--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To really be centered and to really work…" description: "\"To really be centered and to really work well and to think about the kinds of things that I need to think about, I need to spend large amounts of time ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/donna-tartt-391_alone-time_to-really-be-centered-and-to-really-work_687205.jpg" --- # To really be centered and to really work well and to think… ![“To really be centered and to really work well and to think about the kinds of things that I need to think about, I need to spend large amounts of time alone.” quote by Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/donna-tartt-391_alone-time_to-really-be-centered-and-to-really-work_687205.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/donna-tartt-391_alone-time_to-really-be-centered-and-to-really-work_687205.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/donna-tartt-391_alone-time_to-really-be-centered-and-to-really-work_687205.jpg) > “To really be centered and to really work well and to think about the kinds of things that I need to think about, I need to spend large amounts of time alone.” [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Spending extensive time alone fosters deep focus, self‑knowledge, and creative work. **In simple terms:** Alone time builds focus and insight. Key Takeaway Schedule regular solitude. Themes self‑reflection creativity focus Mood contemplative introspective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - writing - research - meditation - personal projects Key Concepts mindfulness introspection productivity Questions to Reflect On - How does solitude improve your work? - What balance of alone time feels healthy? A Different Perspective Too much isolation can hinder social skills. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alone time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone-time/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-alone/) ## Related quotes > [I'm centered in who I am, and I'm really grateful. I'm not perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-wright/i-m-centered-in-who-i-am-and-i-m-really-grateful-i-m-not-perfect/) [Letitia Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-wright/) > [Because I live in California now, I find my musings really being centered in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lansens/because-i-live-in-california-now-i-find-my-musings-really-being/) [Lori Lansens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lansens/) > [Development cannot really be so centered only on those in power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/development-cannot-really-be-so-centered-only-on-those-in-power/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [“According to the latest research, we owe our tremendous brains to the need to think… and the need to run.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/according-to-the-latest-research-we-owe-our-tremendous-brains-to-the/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [It's a mystery to me We have a greed with which we have agreed You think you have to want more than you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-vedder/it-s-a-mystery-to-me-we-have-a-greed-with-which-we-have-agreed-you-2/) [Eddie Vedder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-vedder/) > [I think we need to think beyond the issue of absolute risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-wood/i-think-we-need-to-think-beyond-the-issue-of-absolute-risk/) [Alastair Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-wood/) > [It's like everything in football - and life. You need to look, you need to think, you need to move, you need to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-cruyff/it-s-like-everything-in-football-and-life-you-need-to-look-you-need/) [Johan Cruyff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-cruyff/) > [I think that what we need to do is we need to think about what scale makes sense for dealing with our need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-think-that-what-we-need-to-do-is-we-need-to-think-about-what-scale/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [We need much less than we think we need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/we-need-much-less-than-we-think-we-need/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I have 16 years in Dallas. I would love finish it off there. But I also understand and am not naive enough to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-witten/i-have-16-years-in-dallas-i-would-love-finish-it-off-there-but-i-also/) [Jason Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-witten/) > [Think. That's what we need you to do. Think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-geldof/think-that-s-what-we-need-you-to-do-think/) [Bob Geldof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-geldof/) > [We don't need someone who can think. We need someone with enough digits to hold a pen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grover-norquist/we-don-t-need-someone-who-can-think-we-need-someone-with-enough/) [Grover Norquist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grover-norquist/) > [“The more we make the more we (think we) need, and the more we (think we) need means the more we must work and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-y-wilson/the-more-we-make-the-more-we-think-we-need-and-the-more-we-think-we/) Kathy Y. Wilson > [I think you need to think of yourself as a flawed human being with aspirations for goodness and never start to think, 'Oh, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-bob-waksberg/i-think-you-need-to-think-of-yourself-as-a-flawed-human-being-with/) [Raphael Bob-Waksberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-bob-waksberg/) > [Sometimes I think, I need to think before I speak. And then other times I think, I shouldn't leave the house or interact with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kendrick/sometimes-i-think-i-need-to-think-before-i-speak-and-then-other-times/) [Anna Kendrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kendrick/) ## More by Donna Tartt > [I hope we're all ready to leave the phenomenal world, and enter into the sublime?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/i-hope-we-re-all-ready-to-leave-the-phenomenal-world-and-enter-into/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and looked out for them, and pulled them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-i-add-my-own-love-to-the-history-of-people-who-have-loved/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The world won't come to me...so I must go to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-world-won-t-come-to-me-so-i-must-go-to-it/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [There's an expectation these days that novels - like any other consumer product - should be made on a production line, with one dropping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/there-s-an-expectation-these-days-that-novels-like-any-other-consumer/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“A month or two before, I would have been appalled at the idea of any murder at all. But that Sunday afternoon, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-month-or-two-before-i-would-have-been-appalled-at-the-idea-of-any/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Well, I think storytellers have always found murder a fascinating device.