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How much time do you find yourself being "in the zone" per day?

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TheGabmeister interpolator
I've been researching ways to improve productivity by being able to do more in less time. Just wanted to ask you guys how many hours per day do you find yourself being "in the zone" doing game art. Also known as state of flow in positive psychology.

In my case, I counted the number of hours I spent everyday being in the zone doing 3D art for a span of a month. In a normal 8-hour work day, my average was 5 hours being in the flow state. In rare cases, I pushed to 6 hours. Any more than that made my head hurt or caused drowsiness. The remaining time was spent in things like emails, chats, breaks, lunch, snacks, and many other things.

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  • Alex_J
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    Alex_J grand marshal polycounter
    usually about 4 hours for me. i can do eight solid hours in the zone, but only if i really try hard to eliminate distractions.

    i find best time for flow is early morning or evening. thats when things are quiet and all other daily responsibilities can be forgotten for awhile.
  • TheGabmeister
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    TheGabmeister interpolator
    i find best time for flow is early morning or evening.
    Agree. According to some articles I've read, the first few hours after waking up is the best time to do the tasks that require the most focus. Some also find the silence of nighttime to be very conducive for focused work because of the minimal amount of distractions.
  • lefix
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    lefix polycounter lvl 11
    I read somewhere that people average about 2-3hrs of productivity (iirc) in an 8hr workday.
  • FourtyNights
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    FourtyNights polycounter
    With a few years of doing art, the most productive and best feeling for me to do it, is around 11.00 am - 2:00 pm. Somehow during that time frame, I feel the most productive and inspired.

    Not that I don't feel it in the rest of the day, but that's been my special time frame to do artistic stuff.
  • TheGabmeister
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    TheGabmeister interpolator
    With a few years of doing art, the most productive and best feeling for me to do it, is around 11.00 am - 2:00 pm. Somehow during that time frame, I feel the most productive and inspired.

    Not that I don't feel it in the rest of the day, but that's been my special time frame to do artistic stuff.
    Yeah, it seems that it varies a lot with people. I tend to divide my 5hr flow state into 2+2+1 hours spread across the day. Interestingly, I have coworkers who are very productive between 12:00am midnight to 4:00am morning. I think it's our role as artists to find that sweet spot for each of us to maximize our output in the least amount of time.
  • PixelMasher
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    PixelMasher veteran polycounter
    4-5 hours is probably the most common answer I would imagine. especially for creative work. a lot of writers try and bang out a page or 2 a day of good content for example. I haven't really worked with anyone who beasts their entire 8 hours without breaking it up with youtube or artstation etc. not everyone can be stephen king and write 4-5 books a year haha. 

    I can do 4-5 hours at work, and the rest of the time is taken up by meetings or non creative work and then 1-2 nights a week bang out a few more hours making my youtube content in a flow state, but other times it is more of a struggle to power through or get started. 

    one thing I can say for sure is whenever my nutrition and gym routine has been on point consistently, I seemingly have more willpower to get started and access to that flow state for longer periods of time. eating garbage and being lazy leads to that being crippled, but not surprising seeing as usually your inputs=outputs 
  • TheGabmeister
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    TheGabmeister interpolator
    one thing I can say for sure is whenever my nutrition and gym routine has been on point consistently, I seemingly have more willpower to get started and access to that flow state for longer periods of time. eating garbage and being lazy leads to that being crippled, but not surprising seeing as usually your inputs=outputs 
    I noticed this as well after I made it a habit to go jogging or swimming 3 times a week. Regular exercise and a nutritious diet goes a long way indeed.
  • poopipe
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    poopipe grand marshal polycounter
    It's nice to see this brought up on here. 

    Maintaining flow is very important - not just in terms of productivity but also in terms of morale.

    Since a happy team means I have less whining to deal with I have a vested interest in improving flow which leads me to ask the following question
    (if it's not too much of a derailment) 

    Apart from the obvious interrupters (meetings, lunch break etc) I'm curious as to what breaks people's flow during the day and/or what improves it. 

  • TheGabmeister
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    TheGabmeister interpolator
    poopipe said:
    Apart from the obvious interrupters (meetings, lunch break etc) I'm curious as to what breaks people's flow during the day and/or what improves it.
    There are some interesting insights from this page. Here's an excerpt:

    How to Achieve Flow

    It’s important to note that one can’t experience flow if distractions disrupt the experience (Nakamura et al., 2009). Thus, to experience this state, one has to stay away from the attention-robbers common in a modern fast-paced life. A first step would be to turn off your smartphone when seeking flow.

