The Zone

When an athlete is making every move count and no one seems able to stop them, we say they are “in the Zone.” They are focused, all cylinders are firing perfectly, distractions don’t, and productivity is at a max. What is most interesting about ‘the Zone’ is that it is usually temporary, often in both time and space. The better and more a person can keep themselves in the Zone, the more rewarding it is.

Training and discipline seem to be two keys for maximizing that, but there are factors unique to each person that affect where and when and how they get into the Zone. I have discovered that for me, I tend to need a set of fairly well defined tasks whose progress is easily measured. I tend to find the Zone most easily in my office on campus after 5 or 6 p.m. When in the Zone, I can keep the pace up often for 6-8 hours or more. The downside is that it is rather late when I call it quits and I’m rather tuckered out at the end, but I got a lot done in that time.

Often is the time I wish that my Zone occurred after 5 or 6 am and still continued for 6-8 hours. I don’t know why I focus better in the evening. If I’m at home at that time, I want to unwind and kick back. It needs to be in my office. But knowing this about myself, I can plan accordingly.

When and where is your Zone? How have you been able to expand or change it to suit your needs?

SDG

Professor Coach

I've noticed a peculiar dichotomy in academia--when an instructor tells students to do an unpleasant or seemingly random or arbitrary assignment, they catch all kinds of grief--if they're really lucky they get an email from the chair or dean regarding a student complaint. When the athletic coach tells the players to run the bleachers or other mundane, aerobic punishment/task, there is grumbling (but only under the breath) and they do it. No one seems to question the coach for apparently random or arbitrary tasks.

Perhaps one reason for this is that subconsciously, the player realizes that the task will get them in better shape for the game and make them a better player or related reason. Yet, as faculty, we get, "Why do we have to learn this? I'll never use this again!" etc. They recognize the coach's wisdom and authority for training them in athletics but not ours for training them in their major. They recognize that running the bleachers increases both their lung capacity and their coordination, even though they don't literally run bleachers in the game. They don't recognize that the brain needs training in mental pathways just as much as the body, so some of the exercises we give are designed to do this, even though they WILL NEVER literally do that activity again.

It's funny, when I point this out to students, they typically get a sheepish grin, and get to work.

SDG