In the zone

I’m not in the zone as yet. By the time I finish writing this, though, I most likely will be.

The zone is my blinkered mode of complete absorption in whatever I’m doing. If I’m working on something I enjoy, then getting in the zone comes easily, and without any concious effort on my part. When I’m not working on something of interest to me however, then the zone is nowhere to be found, and work is difficult and I’m easily distracted.

When I’m in the zone, the rest of the world quietly melts away. I stop hearing all the other conversations in the room, which is odd, as I usually subconsciously listen to everything that’s going on around me.

In the zone, all I can see is the task I’m working on. Most of my zone work involves a computer, so the screen and keyboard become the focus of my vision. My mind is focussed too. It walks deliberately through the route needed to complete the task at hand. It thinks a bit ahead, and looks at the options, before choosing one and sticking with that.

A good example of my zone work these days are my blog posts. At the current time parts of all of them end up being written in the zone, as talking about AS is of particular interest to me. I write like I think – very linearly – and these texts tend to get produced in one sitting, without much editing. When I start writing, I usually have a title and a vague idea of where the words will go, but nothing concrete. What you see here is what where my brain takes me, with little post processing.

Time doesn’t exist in the zone. Thankfully this doesn’t usually cause me a problem, because I work quickly and deliberately, and finish what I start. Once the work is complete, the zone fades away quickly. It’s rare for me to lose track of time in the zone for more than an hour or two at a time.

I like the zone. I’m creative there. It’s one of the positive aspects of AS for me, and I invariably leave it feeling satisfied and very positive.

I predicited I’d be in the zone by the time I finished writing this. I was right – I was in the zone by paragraph three.

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