# Flow

The mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.

The mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.

### Takeaways

-   Flow occurs when there is a balance between the difficulty of a task with the level of skill at the given task. It’s characterized by intense and focused concentration on the present, combined with a sense of total control.

-   A task that’s too difficult leads to heighten frustration while a task that’s too easy can lead to boredom. Finding the right balance requires matching the challenge with skill of the user.

-   Design for flow by providing the necessary feedback so that the user know what action has been done and what has been accomplished.

-   Optimize for efficiency and system responsiveness by removing any unnecessary friction, and making content and features available for discovery to avoid disengagement with the interface.

### Origins

  Flow was coined by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in 1975 and has been widely referred to across a variety of fields (and is particularly well recognized in occupational therapy), though the concept has been claimed to have existed for thousands of years under other names.

  Source

### Further Reading

###
    The 3 design principles for creating flow

  Rahul Vohra | Superhuman

###
    Designing For Flow

  Jim Ramsey | A List Apart

###
    7 Steps to Achieving Flow in UX Design

  Elaine Tran | UX Collective

###
    Beyond Task Completion: Flow in Design

  Dana Chisnell | UX Magazine

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Source: https://lawsofux.com/flow/
Category: Psychology
Tags: usability, focus, time