How to achieve ”Flow” and getting ”into the zone”

When you hear athletes talking about their performance or how they’ll win an important tournament or a game, you can often hear them talk about ”getting into the zone” and the need for extreme focus. So how do you get ”into the zone” and what is it?

Flow described on Wikipedia:
”In positive psychology, a flow state, also known as being in the zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.”

The concept ”Flow” was named by the psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi and shares many characteristics with hyperfocus (hyperfocus is an intense form of mental concentration or visualization that focuses consciousness on a task).

The flow state or being in the zone, is the experience of being so absorbed by an engaging, enjoyable task that has got your complete attention. You’re not thinking of anything else and you lose sense of time and self-consciousness (as you probably do with most of the games on GoDartsPro… ;)).

You can set up your training plan and a training environment to make it as flow-promoting as possible. Here’s a short guide how to get into flow more often.

When you’re about to practise, turn of phone (if you use it with GoDartsPro, just turn off your signal) and make sure you can practise without distractions. If you can, practise early in the day when your mind is fresh and you’re well rested.

You can make it easier to get into the zone by creating a ritual.
It could be to pour up a glass/bottle of water to have next to you during practise, and turn on your favourite focus playlist. Create or use a playlist with games on GoDartsPro that makes you feel you’re in the zone. Find a way of letting your brain know that you’re about to practise hard.

An important part of getting into a flow state is working on a specific task with a clear goal.
Games like Dedication, High-Score, Dead centre are good games to get the flow you’re after. Easy to use games with one clear task and goal. Focus, throw and make it count!
You’ll find it a whole lot easier to achieve a flow when you know exactly what you’re working on and why. Knowing what you’re about to accomplish also gives you a sense of control.

Practising darts with the right amount of challenge are more engaging.
Flow is dependent on finding that sweet spot between your current skills and the challenge at hand.
One way to achieve this is to engage in something called ”Deliberate practice”.
”Deliberate practice” is where every training session has a specific goal that can be measured, analyzed, and optimized to increase your overall performance. You need to push your skills to their limit (that’s what we got the Virtual Coach for). Deliberate practice, if applied correctly, can turn your potential into reality!

Most of the games on GoDartsPro are developed with “deliberate practise” in mind and to facilitate getting “into the zone”.
The games are easy to understand and use, right amount of challenge, they’ve got measurable statistics, works well with short-term and long-term goals and you’ll get instant feedback during the game session. This is also why it is extremely valuable to use the games and statistics for your training to deliberately practise towards your goals.

With a Scolia kit to track the darts for you it is even easier to get “into the zone” since all you have to do is to focus on the next throw during the whole game session.

Finding ways to maximize the amount of time you spend “in the zone” will make you more engaged, satisfied, and creative. You will feel better when you’re in flow and you’ll feel more satisfied after your training session.
Many successful people use the flow to get where they want.
So why shouldn’t you?

Get into the zone and make it count!

Play the “Flow” playlist now!