The Ultimate Step by Step Guide To Get Into the Zone
Top performer Josh Waitzkin explains how to build your own trigger
Like many others, I have been working from home since March last year. At first, it was wonderful; I have more free time, I can sleep more and I don’t have to commute. However, after a while, because of excessive time at home, anxiety caused by the pandemic, and starting work right after waking up, I started struggling to focus.
During my research on learning, I read The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin. He is a former chess prodigy and a martial arts champion, who explains in this book how to achieve optimal performance, whether you are learning, working, or competing. What really caught my attention in this book is how to get into the zone at will. Being in the zone means one is in a mental state of concentration that nothing can be a source of distraction, one is performing at his best.
Before you get zoned by this story, I will depict what Waitzkin considers essential during the search for peak performance. Then, I will give you an overview of a story the author tells in the book where he helped a man to build his own trigger for the zone. I hope you will create your own trigger for the zone after reading this!
Know When To Take a Break
Mental and physical stamina are not infinite, no-one can be in the zone every time. I had the habit of not taking breaks when I was close to deadlines, and that is the worst thing to do. Sure I could do this for a day or two with the help of adrenaline, but after that, I blew up and couldn’t even reach my 50% for days. This is neither optimal for the long term nor healthy.
Waitzkin states that to be a consistent long-term performer, one must learn how to relax under pressure, how and when to move back and forth between concentration, adrenaline, exertion, and recovery. For example, while running to increase endurance one must not run until he is exhausted and stops, he must push himself to his healthy limit, recover for one minute, and then push himself again. This is something that can only be achieved with practice and awareness.
Building the Trigger
After knowing when to cool down, the next step is creating the trigger for the zone. In The Art of Learning, there is the story of Dennis and how Waitzkin helped him to build his trigger. Dennis was frustrated because he couldn’t get a good performance state, he wasn’t able to focus during important meetings or under deadlines.
Dennis had always thought there was a perfect recipe for entering the zone which would work for everyone. It is much easier to create our own trigger instead of looking for the holy grail.
Waitzkin asked Dennis to think of an activity that made him feel close to serene focus. Everyone has at least one or two activities like this, activities that we consider as “just taking a break” but can be of most use. Some examples are taking a shower, jogging, swimming, listening to music, walking the dog, you name it. For Dennis, it was playing catch with his son.
After finding the right activity, it was time to define a routine with four or five steps. Dennis lined up:
- Eat a light consistent snack for 10 minutes
- 15 minutes of meditation
- 10 minutes of stretching
- 10 minutes of listening to Bob Dylan
Dennis did this routine every day for a month before playing catch with his son. The idea behind this is that a physiological connection is formed between the routine and the activity it precedes. Once Dennis internalized the routine, he could use it before any task and he would reach a similar state of mind. So, after a month, Waitzkin suggested Dennis do it in the morning before important meetings.
Dennis successfully made the switch. He could reach the state of serene focus during stressful meetings as if he was playing catch with his son. He started doing his routine every day before work, but changed the light snack with a larger breakfast and started listening to Bob Dylan while driving to the office.
However, there was still a lot of room for improvement. By gradually decreasing the time of each of the steps of the routine, Dennis could do it in a few minutes. Over time, he condensed his meditation and stretching. Then he would just listen to a bit of Bob Dylan, and if he wasn’t hungry, he could skip breakfast.
Reducing the routine from about 45 minutes to just a few is already a great achievement. Yet, the author claims it is possible to do even better, Dennis could evolve to a state that simply thinking about a Bob Dylan song would be enough. Waitzkin tells in the book that over many months, by doing incremental and small changes, he trained himself to be completely prepared after a deep inhalation and release.
It is undeniable that condensing the routine makes the practitioner ready to deal with uncertainty. There will always be situations when one needs to focus and doesn’t have time to go through the extended routine. Someone with such ability will deal with chaos much better. If there is time, it’s always better to do the whole routine, personal tastes determined it so it is something pleasant.
Final Thoughts
To be a top performer, one must be clearheaded, calm, and focused during stressful situations. Getting into the zone at will is not treasure waiting to be discovered, but something that must be trained according to your own tastes. This process will take a long time to perfect and to be flexible, but it will make you a person much more ready for everything that might come.
I am a programmer, and after reading this book I noticed I often find solutions to hard bugs when I walk away from my desk and go for a run or have a shower. These must be my serene focus activities. So, I defined my routine with running as the main activity:
- Eat a snack
- Stretching for 10 minutes
- Abs workout for 10 minutes
- Listen to two songs of my focus playlist
I’m ready to put my routine into practice. What about you?
