Chances are that at some point in your life you have become so focused on a single task that you failed to notice the passage of time around you. This phenomenon is known as a state of flow. For me, I have experienced flow while drawing, watching TV or a movie, and playing videogames. To induce a state of flow, three components are needed; a clearly defined goal, a goal that is meaningful to you, and a goal that is at the edge of your abilities but not beyond them. Put these three conditions together and it is likely you will fall into a flow. However, a state of flow is not guaranteed.
It is important to remember a state of flow is fragile. Any distractions from what you are trying to focus on will break your flow. When you try to complete multiple tasks, commonly referred to as multi-tasking, your brain is juggling its responsibilities by switching focus between tasks. Splitting your attention decreases your focus on each task. Think of multi-tasking as trying to frost cupcakes with too little frosting. To cover all the cupcakes, you spread frosting thin on each one. As a result, the cupcakes are lacking in frosting, a component often considered essential to cupcake eating. Multi-tasking is much the same way, because you are spreading your focus too thin. Therefore, flow requires you to monotask to put all your focus on one task at hand to create the best product possible. In opposition of flow, one form of multitasking often distracts in the modern day.
Though digital technology has become essential to our everyday life, it is also a common source of distraction. Every time you check your phone, your focus goes to it. Then when you try to go back to your original task, your brain must backtrack to remember what it was doing before. Therefore, if you check your phone while you are trying to get into a state of flow, you break your state of flow. Personally, I know that my phone often distracts me. Even while doing something I enjoy, like playing a video game, I will often pause to check my phone. Then within the time I was looking at my phone, I completely forget what I was doing in the game. This is because my brain is backtracking to remember what I was doing before.
In short, to fall into a sense of flow, a clear, meaningful, and challenging but attainable goal is needed. For the best product, you must focus on only the task at hand, and you must resist the siren call of Instagram Reels.