# What gets you into The Zone? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 18, 2003, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gets-you-into-the-zone/213867 "2003-11-18T07:19:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gets-you-into-the-zone/213867/1 "2003-11-18T07:19:21Z")
You know what I’m talking about. That void you slip into when doing something repetitive. After doing a task for some time you just kind of go in spinal cord only mode and let your brain wander to random thoughts (like daydreaming) or just veg out and think about nothing. Your body continues doing the task as you set it out and when you finally come to you have only a vague sense that some time has passed. For me its: Pushing my daughter on the swing and singing along to her made up songs (I can do this for hours). Washing dishes by hand. Mowing the lawn. Folding mountains of clothes. Splitting/stacking firewood (though I don’t get to do this much any more). Anybody else got a Zone activity they’d like to share? ---
**Author:** ![Eternal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gets-you-into-the-zone/213867/2 "2003-11-18T11:32:24Z")
Conversation. ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gets-you-into-the-zone/213867/3 "2003-11-18T12:46:20Z")
Puttering around the house. This is defined as being able to move from task to task as the spirit moves me in an uninterrupted fashion with no particular goal. As I have two kids, 4 and 2, the uninterrupted part almost never happens. Therefore I regard being able to putter as a high luxury. That the house gets clean is a delightful byproduct. ---
**Author:** ![misstee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@misstee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misstee)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gets-you-into-the-zone/213867/4 "2003-11-18T14:17:30Z")
Cutting veggies puts me in the zone. ( yep, I wasted post number 800 on cutting veggies. ) ---
**Author:** ![Elysian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gets-you-into-the-zone/213867/5 "2003-11-18T15:12:54Z")
Driving does it to me. I drive a couple of hours each day and generally just zone the entire time (unless it’s really busy). ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gets-you-into-the-zone/213867/6 "2003-11-18T15:27:10Z")
Golf I once walked onto a green on a par four and realized that I had completely forgotten to hit my second shot. I had to walk back 150 yards down the fairway. This was not due to boredom, I have a single-digit handicap, its just that golf will zone me out completely. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gets-you-into-the-zone/213867/7 "2003-11-18T15:40:14Z")
Liquor. ---
**Author:** ![1kBR\_Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/dc4da7/32.png) [@1kBR\_Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1kBR_Kid)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gets-you-into-the-zone/213867/8 "2003-11-18T16:20:59Z")
My job. I’m a night stocker in a grocery store. We each stock our own aisle so we work alone. It’s mind-numbingly boring. I just think all night. I think of all kinds of weird stuff… God how I wish I had a job that doesn’t require me to be a mindless drone. Watching movies. I’ll get wrapped up in it and forget everything else. I was watching Matrix revolutions in The Alamo Drafthouse. It’s a chain of theaters in Austin where every other row of seats has been removed and replaced with little table. You can get a meal and even alcoholic beverages at the movies!🙂 Anyway, I was watching the “big shoot-out” scene and really into it. The waiter walks up to settle the tab and SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME!!!. I actually blurted out “JESUS CHRIST!!!” Kinda weird \ ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gets-you-into-the-zone/213867/9 "2003-11-18T18:41:54Z")
Work does it to me every time … the mindless hours just pass in a haze and I don’t come to until I clock off. Air traffic control is _soooo boring_. 😉 😃 Julie ---
**Author:** ![Wheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4da419/32.png) [@Wheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheel)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gets-you-into-the-zone/213867/10 "2003-11-18T19:04:43Z")
Washing dishes. Mowing the lawn. Jogging. Playing Free Cell. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gets-you-into-the-zone/213867/11 "2003-11-18T19:10:12Z")
Walking to work. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gets-you-into-the-zone/213867/12 "2003-11-18T20:05:30Z")
Crap, I thought this was going to be something totally different. I’ve driven for miles and miles and then realized I couldn’t tell you anything about the trip. But I think a lot of people do that. ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gets-you-into-the-zone/213867/13 "2003-11-18T22:13:34Z")
Programming a Turing Machine.