Flow??

This week my teacher gave us an assignment. We were supposed to use Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's techniques to measure flow. This test would help me and my other classmates learn about how we mastered things. We conducted the experiment by setting 40 reminders on our phones to go off and random times, then we wrote down what we were doing, how we were feeling and if we were in flow. 

Over the past two weeks I did not find myself in flow very often. The only time I did was when I was taking a test, in Language Arts, where I had studied and knew all of the material. My thoughts and ideas about the book we were required to read just seemed to flow onto paper. (No pun intended.) 

Different times of day seemed to alter my mood significantly. In the middle of the day I was anxious or bored, and became more relaxed as the day went on. The most stressful time of day was when school started every morning. The different days of the week also altered the patterns of how I felt. At school we have three classes a day. It so happens that I have all of my easy classes on one day and all of my hard classes on the other. Obviously I was more stressed on the days with my hard classes, and the stress seemed to carry through the night on those days.    

The weekend also differed from week days. On the weekend I was relaxed or in control more often. I felt this way while being out with my family or watching a movie. While during the week I'm stressed and anxious about homework assignments and tests. 

Another big impact was who I was with at the time. I was more stressed when I was with my mom because we don't get along, and more relaxed or in control with my dad.  He and I do things that tend to interest me more; like going on a walk down the river and taking pictures. With him I felt more relaxed and in control.  

I could reduce the moments when I felt disengaged or distracted by doing important things when I'm most focused, which is about five or six pm. I could structure my day better and release more stressed by spacing out time in between important things I need to do during the day.  

Through this project I realized that I have more extrinsic motivations that internal, especially with school. I know this because I have more anxiety if I don't have time to do my homework compared to if I don't have time to do more of my hobbies. For example, if I don't finish an assignment I'll feel nervous until I complete it or talk to my teacher about it. But if I don't have time to go on a run, I'll just brush it off and make an excuse to do it later. 

The main form of intrinsic motivation I have has to do with my pictures. I love being behind my camera for hours. It's intrinsic considering I don't get paid for it and I do it on my own time. It's important to have intrinsic motivations among your extrinsic motivations. Having something that you love to do purely because it makes you happy is a good outlet from other problems and a great stress reliever.