How You Can Experience Your Best Moments at Work or in Leisure

By Angelica Ribeiro

Have you ever lost track of time at work or in leisure? If so, you were in flow, a feeling you should often experience. Let me explain.

In his book Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi shares that “the best moments in [your life] are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times—although such experiences can also be enjoyable […]. The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.” You can experience these best moments when you are in flow. According to Csikszentmihalyi, flow is “the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.”

Want to Write a Column? Admonitions and Advantages

By Noelle Sterne, PhD

At barbecues with friends or departmental parties with people you want to impress, you love tossing off, eyes modestly lowered, “Oh, I’m a regular columnist for Extreme Anachronisms.” But if you’ve been invited or want to start a column (or regular blog) and continue basking in such glory, realize what you’ve taken on.

A quality column takes consistent effort, thought, faithfulness, and rewriting. Experienced column writers know this. From my experience writing several columns and the advice of several column writers I interviewed, here are ten of the most challenging and important considerations.

Busy TAA People: Beverly Stein’s New Book Now Available

TAA member Dr. Beverly Stein’s book, Unlocking Meaning in Art Song: A Singer’s Guide to Practical Analysis Using Schubert’s Songs, published by Rowman & Littlefield, is now available on Amazon. Stein, a professor in the Department of Music at California State University, Los Angeles, signed a contract for the book with Rowman & Littlefield in May 2023. She credits TAA for helping her learn about contracts, and now that the book is published, for advice on marketing her book through participation in TAA Conversation Circles and other TAA resources.

Congratulations Beverly!