How to Master Being in the Zone

No matter if you are a writer, an athlete, an artist, or a super mom, you know the benefits of being in the zone.

There is magic in the synchronicity of your knowing what you can do, what you want to do, and this invisible force moving through you to execute it all perfectly.

The rhythm of perfectly timed movements, the energetic spark of effortless ideas and innovation, or the seamlessly balanced juggle of 100 different things.  You feel in harmony at a soul level and it brings out the best in you.

This is being in the zone. 

And it is a means of experiencing your personal gifts and desires to their fullest.

But how do you harness this magic? 

How exactly do you get in the zone? 

And when you are particularly in need of this boost before a deadline, in midst of a challenge, or simply because you want it, how do you create flow?

Use these methods as a means to generate or recapture your flow state and get in the zone right when you need to.

Define Your Flow State

As with anything, it is hard to hit a target that you have not defined. 

When you want to get in the zone and gain access to your flow, start by defining exactly what that means to you.

How do you want to feel? 

In what way do you want synchronicity to occur…specifically?

Getting in the zone is synonymous with gaining your flow.

Flow is typically much more than the outcome, but a state of being that defines your journey.

State to yourself every word and emotion that you want to experience as part of your flow state.

Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.

Oprah winfrey

Here are a couple of examples:

When you Think in Flow…

• You may feel ideas just seem to burst from the darkness. 

• You can see concepts form and feel a certain rightness to your conclusions. 

• Ah-ha moments repeat in what feels like rapid succession and an internal energy fuels you to feel that you are on the right track. 

• There is an excitement that is generated as never-before-seen ideas come to fruition.

When you Create in Flow…

• You may experience the concepts of color, shape, definition, and curvature in all new ways. 

• The subtle hues and vibrance that come with the congealing of new aspects, ratios, and directions can reinvigorate and create new meaning. 

• It is as if your vision and creative idea is actually generating new life forms. 

• And you are not only falling in love with the product of your creativity but with the creative process itself.

These are just examples of knowing what being in your flow state means to you and defining it with detail.

Use your words, ideas, or images to define the flow state target you seek to achieve.

Then use your own definition as a means to spark the outpour of flow at any moment you need it.

Supercharge Your Positive Emotions

Getting in the zone or being in flow is a feel-good moment.  Therefore, it is a much easier state to reach when you have feel-good momentum.

If your physical space or your headspace has you feeling negative, take intentional steps to make a positive change.

Create or listen to music playlists

• Choose music that penetrates your mental state no matter what mood you are in and lifts you. 
• Enveloping yourself with rhythm can bring you closer to feeling that everything around you is in rhythm with you and you with it. 
• Let the energy of the melodies match the energy that defines flow state for you. 
• Whether this is ease, high-energy, hard and intense, or soft and subtle, let your playlist become the musical score to your gifts in action.

Reaffirm your strengths to yourself

• It is okay to compliment yourself and sometimes necessary to build confidence in your gifts. 
• You know you can get in the zone when you trust that you can be in flow. 
• Tell yourself what you do well and replay in your mind when you have excelled in your space before.
• Become your own hype man (or woman) and let that confident energy propel you into your flow state.

Take in any form of nature that inspires you 

• Take a walk. 
• Bring cut flowers into your home. 
• Invite yourself to a beautiful view from the tallest building or piece of land that you can get to. 
• Be amazed by nature and let the opening of your heart invigorate your flow state into being.  Embracing the magnitude of life can often spark inspiration and ignite your flow state.

Practice your gift

• Touch, feel, move doing exactly what you know how to do.
• Enjoy the parts of your gift that are effortless to you. 
• Remember why you love what you do. 
• Before taking on a challenge spend a moment just basking in what comes naturally.  Then when your flow starts to come, move forward into new territory.   

 Your emotional state has a direct impact on your ability to reach and maintain your flow state.  So make a priority to build your positive energy and create space for your flow state to flourish.

