the zone

For about 3 weeks I was struggling with my latest writing assignment. I just couldn't come up with what my supervisors wanted. Then one day I had the idea to put the words in an excel sheet rather than a word document. Which sounds weird. And felt even weirder. But it helped me come at the project with a different perspective. And this time it was exactly what my supervisors wanted.

Ever since, I've been working in "the zone." You know the one I'm talking about. The one where you lose whole hours because you are so consumed by what you are doing. Two o'clock rolls around and you realize you haven't eaten lunch yet. The phone rings (or beeps or sings or vibrates) and you don't even hear it. You feel invincible, like everything you do has power. And it doesn't even have to be perfect. Today I spent 3 hours writing and rewriting the same 3 paragraphs and it was so incredibly fulfilling I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. 

It was frustrating when I couldn't come up with the perfect words the first time around. Or the second time or the third... But it helped me more fully appreciate what it felt like to finally get it. To finally connect with the project. To overcome that frustration and enter "the zone."

And now it feels awesome to see those words online and in print. Probably even more awesome than if I had gotten them right the first time around.

EMBRACE THE ZONE.

When was the last time you lost yourself in "the zone"? What were you doing that so consumed your attention?