The document discusses finding flow in one's career and life. It defines flow as a state of optimal experience where one is fully immersed and engaged in an activity. To achieve flow, tasks must provide immediate feedback and an appropriate challenge level. The document recommends seeking choice, developing self-awareness, and embracing discomfort to improve. It also emphasizes finding motivation through small, incremental wins that provide a sense of progress and meaning. Overall, the document provides guidance on developing skills, exploring new opportunities, and cultivating the right mindset to discover one's flow and career path.

1. Find your
career flow
(and help others find theirs)
Emily Ross, @inkvinetweets

2. The careers of the future do not yet exist.
According to Dell Technologies and the Institute For The Future (IFTF) 85% of the jobs that will exist in
2030 haven't even been invented yet.
How can you prepare for what you can’t see?
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3. Prepare to leap.
Part of your career journey is going to
require you to take leaps of faith.
You’ll need to try things out and to be
prepared to fail. Especially at the start of
your career, its OK to try new things, and
venture down different paths.
Don’t stress about your career path
looking messy. And don’t worry about
what others think. You only have one life,
and its not easy finding the right path.

4. What’s not on
your CV?
What’s the worst job you’ve ever had? You learn
more about yourself by examining what’s not on
your CV!
Consider making a list of all the jobs not on your
CV. What did you learn about yourself in it? How
can you use that to shape your future journey?
The worse a job is, the more you learn. About
what to avoid, about how to handle conflict,
how to make better decisions, and how to find
your FLOW.

5. Recognise the pivotal
moments.
Look back on the roles that you’ve had, and
ask yourself – which roles did I have that
gave me the most meaning. Or perhaps,
which tasks within certain roles did I really
enjoy? Loo for the commonalities in roles
and responsibility, where you were given
positive feedbac, where you felt valued and
where you felt you belonged.
Learn to recognise the factors that allowed
you to grow and flourish.

6. TAKE A MOMENT
When was I last ‘in the
zone’?
What was I doing?
How can I do more of
that?

7. Let’s talk about
flow
Follow on twitter @emilyjaneross

8. What is Flow
Theory?
Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi became fascinated by
artists who were so lost in their creative work
that they would lose track of time and even
ignore food, water, and sleep. Through his
research, he noticed a similar experience
with scientists, athletes, and authors.
A sense of happiness, or creative ecstasy.
Flow: A state of hyper-focus and complete
engagement that can be described as
“optimal experience”.

9. Mihaly Csiksentmihalyi on Flow
https://www.ted.com/talk
s/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi
_on_flow?language=en
“When you are really involved in this
completely engaging process of creating
something new, he doesn't have enough
attention left over to monitor how his body
feels, or his problems at home. He can't
feel even that he's hungry or tired. His
body disappears, his identity disappears
from his consciousness”

10. Five factors identified by Csikszentmihalyi and
Nakumara as vital for achieving a state of flow.
1. Your tasks must be rewarding
2. Clear goals and a sense of progress needed
3. There’s immediate feedback (to enable agency)
4. Requires intense focus on the now
5. Challenge must match the perceived skills
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11. Mentors
come in all
shapes and
sizes.

12. How do
Lobsters Grow?
Rabbi Dr. Abraham Tweski is an
author, clinical director and
Professor of Psychiatry.
His clinical career specialises in
addiction, self-improvement and
ethical behaviour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcUAIpZrwog

13. Bud Cadell –
The Future Of Work
The time we spend at work should amount
to a legacy we're proud of.
We should have the opportunity to find
personal meaning at work.

14. WHAT WE DO
WELL
WHAT WE
CAN GET
PAID TO DO
WHAT WE
WANT TO DO
LEARN TO
MONETISE
FLOW
LEARN TO
SAY NO
Diagram credit: Bud Caddell (NOBL)
GET
BETTER

15. Saying no:
may mean
you will be
poor.
Follow on twitter @emilyjaneross

16. Getting Better: Metacognition
Learn to set goals
Analyse tasks
Figure out what you need to do
Make adjustments in the moment
Reflect on progress
Follow on twitter @emilyjaneross

17. Think like an athlete.
To improve, you must
accept a certain level
of discomfort.
Rowing hurts. And its not about how fit your
are. Or how strong you are.
It’s about how willing you are to endure
physical discomfort, for the privilege of
winning. You have to want to win. You have
to have resilience and grit.
You have to endure.
Nothing great comes easy. However, when
you have flow, it FEELS EASY.

18. Small wins
every day bring
motivation and
meaning
THE PROGRESS PRINCIPLE
Research published in the Harvard Business Review
showed that nothing contributes more to a positive
inner work life than making progress in meaningful
work, while small losses can have an extremely
negative effect. The work doesn’t have to be curing
cancer, it must only matter to the person doing it.
Take satisfaction in the tiny,
incremental achievements.
It’s the secret to greatness!

19. How to find your flow
• Find your motivation
• Make time to truly evaluate your experiences
• Seek choice, agency and regular feedback
• Develop metacognition
• Welcome ‘uncomfortable’
• Find a way to monetize what you love
• Find a mentor who encourages your growth
• Get steadily better with everyday wins
• Take practical actions to move closer to your desired outcome
• Embrace unconventional opportunities
Follow on twitter @emilyjaneross

20. Thank you.
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21. Resources
• Coursera: Find online courses from great universities, on topics to upskill and learn on Coursera.com
• Upwork: Freelance website (research how much you might earn, or start to sell your key skills)
• https://www.delltechnologies.com/content/dam/delltechnologies/assets/perspectives/2030/pdf/Realizing-2030-A-Divided-Vision-of-the-
Future-Summary.pdf
• Experience new areas as a volunteer: https://www.volunteer.ie/
• TED Talk about Flow: https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow
• Harvard-led research on the power of small wins: https://hbr.org/2011/05/the-power-of-small-wins
• The Progress Principle – Small wins to ignite joy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD6N8bsjOEE
• READ: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
• Guide to being a mentor: https://www.salford.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/796826/a-useful-guide-to-mentoring.pdf
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