--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: cultivating “concentration so intense…" description: "\"“cultivating “concentration so intense that there is no attention left over to think about anything irrelevant, or to worry about problems.”)”\" — Cal N..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/730/cal-newport-1302_focus_cultivating-concentration-so-intense-tha_1527225.jpg" --- # cultivating “concentration so intense that there is no… ![“cultivating “concentration so intense that there is no attention left over to think about anything irrelevant, or to worry about problems.”)” quote by Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/730/cal-newport-1302_focus_cultivating-concentration-so-intense-tha_1527225.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/730/cal-newport-1302_focus_cultivating-concentration-so-intense-tha_1527225.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/730/cal-newport-1302_focus_cultivating-concentration-so-intense-tha_1527225.jpg) > ““cultivating “concentration so intense that there is no attention left over to think about anything irrelevant, or to worry about problems.”)”” [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intense concentration eliminates distraction, leaving no mental bandwidth for irrelevant thoughts or worries. **In simple terms:** Deep focus removes distraction. Key Takeaway Practice deep work daily. Themes focus productivity mindfulness distraction concentration Mood motivational practical Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - studying - writing - problem solving - creative projects Key Concepts psychology productivity cognitive science Questions to Reflect On - Can you sustain deep focus for long periods? - What breaks your concentration? A Different Perspective Maintaining such focus can be exhausting and unsustainable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Concentration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentration/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) ## Related quotes > [I have a writer’s concentration: intense, but flickering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-mccaig/i-have-a-writer-s-concentration-intense-but-flickering/) [Donald McCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-mccaig/) > [At a given moment a child becomes interested in a piece of work, showing it by the expression of his face, by his intense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/at-a-given-moment-a-child-becomes-interested-in-a-piece-of-work/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Because jurors have an extraordinary amount of power over the situation and of the people and the story in front of them, they tend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zephyr-teachout/because-jurors-have-an-extraordinary-amount-of-power-over-the/) [Zephyr Teachout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zephyr-teachout/) > [Our word choices give a sentence its luster, and they deserve intense attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-hale/our-word-choices-give-a-sentence-its-luster-and-they-deserve-intense/) [Constance Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-hale/) > [Many people must have noticed the intense attention given by children to the conversation of grown-ups when they cannot possibly be understanding a word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/many-people-must-have-noticed-the-intense-attention-given-by-children/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“The purpose of the deep work chamber is to allow for total focus and uninterrupted work flow,” Dewane explains. He imagines a process in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-purpose-of-the-deep-work-chamber-is-to-allow-for-total-focus-and/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [Our mind is a flowing something. It oscillates. Concentration is merely the continuous return to the same problem from a million angles… So my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-laubach/our-mind-is-a-flowing-something-it-oscillates-concentration-is-merely/) [Frank Laubach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-laubach/) > [Any piece of knowledge which the pupil has himself acquired- any problem which he has himself solved, becomes, by virtue of the conquest, much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/any-piece-of-knowledge-which-the-pupil-has-himself-acquired-any/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Recently a study proved that working from a larger, less cluttered computer screen increases concentration. 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Of the screen action, movement, sweep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elia-kazan/the-essence-of-the-stage-is-concentration-and-penetration-of-the/) [Elia Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elia-kazan/) > [Mental attitude and concentration are the keys to pitching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferguson-jenkins/mental-attitude-and-concentration-are-the-keys-to-pitching/) Ferguson Jenkins > [“Exceptional work is always associated with periods of deep concentration. Nothing excellent ever comes from a scattered effort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-horsley/exceptional-work-is-always-associated-with-periods-of-deep/) [Kevin Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-horsley/) ## More by Cal Newport > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-importance-of-ability-the-things-that-make-a-great-job-great-i/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [“many software companies now deploy the Scrum project management methodology, which replaces a lot of this ad hoc messaging with regular, highly structured, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/many-software-companies-now-deploy-the-scrum-project-management/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [“when paying more than $1,000 a day to write the chapter in a suite of an old hotel down the street from a Hogwarts-style…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/when-paying-more-than-1-000-a-day-to-write-the-chapter-in-a-suite-of/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [“When deciding whether to follow an appealing pursuit that will introduce more control into your work life, seek evidence of whether people are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/when-deciding-whether-to-follow-an-appealing-pursuit-that-will/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [“Let your mind become a lens, thanks to the converging rays of attention; let your soul be all intent on whatever it is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/let-your-mind-become-a-lens-thanks-to-the-converging-rays-of/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [“study by Harvard Business School professor Leslie Perlow. 