--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I used to work for 12 or 14 hours at a…" description: "\"I used to work for 12 or 14 hours at a time but the digital age has made such happy immersions almost impossible.\" — Richard Powers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/richard-powers-8111_age_i-used-to-work-for-12-or-14-hours-at-a-t_2115616.jpg" --- # I used to work for 12 or 14 hours at a time but the… ![“I used to work for 12 or 14 hours at a time but the digital age has made such happy immersions almost impossible.” quote by Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/richard-powers-8111_age_i-used-to-work-for-12-or-14-hours-at-a-t_2115616.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/richard-powers-8111_age_i-used-to-work-for-12-or-14-hours-at-a-t_2115616.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/richard-powers-8111_age_i-used-to-work-for-12-or-14-hours-at-a-t_2115616.jpg) > “I used to work for 12 or 14 hours at a time but the digital age has made such happy immersions almost impossible.” [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He notes that the demands of long work hours clash with the digital era's constant connectivity, making deep, immersive work harder to achieve. **In simple terms:** Long hours clash with digital distractions. Key Takeaway Protect focused time from digital interruptions. Themes work digital age focus Mood thoughtful practical Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - research - creative writing - software development - academic study Key Concepts attention economy burnout productivity Questions to Reflect On - How do you create deep work in a connected world? - What habits protect immersion? A Different Perspective Digital tools can also enhance focus when used wisely. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [14 Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/14-hours-580984/) [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Almost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/almost/) [Digital](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digital/) [Digital age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digital-age/) [Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy/) [Happy Immersions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-immersions-4291864/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Immersion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immersion/) [Immersions Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immersions-impossible-4291865/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Work 12](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-12-1612045/) ## Related quotes > [I work 12 to 14 hours a day, and in the spare time I do sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-prokhorov/i-work-12-to-14-hours-a-day-and-in-the-spare-time-i-do-sport/) [Mikhail Prokhorov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-prokhorov/) > [I can't work 12 hours a day, every day for too long before it burns out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-harrison/i-can-t-work-12-hours-a-day-every-day-for-too-long-before-it-burns-out/) [Rick Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-harrison/) > [When I was in the studio with Madonna, we would work 12-hour days. If you want to work with the best, then that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-oakenfold/when-i-was-in-the-studio-with-madonna-we-would-work-12-hour-days-if/) [Paul Oakenfold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-oakenfold/) > [“Being self-employed means you work 12 hours a day for yourself so you don't have to work 8 hours a day for someone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/being-self-employed-means-you-work-12-hours-a-day-for-yourself-so-you/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [I can promise you. If you work 12 hours, I will work for 13. If you work 14 hours, I will work for 15…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/i-can-promise-you-if-you-work-12-hours-i-will-work-for-13-if-you-work/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [A very good leader is someone who has a great team, it's all about the team. You only have 12 hours or 14 hours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-mouratoglou/a-very-good-leader-is-someone-who-has-a-great-team-it-s-all-about-the/) [Patrick Mouratoglou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-mouratoglou/) > [Here in TV one has to give 13-14 hours of your day. It makes you dead tired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirron-kher/here-in-tv-one-has-to-give-13-14-hours-of-your-day-it-makes-you-dead/) [Kirron Kher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirron-kher/) > [I come from the restaurant business; you're talking to a guy used to working 12, 14 hours a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-schilling/i-come-from-the-restaurant-business-you-re-talking-to-a-guy-used-to/) [Bobby Schilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-schilling/) > [We have such a good time working together. It makes such a difference going to work every day for 14 hours and being able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-chalke/we-have-such-a-good-time-working-together-it-makes-such-a-difference/) [Sarah Chalke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-chalke/) > [I sleep 14 hours a day. That helps me get the energy you see on the pitch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-essien/i-sleep-14-hours-a-day-that-helps-me-get-the-energy-you-see-on-the/) [Michael Essien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-essien/) > [You don't think I work 14 hours a day right now?! I mean, I still put in the hours, I still do the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/you-don-t-think-i-work-14-hours-a-day-right-now-i-mean-i-still-put-in/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Before the advent of artificial light, we had 13, 14 hours in bed every night... and so what we experience now is about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessa-gamble/before-the-advent-of-artificial-light-we-had-13-14-hours-in-bed-every/) [Jessa Gamble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessa-gamble/) > [I practiced for at least two hours every day for twenty years, before then I practiced maybe four to five hours a day, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-schenker/i-practiced-for-at-least-two-hours-every-day-for-twenty-years-before/) [Michael Schenker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-schenker/) > [I probably spend 14 hours a day, if you include a commute, at work. That doesn't leave a whole lot of time to train,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabe-kapler/i-probably-spend-14-hours-a-day-if-you-include-a-commute-at-work-that/) [Gabe Kapler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabe-kapler/) > [You do show after show after show and get them done and on the air. Television devours material. We work a minimum of 12,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-stevenson/you-do-show-after-show-after-show-and-get-them-done-and-on-the-air/) [Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) ## More by Richard Powers > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [If you're going to immerse yourself in a project for three years, why not stake out a chunk of the world that is completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/if-you-re-going-to-immerse-yourself-in-a-project-for-three-years-why/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“It seemed to me that half of life’s problems would be solved if one of us had a vagina.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/it-seemed-to-me-that-half-of-life-s-problems-would-be-solved-if-one/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“Information may travel at light speed, but meaning spreads at the speed of dark.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/information-may-travel-at-light-speed-but-meaning-spreads-at-the/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [Science is not about control. It is about cultivating a perpetual condition of wonder in the face of something that forever grows one step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/science-is-not-about-control-it-is-about-cultivating-a-perpetual/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [What we can do should never by itself determine what we choose to do, yet this is the way technology tends to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/what-we-can-do-should-never-by-itself-determine-what-we-choose-to-do/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [I really like science because it seems to be that place where you get the big picture, everything connects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-really-like-science-because-it-seems-to-be-that-place-where-you-get/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [For me, university was just awful because it was closing one door after the other of all these candy shops of professional possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/for-me-university-was-just-awful-because-it-was-closing-one-door/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [We will live with racism for ever. But senses of self, senses of belonging, senses of us and of others? Those are up for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/we-will-live-with-racism-for-ever-but-senses-of-self-senses-of/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [Reading is the last act of secular prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/reading-is-the-last-act-of-secular-prayer/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [Time passes, as the novelist says. The single most useful trick of fiction for our repair and refreshment: the defeat of time. A century…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/time-passes-as-the-novelist-says-the-single-most-useful-trick-of/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [A book is still atemporal. It is you, in silence, hearing voices in your head, unfolding at a time that has nothing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/a-book-is-still-atemporal-it-is-you-in-silence-hearing-voices-in-your/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [My dream has always been to suspend myself in space when I write, and lying horizontal in bed is the closest to doing that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/my-dream-has-always-been-to-suspend-myself-in-space-when-i-write-and/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“Je ne fais aucun mal en restant ici. I do no harm by remaining here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/je-ne-fais-aucun-mal-en-restant-ici-i-do-no-harm-by-remaining-here/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [The use of music is to remind us how short a time we have a body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/the-use-of-music-is-to-remind-us-how-short-a-time-we-have-a-body/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) [Explore all 84 Richard Powers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. 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But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. 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That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I used to work for 12 or 14 hours at a time but the digital age has made such happy immersions almost impossible.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Powers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-used-to-work-for-12-or-14-hours-at-a-time-but-the-digital-age-has/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-used-to-work-for-12-or-14-hours-at-a-time-but-the-digital-age-has/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/richard-powers-8111_age_i-used-to-work-for-12-or-14-hours-at-a-t_2115616.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/richard-powers-8111_age_i-used-to-work-for-12-or-14-hours-at-a-t_2115616.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/richard-powers-8111_age_i-used-to-work-for-12-or-14-hours-at-a-t_2115616.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I used to work for 12 or 14 hours at a time but the digital age has made such happy immersions almost…” — Richard Powers", "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": "Richard Powers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I used to work for 12...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-used-to-work-for-12-or-14-hours-at-a-time-but-the-digital-age-has/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-used-to-work-for-12-or-14-hours-at-a-time-but-the-digital-age-has/#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 } } ] } ```