Hi, I'm Dr. Ellen Hendrickson, and welcome to episode 23 of the savvy psychologist.

I'll help you meet life's challenges with evidence-based research, a sympathetic ear, and zero judgment.

We'll use the best of psychology to help you be happy, healthy, and most importantly yourself.

The idea for this podcast comes from Kevin Courier

who listens to the podcast from the island of Hainan in China.

He asks for tips on how to get into flow.

Flow is total absorption in what you're doing.

According to the originator of flow, psychologist

Dr. Meihai Cheeks at Meihai, we spend our days and therefore our lives

bouncing between the anxiety of whittling down our never-ending to-do list, and the boredom of passive leisure,

like watching TV or mindlessly clicking around online. By contrast, when you're in flow,

you feel in full control, focused, and unself conscious.

You have a sense that what you're doing is important and you look up and wonder where the time has gone.

An hour can pass in what seems like a moment.

So how to enter the focused fulfilling state of flow.

Here are 10 tips to help you get started.

Tip number one, choose an activity that's intrinsically rewarding.

Your drive should come from an internal wellspring.

In other words, do the activity for its own sake, not because you anticipate a big paycheck,

are trying to impress someone, or fear negative consequences otherwise.

Likewise, flow won't happen for something you're just not interested in.

You can't force flow for a project you have to do or for tedious tasks like paying bills or waiting

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