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/well-i-think-storytellers-have-always-found-murder-a-fascinating/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Always remember, the person we’re really working for is the person who’s restoring the piece a hundred years from now. He’s the one we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/always-remember-the-person-we-re-really-working-for-is-the-person-who/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The silence between us was happy and strange, connected by the cord and the icy voices thinly echoing. “You don’t have to talk,” she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-silence-between-us-was-happy-and-strange-connected-by-the-cord/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“It is a terrible thing to learn as a child that one is a being separate from all the world, that no one and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-learn-as-a-child-that-one-is-a-being/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“You didn’t meet many people who moved freely through the world with such a vigorous contempt for it and at the same time such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/you-didn-t-meet-many-people-who-moved-freely-through-the-world-with/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“maybe that’s what’s waiting for us at the end of the journey, a majesty unimaginable until the very moment we find ourselves walking through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/maybe-that-s-what-s-waiting-for-us-at-the-end-of-the-journey-a/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“lights and moods and seasons was to see it a thousand different ways and to keep it shut in the dark—a thing made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/lights-and-moods-and-seasons-was-to-see-it-a-thousand-different-ways/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [A great sorrow, and one that I am only beginning to understand: we don’t get to choose our own hearts. We can’t make ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-great-sorrow-and-one-that-i-am-only-beginning-to-understand-we-don/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“Upon meeting Julian Morrow, one has the impression that he is a man of extraordinary sympathy and warmth. But what you call his 'Asiatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/upon-meeting-julian-morrow-one-has-the-impression-that-he-is-a-man-of/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) [Explore all 590 Donna Tartt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## More Alone time quotes > [“Truth is, I’m generally happiest when it’s just me. It’s okay to be madly in love with yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/truth-is-i-m-generally-happiest-when-it-s-just-me-it-s-okay-to-be/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [Well, it's true that I've never been solitary, although I spend a lot of time alone. I've never felt lonely or been shy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-grant/well-it-s-true-that-i-ve-never-been-solitary-although-i-spend-a-lot/) [Richard E. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-e-grant/) > [“Solitude doesn’t kill a person; it grants peace to the soul and mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayoub-imilouane/solitude-doesn-t-kill-a-person-it-grants-peace-to-the-soul-and-mind/) [Ayoub Imilouane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayoub-imilouane/) > [Spending a lot of time alone, gave me a lot of time to think. A lot of time to think gave me the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/spending-a-lot-of-time-alone-gave-me-a-lot-of-time-to-think-a-lot-of/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Having a baby on my own is a dream come true, but in my world, there's no sheepish spouse on his way home from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simmons/having-a-baby-on-my-own-is-a-dream-come-true-but-in-my-world-there-s/) [Rachel Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simmons/) > [I always feel more grounded and stable when I have balance in my life; I'm a Libra! I'm most often surrounded by people, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-always-feel-more-grounded-and-stable-when-i-have-balance-in-my-life/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [I've never just been able to be alone, and I'm obsessed with being alone and hearing my thoughts. I'm trying to take this alone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/i-ve-never-just-been-able-to-be-alone-and-i-m-obsessed-with-being/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [“There are dark and alone times when you move forward to pursue your own journey, but the beauty in the light at the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dc-allen/there-are-dark-and-alone-times-when-you-move-forward-to-pursue-your/) [DC Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dc-allen/) > [For Ragamuffins, God's name is Mercy. We see our darkness as a prized possession because it drives us into the heart of God. Without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/for-ragamuffins-god-s-name-is-mercy-we-see-our-darkness-as-a-prized/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [“The world’s refusal to leave me out of its activities made me consider its destruction. Bring on the wave. Please, the asteroid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/the-world-s-refusal-to-leave-me-out-of-its-activities-made-me/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) > [There is no doubt that solitude is a challenge and to maintain balance within it a precarious business. But I must not forget that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/there-is-no-doubt-that-solitude-is-a-challenge-and-to-maintain/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I was very inventive. I lived in my own world - my dad said I was a loner. Not lonely, just happy in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-titchmarsh/i-was-very-inventive-i-lived-in-my-own-world-my-dad-said-i-was-a/) [Alan Titchmarsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-titchmarsh/) > [only grieving can heal grief; the passage of time will lessen the acuteness, but time alone, without the direct experience of grief, will not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/only-grieving-can-heal-grief-the-passage-of-time-will-lessen-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Use your ALONE time to better yourself for you and your future mate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/use-your-alone-time-to-better-yourself-for-you-and-your-future-mate/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [It's a very weird job to have as a musician, because you spend long periods of time alone and then you have to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-deradoorian/it-s-a-very-weird-job-to-have-as-a-musician-because-you-spend-long/) Angel Deradoorian [Browse all 164 Alone time quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone-time/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To really be centered and to really work well and to think about the kinds of things that I need to think about, I need to spend large amounts of time alone.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donna Tartt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/to-really-be-centered-and-to-really-work-well-and-to-think-about-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alone time" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/to-really-be-centered-and-to-really-work-well-and-to-think-about-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/donna-tartt-391_alone-time_to-really-be-centered-and-to-really-work_687205.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/donna-tartt-391_alone-time_to-really-be-centered-and-to-really-work_687205.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/donna-tartt-391_alone-time_to-really-be-centered-and-to-really-work_687205.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To really be centered and to really work well and to think about the kinds of things that I need to think…” — Donna Tartt", "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": "Donna Tartt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To really be centered and to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/to-really-be-centered-and-to-really-work-well-and-to-think-about-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/to-really-be-centered-and-to-really-work-well-and-to-think-about-the/#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 } } ] } ```