    Also, the balance of perceived challenges and skills are important factors in flow (Nakamura et al., 2009). On the one hand, when a challenge is bigger than one’s level of skills, one becomes anxious and stressed. On the other hand, when the level of skill exceeds the size of the challenge, one becomes bored and distracted.

    Since the experience of this state is just in the middle, the balance is essential.

    What is the Motivation Behind Your Flow State?

    Most conscious actions require motivation, and there are two basic motivation types: intrinsic and extrinsic.

    Intrinsic motivation is when you do something because you love it. Csikszentmihalyi said the highest intrinsic motivation is a flow state where self-consciousness is lost, one surrenders completely to the moment, and time means nothing (2013). Think of a competent musician playing without thinking, or a surfer catching a great wave and riding it with joy.

    Extrinsic motivation is when your motivation to succeed is controlled externally. That includes doing something to avoid getting into trouble or working hard to earn more money. That type of motivation is short-lived. A good kind of extrinsic motivation is when you are practicing to get better but you still need a tutor or teacher to validate your efforts.

  • YF_Sticks
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    YF_Sticks polycounter lvl 5
    Same as the other answers. It's usually around 4-5 hours. At the moment I have to cut back on checking social media and whatsapp. I kinda get that "twitch" to always check it at very unusual times. Or check it, put it back and then immediately check it again. The state of flow is amazing though. Time just fades away and you produce great work during that flow-state.
  • Zi0
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    Zi0 polycounter
    It really depends on the day, sometimes its 5h and sometimes I can keep working concentrated for 8h+
  • Alex_J
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    Alex_J grand marshal polycounter
    Sometimes I find it a waste of time to try and force high focus work if it ain't coming. Sometimes a ten minute break makes it happen.

    One thing for sure, forums and YouTube are terrible distractions.

    But I think brain needs certain amount of distraction time too. I expect it's all highly variable and individually based. In other words, waiting for flow to happen is like waiting for good weather. You can kind of predict it but not really. When it comes, savor every moment.


  • TheGabmeister
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    TheGabmeister interpolator
    One thing for sure, forums and YouTube are terrible distractions.
    A trick I use to limit the time spent on forums is to read threads only when I'm waiting for something to finish such as opening a project or lightmap and texture baking.
  • Alex_J
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    Alex_J grand marshal polycounter
    One thing for sure, forums and YouTube are terrible distractions.
    A trick I use to limit the time spent on forums is to read threads only when I'm waiting for something to finish such as opening a project or lightmap and texture baking.
    That's what I do but I find it always ends up creeping on too long. And it breaks the cycle of thought that revolves around work I am doing.

    Sometimes it's okay cause can't push yourself constantly, bit when I really need to make shit happen I find it best to just save distraction time till end of day entirely. Really depends what type of work is being done though. Some things require me to have entire project in head at once for constant complex decisions to be made on.fly. other things just like busy work and a distraction now and then may even help. Like playing music.
  • TheGabmeister
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    TheGabmeister interpolator
    Recently watched this time management strategy video from the GDC Youtube Channel. Very interesting.


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRrcH3BuKfE
  • fdfxd2
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    fdfxd2 interpolator
    Oh thank goodness it's not just me who only spends 2 to 5 hours a day actually modelling with visible progress.

    I was beginning to think something was wrong with me.
  • Spiderdance
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    Spiderdance polycounter lvl 3
    Usually about 4 hours of intense focus (Which I assume is flow). I feel that even though I am working at other times, I am distracted with changing a podcast/ youtube video, getting up to make tea or a snack, responding to my phone or emails, and needing to stand and stretch my legs every so often. I find I work best when I throw on a long playlist of music that I don't touch for awhile, and to resist checking any non work related web pages. I am definitely more productive in the morning: 6:00 am to about 11am. After that and my mind slowly starts to wander and grow tired. I wonder if its possible to break that past noon mental fog? Oh if only we were endless fountains of productivity, stopping at our own time ha!
  • radiancef0rge
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    radiancef0rge ngon master
    2hrs if im lucky
  • Auldbenkenobi
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    Auldbenkenobi polycounter lvl 11
    Really depends on where in the day I am, and what I've been doing prior. And sometimes I just feel like fuck it, I want to play games. 

    But that being said, when  I really get into it, it can be between 2-3 hours up to 5-7. 
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