Emma Donoghue Quotes

We've lost the ability to immerse ourselves in things.

When I play, I become entirely absorbed in the game. It may be a form of concentration.

When I'm in the movie, I'm entirely in the movie. When I'm on the set, I'm 200 per cent there; when I'm at home, I'm 200 per cent at home.

It's all discipline and schedule for me. I mean, it's very easy to get distracted by the real world and things that intrude constantly, and it takes dedication to live totally in your head and be tuned out.

I had to make sure I kept an eye on the real world.

My goal, with whatever I'm working on, is to lose track of time.

Really, all I worry about is the work in hand.

I do tend to lose myself in whatever job I'm doing or hobby I'm into.

When I work on stories, I tend to lose sight of everything else. I forget to pay bills or to shave. I don't change my clothes as often as I should.

When you're playing, it's important to focus 100 per cent on what you're doing.

When you're concentrating hard, hours can fly by, and it's just you and a math problem.

Usually, when I give talks, I'm 100% there, 100% present.

But it is impossible to enjoy a tennis game, a book, or a conversation unless attention is fully concentrated on the activity.

The thing to remember is that the work comes first, and not to get distracted by anything else. If you keep focused on the work, everything else will fall into place. That's my mantra now.

To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.

I'm really so singular, I am only able to work on one thing at a time. I really am.

I am a person who feels compelled and then gets immersed.

I regularly take my entrepreneurship students out walking because I want to get them in the habit of noticing and thinking about what they notice. They have to leave their phones behind to learn the basic lesson: Be where you are.

I don't really listen to music when I work. I really have to focus on one thing at a time. I like a lot of quiet and peace when I'm working or when I'm thinking or when I'm reading.

When I'm on set, I do whatever I can to find my focus.

The point is to be involved in the moment.

The focus is what is right before you - to give it your best. It sows the seeds of tomorrow.

When I'm concentrating, I can be fixed in place for hours. In fact, there was a joke in my office that everybody would come and chat outside my door because they knew - no matter how loud they talked - if I was concentrating, it would not disturb me at all.

No more than a surgeon can operate while tweeting can you reach your potential with one ear in, one ear out. You actually have to reacquaint yourself with concentration. We all do.

When I'm working I don't have room to think about myself and my own issues. It's really freeing. There is no room for me, which is really nice.