Pop! Small pieces of confetti all over the place. What a great way to celebrate right? But not all confetti is created equal, and not all is a celebration. What am I talking about? Well, have you heard of time confetti?

Time confetti is a phrase coined by author Brigid Schulte that describes how our days have become chopped up into small pieces, with our attention scattered all over the place. The time we have to focus on important tasks, which require our full attention, has become fragmented by new email alerts, social media notifications and WhatsApp message pings. All grabbing our attention and taking it away from what we’ve set out to do.

These small but frequent interruptions force you to constantly switch context, which wastes times and slows you down, as you try to remember where you were. But most importantly time confetti stops you from getting into a “flow state”.

What is a “flow state”

It may sound like something you’d expect a martial artist or spiritual guru to teach, but flow is an important topic in the study of achievement and happiness (and what better way to stay motivated than to derive a sense of joy and happiness from what you do).

Flow is a state of mind where you are completely absorbed by an activity. One that has enough interest and challenge to hold your attention, and where complexity builds as your skills and knowledge increase.

To achieve flow you need:

• A clear goal
• A way to gain immediate feedback
• A good balance between a challenge and your skills/knowledge

If what you’re working on is unclear, there’s no way of knowing what is or isn’t working, and the activity is either too frustrating or boring, you won’t be able to get into a flow state.

But there is one important thing that you need to have before you can begin to get these elements in place. Time.

Adam Ellison

The founder and course mentor at The Monday Morning Club