In The Zone

I’m sure you’ve experienced the state where your whole focus is on one activity and it looks like the time has slowed down. The activity is all you are aware of and you don’t notice how several hours pass by.

This state is called “being in the zone” and is frequently achieved by single-minded individuals such as athletes, singers and actors. Most people cannot hold this state for long enough for it to make a big difference in their lives. Some just experience such state a couple of times in their lives.

Today I got an inspiration to write about this topic and luckily I’m in the state that I write about. I know that this is the case because I seem not to hear outside distractions, I’m not bugged by thoughts unrelated to my work, my ideas easily form into sentences and writing this post becomes who I am – that’s the best I can describe this state.

If, on the other hand, I wouldn’t be in the zone, here’s what would happen. I would get distracted by the sound of a car slam outside, I would catch myself thinking unrelated to work thoughts, I would keep interrupting my work with unnecessary activities such as making tea, calling my friend or checking my email.

I’ve noticed that the frequency of me being in the zone correlates with the amount of time I do certain activities. The more I meditate and focus on something with my whole attention, the more often I get in the zone. It also helps avoiding useless distractions and simplifying life.

How instant gratification reduces the likelihood of being in the zone

The less you need your desires to be filled instantly, the more likely you are to find yourself in the zone. It’s wise therefore to avoid things that make you impatient and wanting everything to be given to you or done instantly.

The activities that strengthen the need for instant gratification are:

• Watching TV
• Fast services (ordering online for instant access, fast food, online banking)
• Distractions
• Taking a shorter route for anything

The activities that reduce the need of instant gratification are as follows:

• Gradually mastering some new skill
• Focusing on some object for a while
• Meditation
• Yoga

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t do things in a more efficient way. Choosing shortcuts, however, reduces your patience and the attention span. People these days seem to want everything now – lose weight overnight, become rich overnight and instantly learn new languages. This is all thanks to our continuously developing world where products and services that save your time are highly valued and things that take time are considered old-fashioned.

It’s definitely beneficial to take the longer route sometimes. For example, avoid using audio that manipulates your brain into different states of being – choose meditation instead. Avoid driving to a nearby shopping centre because it’s much more beneficial to take a short walk. Instead of ordering fast food, prepare food yourself. Any activity you can think of can either be done in a lazy way or in a way which will aid you in achieving the state of flow.

How to get in the zone

If you want to experience the state of flow more frequently, there are certain things you can do. Firstly, you have to get very clear about your goal. For example, if you want to get in the zone to learn a new language, get specific about what you will focus on at the time of learning it (e.g. if you want to work on grammar, spelling, pronunciation or something else).

Once you are clear about your goals, eliminate all the distractions that are likely to take your attention. Switch off the TV, close the window if it’s noisy outside, work in a place where nobody will disturb you.

Just a quick note for those who find it easier to work with the music on or any other distraction in the background. This is not beneficial for you. Although it’s easy to think that it’s just your personal preference, such distractions are used to quiet the mental chatter in your mind, to keep it masked by the distraction. This does not give you 100% focus because some part of your brain is occupied with the noise. So it’s wise to train yourself to avoid any distractions when you work.

When you eliminate all the distractions, make your work more interesting. This definitely helps to get in the zone. You may notice that some activities are easier to lose yourself in than others. Games such as Monopoly can take hours of your time without you even noticing the time passing by. This is because the activity interests you and slightly challenges you. So try to make whatever you do more interesting and challenging (if it’s not challenging enough).

For me, it helps a great deal if I visualise the final outcome of whatever I’m trying to accomplish. For example, if I write a good article, I will attract more visitors. This thought alone, if held for some time and envisioned, can inspire me to write a great article. So I hope you get the idea.

Usually people achieve the state of flow when they act on their inspiration. Inspiration, however, cannot be elicited by the will. You can, however, take some actions to increase the likelihood of you getting inspired. These actions are getting very clear about what you want and thinking about your goals for extended periods of time.

Conclusion

If you find it hard to entirely focus on the task at hand, I hope that this article helped you understand what you need to do to get in the state of flow. This state, as anything else valuable in life, doesn’t come instantly. It takes time to train your brain not to seek instant gratification or be distracted by unimportant things. But once you manage to get control over your mind, you will be in control of your destiny. As Buddha said:

Better the man that conquer a thousand men is the one who conquer one, himself.

Related posts:

1. How To Increase Your Focus