Feeling “flow” means being fully immersed in a challenging task, with a sense of energy and enjoyment. Lawyers might find flow when they have enough skilled experience to know what they’re doing and encounter a new challenge using their skills, as previously mentioned in this post. The founder of flow theory, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, created a visual model of flow:

As you can see the states inferior to “flow” reflect a mismatch between skill and challenge:

• Apathy
• Boredom
• Worry
• Anxiety

States with a closer match can be found closer to the upper-right:

• Control (but the skill slightly outweighs the challenge)
• Arousal (but the challenge slightly outweighs the skill)

In the far upper right area, where a high skill level meets a high challenge level, you find flow.

The model below is a variation on Csikszentmihalyi’s general model, tailored for lawyers and legal professionals. The examples here all focus on listening.

Please use the comments or social media to suggest other examples and share thoughts on lawyers and flow. What types of listening experiences prompt apathy or boredom? What types of experiences prompt worry or anxiety?  And what experiences may lead to flow?