Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Summary
A book that's based on scientific study of people when they are in "flow" or in the "the zone". Read it; evaluate your own experiences
(at work or play) - when you are in flow - and then, use that information to make more of your life in the flow. All work and play -
even the most mundane tasks - can be turned into flow. The trick is to make it a game with most of the components of flow.
Notes on Flow - Eight Components of Flow Experience
1. A Clear Goal - Knowing what you want to do in any given moment is a key element of the flow experience.
2. Feedback - You need to be able to tell if you are getting closer to your goal or not.
3. Challenges Match Skills - It is important that what you do matches your ability to do it.
4. Concentration - Total attention onto one task.
5. Focus- Focus on only one task.
6. Control - When you are in flow you feel that you can be in control of your actions and experience.
7. Loss of Self-Consciousness - There is no room for relentless self-monitoring.
8. Transformation of Time - Time seems to adapt itself to your individual experience.