“Put down the phone,” I bark to myself, and I know I need to. But I don’t. The device is engineered to be engaging, and the information is so intriguing – why, my social media feeds contain the latest headline news, and what my friends are doing and what they care about — which is all quite relevant to my life – and then an email arrives from a colleague with a new task awaiting my attention, a task which really matters. There’s the familiar ping – incoming text – it’s Mom with a report on what my daughter and grandson are up to. And I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit this, but I spend a lot of time on my phone doing word games, too. The dopamine hit from completing one puzzle always makes me want to start the next, and as a result I’m nearly 4,000 levels in. I do these games to help manage my stress and energy, in other words, to keep myself in the “flow.”
Indeed, I’m so absorbed, I often lose track of time. Is this not the very definition of “flow state,” the super-productive mindset that coaches, therapists, and scientists exhort us to attain?
Yes. But.
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The Long Brown Path 