{"id":89699,"date":"2021-01-27T14:45:57","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T14:45:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/?p=89699"},"modified":"2021-01-27T19:05:48","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T19:05:48","slug":"falling-out-of-the-zone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/opinion\/editorials\/falling-out-of-the-zone\/","title":{"rendered":"Falling out of the zone"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you are lucky enough to enjoy the work you do, it could be because you are frequently \u201cin the zone.\u201d The zone is a state of complete concentration, also called \u201cflow,\u201d where time seems to stand still, and performance is at its peak. Before I heard these terms, I often experienced deep concentration while coding and called it \u201cbeing one with the computer.\u201d Not only is the zone a great state to be in while solving problems, it feels energizing and amazing. Sceptics may think there is nothing to this, but specific brain waves can be measured<\/a> in studies about flow. If you are interested in learning more about the zone, check out The Rise Of Superman by Steven Kotler (Quercus Publishing, 2015)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Moving into the zone is not something you can switch on and off; it takes time, without interruptions, to get there. That\u2019s one reason I\u2019ve never been a fan of the vast \u201csea of cubicles\u201d in many offices. Between the harsh lighting and noise, it isn\u2019t easy to concentrate. Back when I was a DBA, I would often go into the office on Saturdays or minor holidays when no one else would be around so I could get some work done without interruptions. (I don\u2019t recommend this!) For a few months at that job, I shared a small office with one other person and could avoid all the distractions.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been able to work from home for almost 10 years. Working remotely with the occasional trip to an event or the office has helped me stay in the zone more often. I can do my job more efficiently and also spend time recording classes and writing books, thanks to the zone. Of course, it\u2019s challenging to get in the zone when interrupted by meetings or childcare. For the last few months, I\u2019ve been helping grandchildren with remote school, and my day has been disrupted much more than usual.<\/p>\n

Lately, I\u2019ve wondered why I haven\u2019t felt as much joy with my work, even though I have the best job in the world. Maybe it\u2019s because I haven\u2019t travelled since last February, or maybe it\u2019s because I\u2019ve started to develop some new interests. I finally figured it out \u2013 because of\u00a0 many interruptions, I have fallen out of the zone.<\/p>\n

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Commentary Competition<\/h4>\n

Enjoyed the topic? Have a relevant anecdote? Disagree with the author? Leave your two cents on this post in the comments below, and our favourite response will win a $50 Amazon gift card. The competition closes two weeks from the date of publication, and the winner will be announced in the next Simple Talk newsletter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you are lucky enough to enjoy the work you do, it could be because you are frequently \u201cin the zone.\u201d The zone is a state of complete concentration, also called \u201cflow,\u201d where time seems to stand still, and performance is at its peak. Before I heard these terms, I often experienced deep concentration while……<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110218,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47125,53],"tags":[5134],"coauthors":[11292],"class_list":["post-89699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorials","category-featured","tag-sql-prompt"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/110218"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89699"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89702,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89699\/revisions\/89702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89699"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=89699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}