to you, and that you enjoy doing. If youneed help working out what's important to you, then get familiar with the EisenhowerMatrix, which will help you get your priorities straight.

The task you choose should be creative. That doesn't mean you must be an artist.There's no need to write a novel or paint a picture. Rather, it means you should beexpending your energy in the pursuit of a meaningful goal, even if that goal isephemeral. For example, an athlete creates movement and energy with his or her body.Even blitzing through your emails could be creative, as you are creating an emptyinbox.

Set aside a dedicated period of time to practice. If you are a beginner at the task, youwill need to practice before you can enter the full state of flow. Flow typically onlyhappens when you have mastered a task, or on the verge of mastering it. That said, you

can still be mindful while you practice and gain experience. And you will sometimes findflow even while you are practicing. For example, if you are learning a musicalinstrument, you may find yourself entering into a state of flow once you have mastereda basic song. Of course, you will have to go beyond that state of flow to continuelearning.

Every time you engage in the task, set clear goals for yourself. Flow thrives on a senseof accomplishment. You can only achieve it if you set a goal for yourself. An athletemight aim to complete a track within a certain time limit. A musician may decide tolearn a song, or to write a new song. If you are seeking to achieve flow in yourprofessional life, your goal may be to email five new contacts, or write a section of yourbusiness plan. The more specific the goal, the better. The goal should also besomething that's in your control to achieve. "Sell five widgets" isn't a goal you havecontrol over. "Make calls to 20 potential widget buyers" is. For more in-depth advice onsetting appropriate goals, check out our article on SMART goals.

Set aside a time when you'll be free of interruptions. This should be appropriate to thetask, and a minimum of fifteen minutes. The longer you spend absorbed in a task, themore likely you are to enter a state of flow. Allowing yourself several hours is ideal.

Once you start work on the task, focus completely on what you're doing. Practicingmindfulness will help here. You can also use the Pomodoro Technique to keep yourfocus razor sharp.

Relax your body into flow. Anxiety—even anxiety held in your body—reduces yourchances of entering the state of flow. Before you start work, or when you need a fewmoments break, focus mindfully on your breath. Stretch to ease the tension out of yourmuscles. When you return to work, sit or stand with good posture.

Your Call

Have you tried practicing mindfulness? What techniques have you found that help youpay attention?

Have you ever entered a state of flow? What tasks do you find help you discover astate of flow?

Resources

Graphic Credit: Happy designed by Megan Sheehan from the Noun Project.

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About David Masters

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David Masters is aprofessional blogger andebook writer. You can findhis books on Amazon andfollow him on Twitter.View Full Profile

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