Sunday, November 27, 2011

Quatrain #13: Fluidity Interrupted

I think there is something to be said about the idea of flow. The word gets used all the time to convey the essence of one's ability to get things done efficiently, and with fluidity. Workflow, for instance, is used frequently to define a pattern of efficient work habits, regardless of whether the task is being completed with traditional or digital methods. It's common jargon in a photographic context, as it's used to define the dynamism of an artist's interaction with their hardware, digital assets and software procedures, but ultimately, it defines their psychological flow of getting things done. I'd like to take this a step further by suggesting that flow also has this implied sense of patience, harmony, and even peacefulness.

If (when) my flow gets interrupted, then the disconnect becomes all the more amplified. I find it really ironic, actually. With all this flow that we can experience in this era of hyper-technology and interconnectedness, let me ask, how often does your psychological flow get disrupted by eMail, the phone, a text, a TV, or whatever else is going on around you? Ever think of just turning all that off sometimes just to find your flow?

1 comment:

  1. Couldn't agree more! If interested, a classic read on the topic can be found in Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1990). Don I absolutely love your Quatrain series! Joanne S.

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