Flow
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi · first published 1990
57% recommend40% neutral3% critical
Why HN recommends it
Framework for understanding happiness, focus, and enjoyable work through the flow state, including the flow channel chart balancing challenge and skill. Suits creatives, engineers, and anyone wanting more engaged days.
Common criticism: Some question its scientific rigor, citing introspective methods and replication concerns
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's famous investigations of "optimal experience" have revealed that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state called flow. During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life. In this new edition of his groundbreaking classic work, Csikszentmihalyi demonstrates the ways this positive state can be controlled, not just left to chance. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience teaches how, by ordering the information that enters our consciousness, we can discover true happiness and greatly i
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I highly recommend the book "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Mihaly is well respected professor of psychology and management at Claremont University. I don't say this lightly - there is no other…
on “Flow” ↗…so, and another that flopped (all eBay selling software). New projects weren't having as much an impact and making me feel good, so I sat around reading books. A turning point came when I read two: Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and On Writing by Stephen King. The first teaches we get optimal experience out of what we spend our attention on. It really got me psyched about chasing that feeling of being…
on “Steps to Turn Off the Nagging Self-Doubt in Your Head” ↗One of my favorite quotes from his book, Flow: "The ultimate test for the ability to control the quality of experience is what a person does in solitude, with no external demands to give structure to attention. It is relatively easy to become involved…
on “Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has died” ↗You should read the book "Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, titled: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. He claims that Flow is (more easily) achieved when Skill level and Challenge level are both very high.
on “Thinking on Your Feet” ↗…Friedrich Hayek The Worldly Philosophers, by Robert Heilbroner The Story of Philosophy, by Will Durant Grammatical Man, by Jeremy Campbell Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig Flow, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
on “Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?” ↗This review is for a relatively new book. I prefer the classic(there's a section - flow in sex for the curious.[had to mention as it has been sexytime last couple days here with orgasms and all!]. If you need the classic : http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060920432/ Flow:The Psychology of Optimal…
on “Finding flow” ↗Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi AMZN blurb: You have heard about how a musician loses herself in her music, how a painter becomes one with the process of painting. In…
on “Ask HN: Interesting (Non software) books?” ↗This reads like taken right out of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi http://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Mihaly-Csik..., a book that has had tremendous effects on my day to day life. Actually…
on “Enjoying the moment” ↗If you really want to know what it takes to live a happy life, read the book Flow [1] by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. It's the best book I've ever read on happiness and reading it has positively changed my life like nothing else. [1] http://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Mihaly-Csik...
on “A 75-Year Harvard Study Finds What It Takes To Live A Happy Life” ↗This article strikes a chord for me. I also read a book sometime back, called Flow [1] by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi which draws similar conclusion and is good, quick read. And then I feel sad, because all the effort to seek that personal connect with work at my current workplace, have…
on “What Makes Work Meaningful or Meaningless” ↗Flow https://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Perennial-... Antifragile https://www.amazon.com/Antifragile-Things-That-Disorder-Ince... High Output Management https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/d...…
on “Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?” ↗I really loved the book in combination with the book Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. In Deep Work are several strategies explained to get into a state of flow by doing deep work. [0] - [0] https://www.robinwieruch.de/lessons-learned-deep-work-flow/
on “Ask HN: How to maintain focus during long, critical-thinking intensive, tasks” ↗I expect to see many negative comments here, but I'll add that one of the most profound books I've read is Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (https://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Perennial-...). In it, he observes that it's also possible to create positive flow-like…
on “Apple's Tim Cook: If You Work Only for Money, You Will Never Be Happy – Fortune” ↗If you are looking for books about getting your attention back, I can only recommend Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi [0] and Deep Work by Cal Newport [1] I wrote an extensive blog post about both books (which happened to be on HN too), because they are kinda life changing. - [0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66354.Flow…
on “Ask HN: I feel like I've destroyed my attention span. How do I get it back?” ↗Read https://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Perennial-.... Turns out it's actually mostly about finding meaning in life.
on “Ask HN: What should I do with my life?” ↗