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They weren’t dreaming of taking over the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/their-plans-were-circumspect-and-small-time-they-weren-t-dreaming-of/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [“This chain method (as some now call it) soon became a hit among writers and fitness enthusiasts—communities that thrive on the ability to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/this-chain-method-as-some-now-call-it-soon-became-a-hit-among-writers/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) [Explore all 257 Cal Newport quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) ## More Concentration quotes > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We must remember that intelligence is not enough. 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Nothing excellent ever comes from a scattered effort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-horsley/exceptional-work-is-always-associated-with-periods-of-deep/) [Kevin Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-horsley/) > [Mental attitude and concentration are the keys to pitching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferguson-jenkins/mental-attitude-and-concentration-are-the-keys-to-pitching/) Ferguson Jenkins > [The essence of the stage is concentration and penetration. Of the screen action, movement, sweep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elia-kazan/the-essence-of-the-stage-is-concentration-and-penetration-of-the/) [Elia Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elia-kazan/) > [I can let go of a lot of stuff, but I focus on things I think I should, like dancing, because it takes 100…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuan-yuan-tan/i-can-let-go-of-a-lot-of-stuff-but-i-focus-on-things-i-think-i-should/) [Yuan Yuan Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuan-yuan-tan/) > [“Apply the blacksmith's homely principle when you are speaking. If you feel deeply about your subject you will be able to think of little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/apply-the-blacksmith-s-homely-principle-when-you-are-speaking-if-you/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [Mindfulness develops attention, concentration and the ability to simply be present with little or no future orientation, past orientation or goal orientation—choosing to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gawler/mindfulness-develops-attention-concentration-and-the-ability-to/) Ian Gawler > [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Recently a study proved that working from a larger, less cluttered computer screen increases concentration. I could have told them that. And yes, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/recently-a-study-proved-that-working-from-a-larger-less-cluttered/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [If writing with a goal - whether it be evangelistic, apologetic, or didactic - implies propaganda, then all recorded history is propaganda. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/if-writing-with-a-goal-whether-it-be-evangelistic-apologetic-or/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [... programming requires more concentration than other activities. 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Concentration is merely the continuous return to the same problem from a million angles… So my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-laubach/our-mind-is-a-flowing-something-it-oscillates-concentration-is-merely/) [Frank Laubach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-laubach/) [Browse all 1,154 Concentration quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentration/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“cultivating “concentration so intense that there is no attention left over to think about anything irrelevant, or to worry about problems.”)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cal Newport" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/cultivating-concentration-so-intense-that-there-is-no-attention-left/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Concentration" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/cultivating-concentration-so-intense-that-there-is-no-attention-left/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/730/cal-newport-1302_focus_cultivating-concentration-so-intense-tha_1527225.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/730/cal-newport-1302_focus_cultivating-concentration-so-intense-tha_1527225.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/730/cal-newport-1302_focus_cultivating-concentration-so-intense-tha_1527225.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“cultivating “concentration so intense that there is no attention left over to think about anything…” — Cal Newport", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Cal Newport", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“cultivating “concentration so intense that there...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/cultivating-concentration-so-intense-that-there-is-no-attention-left/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/cultivating-concentration-so-intense-that-there-is-no-attention-left/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```