The Cocoon of Concentration
I ran into an interesting article about Tiger Woods and his focus.
"Rocco Mediate’s head swiveled about as he walked up the fairway of the sudden-death hole of the U.S. Open on Monday. Somebody would catch his attention, and his eyes would dart over and he’d wave or make a crack. Tiger Woods’s gaze, on the other hand, remained fixed on the ground, a few feet ahead of his steps. He was, as always, locked in, focused and self-contained."
“I have never in my life seen a wider chasm between the look in someone’s eye and the surrounding environment.”
"But inevitably, it is his ability to enter the cocoon of concentration that is written about and admired most."
I have been thinking a lot about making use of time lately and it always brings me to focus.
It's so much easier to bang out quality stuff when your head is clear. You immerse and lose track of time. There's no question that the work is more enjoyable in the "flow state"..."An optimal psychological state of total involvement in the task at hand"
The legendary soccer player Pele described his experience of being in the zone: "I felt a strange calmness.. . a kind of euphoria. I felt I could run all day without tiring, that I could dribble through any of their team or all of them, that I could almost pass through them physically.
Another example was given by Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna, who during qualifying for the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix said he felt like he was driving the car beyond his limits. "I was already on pole, [...] and I just kept going. Suddenly I was nearly two seconds faster than anybody else, including my team mate with the same car. And suddenly I realised that I was no longer driving the car consciously. I was driving it by a kind of instinct, only I was in a different dimension. It was like I was in a tunnel. Not only the tunnel under the hotel but the whole circuit was a tunnel. I was just going and going, more and more and more and more. I was way over the limit but still able to find even more."
I don't think it's any different for building software...especially on a team that is doing remarkable work.
"Rocco Mediate’s head swiveled about as he walked up the fairway of the sudden-death hole of the U.S. Open on Monday. Somebody would catch his attention, and his eyes would dart over and he’d wave or make a crack. Tiger Woods’s gaze, on the other hand, remained fixed on the ground, a few feet ahead of his steps. He was, as always, locked in, focused and self-contained."
“I have never in my life seen a wider chasm between the look in someone’s eye and the surrounding environment.”
"But inevitably, it is his ability to enter the cocoon of concentration that is written about and admired most."
I have been thinking a lot about making use of time lately and it always brings me to focus.
It's so much easier to bang out quality stuff when your head is clear. You immerse and lose track of time. There's no question that the work is more enjoyable in the "flow state"..."An optimal psychological state of total involvement in the task at hand"
The legendary soccer player Pele described his experience of being in the zone: "I felt a strange calmness.. . a kind of euphoria. I felt I could run all day without tiring, that I could dribble through any of their team or all of them, that I could almost pass through them physically.
Another example was given by Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna, who during qualifying for the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix said he felt like he was driving the car beyond his limits. "I was already on pole, [...] and I just kept going. Suddenly I was nearly two seconds faster than anybody else, including my team mate with the same car. And suddenly I realised that I was no longer driving the car consciously. I was driving it by a kind of instinct, only I was in a different dimension. It was like I was in a tunnel. Not only the tunnel under the hotel but the whole circuit was a tunnel. I was just going and going, more and more and more and more. I was way over the limit but still able to find even more."
I don't think it's any different for building software...especially on a team that is doing remarkable work.
posted by David DeRam at
10:56 AM
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