Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book “Flow” explores the concept of flow, a state of optimal human experience where individuals are fully immersed and highly focused on an activity. Understanding flow, the structure of flow like experience and how to plan for and cultivate flow in your life and work can increase how much you enjoy activities like programming that are very conducive to flow experiences. We can use our understanding of flow to achieve increased focus, productivity and creativity in our work. I’ve found memorising this material keeps it top of mind when, for example, I’m coaching engineers on how to structure their day. However, it doesn’t have to be all about work - I also find climbing, cooking, music listening and playing with my kids to be good times to think about flow.