Flow for Project Managers

In this Podcast, Cornelius Fichtner interviews Andrew Kallman about flow in project management. Have you ever been so immersed in a task that you forgot about something else you were supposed to be doing? Well, Andrew can definitely share this experience, as he recalls, "last week, I must have missed the start of at least three scheduled meetings." In each case, I saw on my calendar that the meetings would start in an hour or less, which meant that I could probably start and finish another task before I had to be at those meetings. And each time, I got so involved in the task I was working on that I lost track of everything around me, and the meetings started without me.

This is referred to in Positive Psychology as a flow state, also known colloquially as being in the zone. This is the mental state in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does and a resulting transformation in one's sense of time.

Cornelius and Andrew discuss how flow can be applied to projects. Flow is when you know where you are headed, know what your goal is, and know the steps necessary to get there. It's like running a race. You don't plan each step along the way, but you keep your eyes on the finish line, and everything you do moves you toward it, thanks to your training.

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