Flow (or Flowhack) - Being more effective

Lifehack

According to the ubiquitous wikipedia:

"Life hacking refers to any productivity trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method to increase productivity and efficiency, in all walks of life; in other words, anything that solves an everyday problem in a clever or non-obvious way might be called a life hack."

Flow AKA Flowhack

Flow (Flowhack) is my word for reducing the total number of steps anything requires from the first action (Start) to the last action (Finish) by at least one.

Flowhack is an extension of Lifehacking. It attains the same goal of productivity and efficiency but focuses on reducing the hump of starting and finishing something making it easier to get things done. 

The idea is:

1. to maximize efficiency
2. to maximize productivity
3. to simplify the process to be so stupidly simple that you can do it without even thinking about it minimizing the mental energy (or hurdle). A reduced sequence where your muscle memory takes over when possible or a mental routine kicks in involuntarily where needed.

The ideal state to reach is 0-steps or in other words fully automated not requiring any intervention from you (though someone else may need to do an action). The more likely best case solution usually would be 1 to 3 steps meaning it is quick and easy to do and so you just get through it without any procrastination or reluctance.

Another way to state it would be:

A targeted micro-scale efficiency solution for effectiveness, efficiency, productivity, and proactivity.

Three important elements to consider:

1. being extremely organized is crucial for this to work 
2. having items (physical or software) that take care of things for you to reduce the steps (e.g. a coin sorter for the change you gather)
3. having prominent and noticeable items with a designated purpose to help with building mental routines/triggers (e.g. that fancy mug paraphernalia from your favorite hobby as you will use it more often and rinse immediately)
4. minimizing incompatible or inefficient purchases and replacing things in your existing environment is important for this to work well.

This does mean you will usually buy things that might be more niche and hence more expensive and will be replacing something or other that you already have with something new that is better for the Flowhack. You will also want to plan out your purchases with the overall workflow in mind to ensure it keeps you organized and reduces steps and not simply collect a new set of disparate items.

However, don't feel overwhelmed, though it is a goal to work towards it is not an instant solution, your methods may vary and it will take time to slowly develop them.

Note: For those comfortable with the GTD terminology, the idea is to turn everything in your sequence into a quick simple series of 'Next Actions' except the reminders or ticklers are your muscle memory and mental routines.