Rían Doris, Co-Founder & CEO of Flow Research Collective, discusses reclaiming time by eliminating life maintenance tasks and prioritizing flow-inducing activities. Learn about dumb optimization, streamlining tasks, and optimizing for fulfillment to lead a more productive and fulfilling life.
Lower life maintenance load by prioritizing meaningful activities for enhanced focus and peak performance.
Regularly audit and eliminate non-essential tasks to optimize time for meaningful engagement and flow state.
Deep dives
Understanding Life Maintenance Load and Autotelic Activities
Life maintenance load refers to the everyday tasks that consume time and energy, such as food preparation, commuting, errands, and household repairs. These tasks, while necessary, do not contribute to progress or enjoyment and can impede personal growth. Autotelic activities, on the other hand, are intrinsically motivated activities that bring joy and fulfillment, like learning, hiking, or spending time with loved ones. Engaging in autotelic activities drives flow state, enhances focus, and triggers the release of dopamine, leading to increased motivation and engagement.
Eliminating Life Maintenance Load for Peak Performance
To achieve peak performance and maximize productivity, it is essential to lower life maintenance load by eliminating non-essential tasks that drain time and energy. By prioritizing autotelic activities and reducing the burden of mundane chores, individuals can create more space in their schedule for meaningful pursuits that lead to flow. The strategy is to identify and remove life maintenance activities that contribute minimally to fulfillment and focus on activities with high autotelic value.
Maintaining a Low Life Maintenance Load
Once life maintenance activities are eliminated, it is crucial to continually trim back any creeping burdens. Regularly auditing and eliminating tasks that do not align with intrinsic enjoyment helps maintain a low life maintenance load and preserves space for autotelic activities. By cultivating an abundance mindset and proactively managing life maintenance activities, individuals can optimize their time for meaningful engagement, flow, and overall peak performance.
Exotelic tasks are stealing your time.
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ABOUT ME
Rían Doris is the Co-Founder & CEO of Flow Research Collective, the world’s leading peak performance research and training institute focused on decoding the neuroscience of flow states and helping leaders and their teams unlock flow states consistently.
Clients include Accenture, Audi, Facebook, Bain & the US Airforce. Along with being listed on Forbes 30 Under 30 Rian's thought leadership has been featured in Fast Company, PBS and Big Think and he hosts Flow Research Collective Radio, an iTunes top 10 science podcast.
Rían is also the Executive Chairman & Owner of Consulting.com. On the side, Rian does some angel investing in health and performance companies like Levels Health, Neurohacker Collective, The Way & Myodetox.
Rían holds a degree in Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE) from Trinity College Dublin, an MSc in Neuroscience at King's College, London and an MBA. Rian is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Birmingham—focusing on how flow states affect perceived meaning in life.
Prior to co-founding Flow Research Collective with Steven Kotler, Rian worked with NYT Bestselling Author Keith Ferazzi, and 12X NYT Bestselling Author Dr. Dan Siegel, distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
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