How technology can help you stay ‘in the flow’

Around this time every year, technology companies take center stage to share their latest products and innovations with the world just in time for the holidays. This is an exciting time for us as well at Microsoft, as we get to share what we have been working on. 

It also allows us to talk about our motivation and our approach to product creation. Two days ago, we had arguably one of the biggest and most ambitious announcements of new products in our Surface history with seven new Surface products – five available this holiday and two more coming in holiday 2020.

Amidst the many new Surface devices, software experiences, and partnerships, there is one common theme that permeates everything we are doing for you, our customers: To help you find and stay in the flow of whatever it is you are doing. Whether you are a student in school using a Surface Go in class and to do homework, a business person always on the go, or a head of household managing the family and a job with the Surface Studio, the devices are created to facilitate whatever you are doing in the most seamless way, so you can stay in your flow and be as creative and productive as possible.

Getting and staying in flow is a powerful concept that lets you be at your best and achieve great things. This isn’t a new concept. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, one of the leading experts on this topic covered his work in a great Ted Talk back in 2004. However, I do believe his findings are more relevant today than ever.

For me personally, I feel in the flow when I can move effortlessly from situation to situation and task to task carrying all the context and getting better with each new experience. I also feel it even when I’m surfing. To be clear, I am not an accomplished surfer, but when I do manage to catch a wave for a long ride, I feel myself rise above the specifics of the board, the temperature of the water, and the mechanics of where my feet are placed. Instead, I start to feel the magic of moving effortlessly across the water, enjoying the thrill of the ride, and a greater sense of accomplishment that transcends all the efforts it took to get there. 

Flow is also more relevant now than ever in more aspects of our everyday lives as we are increasingly using new devices and software experiences which empower us but complicate what we do. More important than yet another device with many new features, is an experience that puts us at the center and helps us unify our experience across devices.

Wednesday's announcements were full of new capabilities and technologies, but if you look a little deeper you can see the red thread of flow woven throughout the event. Some of my favorite examples:

Surface Pro X and how we now keep the new Surface Slim Pen always charged and at the ready within the new keyboard. When you lift it from the keyboard dock, the software immediately offers you the option to go into the whiteboard to begin creating or taking notes, or take a screenshot of whatever you are doing in that moment so you can share or annotate on it.

The new Surface Earbuds that not only sound and feel great, but let you operate Office 365 in a more seamless and powerful way with hands free real-time audio translation in over 60 languages and the ability to control a PowerPoint as you are presenting.

Your Phone which now lets you work on your Surface Laptop 3 or new Surface Pro 7 and take a phone call on that device with incredible studio mic’s while never having to leave your work to find your phone in your pocket.

The new Surface Neo and Surface Duo that enable you to be productive wherever you are. No longer will you be in that situation where you try to respond to a mail on your phone and have to wait to complete it when you get back to your PC. These devices offer productivity and creativity even when you are fully mobile – never requiring you to leave the flow of what you are doing.

There are many other examples in the experiences that were on display. If you look closely at the videos, you start to see where the experiences will go. It’s an exciting future.

I’d love to hear your story of when you feel that flow of productivity and creativity with your devices.