Zach’s Story

Flowing with School Work:

I experience flow when I’m working through complex math problems. I find it enjoyable and challenging to look for solutions to difficult problems, and I feel like working through the problems engages all of my skills and abilities. I tend to lose track of time when I’m working through something, which can be good and bad because I sometimes forget to eat or take care of other responsibilities. I also find that I’m motivated to work on problems that I wasn’t specifically assigned—I start doing work not because I’m assigned to do it, but because I enjoy it. 

When I’m working on a problem, I feel smart, capable, and in a way, powerful. I feel like I’m experiencing what it means to be human, what it means to learn, and what it means to grow. I forget about any other problems I have in life because I don’t have to focus on anything but the numbers in front of me. I enjoy the experience of being one with the math problem. 

However, homework is not always a flow experience for me. Sometimes, assignments don’t use all of my cognitive abilities—they may be simple, and I may view them as busy work. Sometimes, I wait to do my homework until right before it’s due, and I generally fail to find problems enjoyable when I’m worrying about getting them done on time. Sometimes, I can’t figure out the next step in the problem, and that tends to make it difficult to focus on the problem.

I’ve figured out how to make working on math enjoyable. I try to make sure I start my assignment well before it’s due. I also sometimes work in the TA lab, where I can ask for help if I run into a problem I can’t figure out. As I’ve worked to create habits conducive to flow in my math homework, it has become something that I genuinely enjoy. I’m glad that I’ve been able to learn how to make an experience that is sometimes difficult enjoyable.