Do you ever reach "the flow" or "in the zone"

gustavofring

Well-known member
How to Achieve the Creative State of Flow | PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement

I think social anxiety often prevents me from reaching that state. I get too distracted by my ego, by thinking about the way I am presenting myself to the world, get obsessed with my dealings with others. Flow is losing your sense of self, to be 100 % in the moment, engaged by the activity you're doing, losing track of time. I get a lot of very good work done in these moments.
 

Overload

Well-known member
It's been a while. Excluding video games, the last time I can remember being in that state was about 2 years ago while programming a video game. I too often get caught up in all that bull**** before I even start projects, leading to me lazing around unproductively, and feeling worse. I've had another idea though and I'm going to try to follow through with it.
 

Kinetik

Well-known member
It's easy to be distracted by aimless thoughts and self-doubt but we also have a lot of external stimulation these days, which in my view is even more disruptive. For example, I remember being on the internet 15 years ago as a young teenager. Back then, I would be able to focus on one thing at a time and really absorb the information on the web page because it was the norm to only have one tab up. Now, it's not uncommon for me to have 15 tabs going while having a cell phone glued to my ear. Humans can't multitask very well so the quality of work goes down while distraction is at an all-time high, and that's without even touching on self-esteem issues and pervasively nagging thoughts regarding ourselves.
 

gustavofring

Well-known member
@Overload: I know what you mean. There's a lot of factors (mostly psychological) that can hold you back to reach that state, mostly anxiety and tension. There's many articles on the web on how to achieve it in a somewhat regulated manner, some are a bit pseudo psychological, but in general it's interesting stuff.

@Kinetik: Also true. The internet used to be a more confined thing, where you looked up obscure stuff. Nowadays it's become almost a lifestyle for many. Yet I feel that when I am in the state of Flow (it sounds like some magical spiritual The Force kinda thing), I don't even feel the desire or urge to browse through websites all day.
I'm just fully engaged with my task. I personally don't really believe in website blockers etc. to keep yourself on track when working on a computer as if you are a kid who needs a parent to control him. The realisation, the drive, from within that you truly want to work on your project is a far more effectivemethod.
 
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EscapeArtist

Well-known member
Interesting! The flow is awesome. I used to get into it when drawing but I always hated to draw because I would be afraid to mess up my work half way in and then get angry that I didn't finish it. Also used to get absorbed in studying and homework really easily that way but now it doesn't hold my attention.

I get in the flow when I'm freestyle researching. But there aren't many goals attached to that, so I wish I had more of a project to work on around it. Maybe I'll consider making myself projects.. Thanks for the lovely post gustavo
 

R3K

Well-known member
i got "the flow" in sports a lot when i was younger. now, occasionally i'll take up the basketball and mess around with layups and shooting and i can kinda get that flow going again. but it's been a long time since i was really lost in it. basically gotta be alone and be certain no one's watching or critiquing, then gotta feel like i can afford to waste a crap load of time on something then allow myself to get immersed.
 
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