This week I had grand plans to clean the engine compartment of my highlander but needed to save that for another week. I rolled out of bed Saturday morning to take my car through the car wash. This still feels like a luxury because we always washed our own cars growing up and on a tight budget car wash money is the first thing on my expense list to go. I found a place in Meridian that does an early bird special for $5 so I always go there when I'm not washing my car at home. My son caught me on my way out the door and I loved having a little buddy join me for my occupation this time.
We dried the car, washed the inside of the windows, wiped down the seats and dashboard, and vacuumed.
I'm finding I'm really enjoying my new occupation. I didn't realize how much noise having my car messy made in my head. When I put just a little effort into it everyday I appreciate the time I spend driving and riding in it. Nothing gets lost or forgotten in the backseat, and I like having something in my life feel put together.
I found the concept of flow from lecture and the article we read this week to be really interesting and something I'd like to have a part of my life more often. Flow is characterized by having a balance between the challenge of a task and skills possessed. There is an importance of clear goals, feedback, and concentration to the point of losing self-consciousness and negative thought. (Wright, Sadlo, Stew, 2007). I think I've experienced flow to a small degree with the occupation I have chosen. I don't feel like any of the projects I have done thus far have challenged my skill, but many of the other characteristics of flow have been met as I've worked on my car. I also don't think it's an activity I would ever do just for the sake of the enjoyment it gives as was explained about autotelic occupations. I have liked having clear goals, seeing the feedback of projects turning out how I want them to and losing track of time as I worked and listened to music.
In order to experience flow more often with my occupation I would need to find a few projects that challenge my skill level. It may be hard to experience flow as I'm learning especially from someone else but as I do a challenging project again on my own I can see aspects of car detailing creating a state of flow for me.
Reference
Jonathan J. Wright , Gaynor Sadlo & Graham Stew (2007) Further Explorations into the Conundrum of Flow Process, Journal of Occupational Science, 14:3, 136-144, DOI: 10.1080/14427591.2007.9686594
Hey Alissa, I also love the feeling of a clean car, it really puts me in a good mood for the entire day when one of the first things that I do is get into my truck when it is actually clean. I also like how you mentioned being lost in your occupation and the idea of music helping you get to this flow state. I think that music has the ability to almost induce a flow state in so many different settings because it really is easy to get lost in enjoyable music.
ReplyDeleteIs there any specific challenge in car detailing that you think would cause a flow state? Do you think that it is something that requires a harder or easier challenge as you being to learn?
I am learning how to cook as part of my new occupation so I think that for me the challenge almost exceeds my current level of skill to much for me to experience true flow.
Hey Owen! I agree with what you said about music, I think listening to familiar music can be the factor to induce a flow state that may not have happened if it was done in silence or when trying to participate in a conversation.
ReplyDeleteI think finding a detailing job that requires creativity would help with a flow state for me. I've always enjoyed creating and don't do much of that at this time in my life (creating a paper doesn't count). I might do a project that requires my organizing everything I keep in my car, that might be a flow project for me.
Good luck with your cooking occupation! I hope you find a few things you can make by the end that you feel confident in!