Tried that, didn't work. Hell, at some point in my life, the only consistent way for me to get into the zone was to be sleep-deprived.
The zone isn't about stress per se. It's about focus. Low levels of stress can often help here (acting as rails that bounce you back onto the track if you start to veer off). High levels of stress will of course prevent the state of flow, but if you can kill off that signal somehow, you may have a chance to get back into the zone.
> I see people trying to get by by using stimulants like coffee to work, but that is deluding yourself. It is just removing the signal from your body that you need to rest after stress.
Thing is, people often have no other choice. The body doesn't have a "snooze" button - once it considers something an emergency, it doesn't understand the signal was received and noted, but there's nothing that can or should be done about it now. It'll just keep bugging you.
The original idea of flow(in the zone) comes from this book and author, but is obsolete now:
https://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Perennial-...
I recommend this book and audiobook about gammification to understand flow better.
https://www.amazon.com/Reality-Broken-Games-Better-Change/dp...
Whatever breaks the game in your work, stops the flow. For example, instant feedback is very hard to get creating software unless you design for it(like using REPLs and reusing almost everything).
Other things that the book mentions break your game too(not having clear rules, being alone)...
Another important thing is thinking too much rationally. The logical mind is so slow getting results that you break the instant feedback.
Also working too much in low level has way slower feedback than working with higher level languages. I metaprogram lower level languages for this reason, I am orders of magnitude faster.
>The zone isn't about stress per se.
Sorry, I was not eloquent enough. when I talk about stress I am referring to stress in general: Mental, emotional, or physical stress.
That is, if you are doing something difficult mentally, you stress your brain.
For every stress you need time to recover.
You can do 10 hours without recovering if the stress is low. If the stress is high, you will only be able to do 4 hours.
It is very easy to understand, you can walk for 8 hours, but you can not run for 10 hours. A marathon is about 4 hours or less.
What I am telling you is that if you run for 4 hours hard mentally and do not recover, you will not be able to work another 4 hours of hard work, unless you rest.
Nothing will do, no technique will do unless you rest.
Of course you need to do right lots of other things too. But don't say it is impossible just because you can not do it.
What works for one person often does not for others. What works for a person at one stage of life often doesn't at others. What works in the short term often does not in the long.
I'm experiencing exactly what you describe. There's zero ramp-up time to get in the zone. I've gone from having 4 productive hours on a really good day, to having 8, at work, and several after work. I just get up in the morning (no alarm necessary), sit down with a clear mind, and start working.
I also do something similar to waking up twice. But it's more just lying down and staring at the ceiling for half an hour in the afternoon, if I feel it's necessary
[0]It's funny how the me of 3 years ago would consider these things huge sacrifices yet after I've done them it feels ridiculous to describe them as such
I wake up in the zone every single time because I sleep what I need. I also do exercise and eat well. It is that simple.
In fact I wake up two times because I sleep in between hours of hard work. I copied that from tennis players and other elite sport players. Rafael Nadal plays a multiple hour match and goes to the Hotel to sleep(At 12 AM!!) after that.
I see no difference when the stress is mental hard work instead of physical. I am an elite player too.
I believe what you call "in the zone" is code for "having rested from an stressful situation" or not.
I see people trying to get by by using stimulants like coffee to work, but that is deluding yourself. It is just removing the signal from your body that you need to rest after stress.
You don't see this being a problem in HR/Management/Sales because the intensity of their work is usually very low. But those jobs could also become emotionally very stressful too (having to fire someone, pressure from above).
Most people can not even control or manage their own time and waste 2 hours commuting each day. Something has to give.