Music actually takes me out of the zone. I find getting a small victory early keeps me motivated to keep going.
Ask HN: How do you get and stay in the "zone"?
11–20 of 110 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you get and stay in the "zone"?
#12Keep in mind you're asking for advice on staying focused on a forum that many people visit to avoid doing their work...
That said, I like https://www.rescuetime.com/ which tracks time spent on distracting vs productive tasks. It's hardly perfect, but it helps "keep me honest" to know I can run a report to see exactly how much time I spend reading junk online instead of working.
Re: Ask HN: How do you get and stay in the "zone"?
#13Focus at Will helps me a lot https://www.focusatwill.com/
Re: Ask HN: How do you get and stay in the "zone"?
#14Instrumental "fast rhythm" music (i.e. Apocalyptica, Ludovico Einaudi...)
This.
No rap or hip-hop though, that's too distracting. If I want to sink down, shut out everybody and get into the "flow" like someone said before, it has to be vocal trance for me. I mean, they call it "trance" music for a reason:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trance_music
"A trance refers to a state of hypnotism and lessened consciousness. This drifting sensation is portrayed in the genre by mixing many layers and rhythms to create build and release."
Once you find a genre that works for you (mine is vocal trance), you can literally shut everybody out and have that laser focus for long periods of time. It's a borderline ASC - Altered State of Consciousness.
Re: Ask HN: How do you get and stay in the "zone"?
#15Two words: post rock.
Long Distance Calling.
Re: Ask HN: How do you get and stay in the "zone"?
#16White noise and Pomodoro.
That said, I think learning how to start quickly be productive through consistency beats the hell out of chasing the zone. An hour, or even 20 minutes a day, every day or damn near it as opposed to multi-hour binges when the stars align.
Re: Ask HN: How do you get and stay in the "zone"?
#17I've been very fortunate that the flow gods have allowed me to have a very productive month. It definitely has to do with the fact that I'm staying at my parents house all alone babysitting their dog while I work from home. I've had 0 distractions save for the mailman and I've put up some good numbers.
I'd say the best thing you can do is eliminate all distractions and block out large swaths of time to work. I took yesterday to do all of my menial tasks such as filing taxes, getting proof of insurance for a ticket, dealt with a verizon phone bill, etc. With all that out of the way, I find it easier to 'free your mind' and focus. Unfortunately I haven't fallen into gear yet naturally so I'm going to try to jump start my engine by just forcing my hand to work. Once you get in motion its easier to stay in motion.
Re: Ask HN: How do you get and stay in the "zone"?
#18Music and being up late when no one else is around do the trick for me. I find if I try and work during the day on anything that requires real concentration then I end up being distracted by everyday things. This is probably bad advice though as having a natural sleeping pattern is important but I do find it helps me.
Re: Ask HN: How do you get and stay in the "zone"?
#19People say music. But I think it's just an exercise in programming yourself - it won't be immediate.
http://notmysock.org/blog/2005/Oct/17/
Oh and lots of sleep.
I sleep 8 hours or so and wake up with a lamp next to my bed triggered to turn on 1 hour before I need to wake up.
You really have to keep your body out the way of your mind. I eat far less food when I want to get into the zone.
I take a step up and walk about every 50 minutes or so. 10 minutes of walking around every hour, just to keep my eyes from hurting - used to play pool alone when my office had a table.
I can hang around 10+ hours in the zone that way.
But I get about 4 days of that a month, the rest are just 4 hour work-days (2 hours + 2 hours uninterrupted).
Re: Ask HN: How do you get and stay in the "zone"?
#20Mental Strategies? None. I just start working. I force myself to get started. Once you start, you're halfway done.
Now once you've started. Don't stop. This may seem obvious but prepare by using the restroom or getting a glass of water beforehand.
Once you've been working for a while, usually >20 minutes, you're in the zone. Congratulations. Don't award yourself. You can go to the bathroom, get more water, but make sure you're getting back to work. If you sense yourself getting off task, X THAT WINDOW! AND FOCUS! It's as easy as that.
It also helps to be challenging yourself. If you're working on some stupid project that an 11th grader could do then I don't know how you get in the zone. Hard problems take more dedicated concentration which makes diving in the hard part and staying in very easy.