Empty Your Mind and Promote Focus

When your mind is cluttered with too many things that do not align with your goals, it can feel as if you have a million blocks to getting in the zone.

Even worse is a repeated thought and acknowledgment that you are blocked. 

When it feels like your own mind is sabotaging your means to gain flow, it’s time to empty your mind and regain focus.

Try guided meditation

• While meditation is often thought to encourage the absence of thought, guided meditation can be used to be intentional with your thoughts.  
• A guided meditation practice can be used to focus your mind on the exact thoughts and feelings that represent the mental state you are seeking to have, versus the one you may be suffering at the moment. 
• You can also release focus on the negative self-talk, self-doubt, and other general mind clutter.  And replace these thoughts productively with inspiring guided visualization, relaxation techniques, or words of calm, relaxation, and fluidity. 

Go to sleep

• Rest and relaxation can help settle anyone’s mind.  But sleep serves as a full reboot to your system.
• Particularly if you are suffering from sleep deprivation, you may find that you cannot find flow because you are too fatigued to achieve it.
• Sleep can be a power boost that puts you in the best position to be refreshed, alert, and fertile ground for positivity and for achieving flow state.
• If you need support in maintaining a regular sleep routine, read this post on Creating a Sleep Ritual to encourage consistency and thorough preparation for better sleep.

Journal 

• Writing down your thoughts and feelings can serve as a means to release the need to overthink issues. 
• It also serves as a more tangible act because you can move from purely mental activity and add a physical component. 
• Your journal serves to support you as not only a place of release but an information repository.  With that, you can revisit what you have released at a future time when you are ready to do so. 
• If you are new to the journaling practice, you may find help in reading this post on How to Journal Effectively.

Exercise your body

• Physical movement can increase your heart rate, promote better circulation and mental functioning, and overall give you another point on which to place your focus. 
• Whether you are playing a sport, doing yoga, or even having sex, you can transition your attention from your mental activity to a physical one. 
• Especially when you engage in activity that works your muscles and builds a sweat, you are less likely to focus on anything other than your body. 
• Exercising, like meditation, can help to reduce or eliminate distracting thoughts and create a blank canvas to get in the zone.  

Create Your ZONE

Being in the zone is the flow state anthem. 

While for some this can happen anywhere, for others, location matters, atmosphere is critical, and support is required. 

Make a flow state ritual

• Wear a certain pair of socks, play a particular song, eat a certain meal just before go-time. 
• Create a pattern of activity that says to your mind and body that flow state begins now. 
• Training yourself to be in the zone can strongly support getting there quickly because you build all the mental queues to say it’s time.

Build the flow state atmosphere

• Schedule time in just the right studio, use the room that captures just the right lighting, have all essential tools at your fingertips organized with precision. 
• Make being in your zone a place that you step into. 
• The more that you fall into the zone in the same space under the same conditions the more likely your mind will go on auto-pilot and expect flow state to happen.

Have a flow state team

• Getting in the zone is a personal state of being.  But that does not mean that you need to be alone to achieve it. 
• Some people just inspire creativity within others.  Others are motivators to press beyond your limitations and challenge you to become more. 
• The flow state status is always your alone.  But the right support can be the perfect trigger to build the best momentum to get you there. 

Conclusion

It is possible to master being in the zone.  In addition to possessing the passion for what you are doing, there are many ways to prep yourself to get in flow.

Increase your focus, decrease mental clutter, and hype yourself up for the task at hand.  Remember that you have been in this state before and build a thirst for exemplary, harmonious performance in perfect rhythm.

You can create an atmosphere that signals getting in the zone, a ritual for flow state readiness, and even pull together the right partners to set you on your flow journey.

Trust that you have the power to get in to the zone and can harness this power when needed.  Make it a practiced and expected event, and know that you can generate your flow state whenever you say it’s time.

Did you develop a new idea on how to master getting in the zone? Do you have past methods that get you to your flow state fast? Share your experience of being in flow in the Comments section below.