Do This Daily to Deepen Your Concentration

Start with 5 minutes a day - or even less

"You can go in front of me - ?"

My friend, glancing at her own full shopping cart, offered this to the lady behind her, who had just a few items in her basket.

"Nope!" the woman declared, opening her book. "This is the only chance I get to read."

A Dinner Conversation

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to share a dinner with a #1 New York Times bestselling author of 31 novels. He has won numerous literary awards from different countries, with over 20,000,000 copies of his books sold worldwide, having been translated into 27 languages. Two television series, for which he was the Executive Producer, have been based on his novels.

(Remarkably and - truth be told - embarrassingly, I had never heard of him before that evening. His genre isn't a part of my world. But our dinner conversation was really interesting, nonetheless.)

My burning question of the evening for him was, "What's your thought on self-publishing? Do you think an author can 'make it' these days, going that route?" I asked this, thinking about my teenage daughter who has already written 9 novels herself and would like to be a published author after college.

He looked me dead in the eye and said, "You know, not too long ago, I would have said 'No'. I would have told you the only way to succeed was to find a good literary agent and have 'em do all the hard work of getting you a contract. These days, though, self-publishing is very viable. An author can definitely make it these days, going that route." He went on to tell our table about several very successful authors who got their start by self-publishing.

Due to the significant opportunity provided by self-publishing, I suspect that more physical books are available now than ever before.

At the same time, I wonder: are people reading books less now than ever before?

When I say reading, I mean reading - defined as the act of holding a physical book in your hands, taking in the words with your own eyes, turning the leaves page by page with your own fingers. I don't mean looking at an ebook on an electronic device or listening to an audiobook on the daily commute.

There's a reason why high-tech Silicon Valley executives pay steep private school tuition to enroll their children in institutions that don't use technology. (The 2025-2026 tuition at one in-demand non-tech SV school ranges from a jaw-dropping $19K for a half-day, 3x per week preschool program up to a mind-blowing $54K for its international high school students.)

Ironic, isn't it? While these execs are actively developing new technologies for the rest of us, their wallets are voicing their concerns about the detrimental effects of technology on their children’s developing minds.

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Physical Books over Ebooks and Audiobooks

What is it about physical books that are superior to ebooks or audiobooks?

Though I am no research expert, I draw on my experience as a Montessorian: reading a physical book is a multisensory encounter, which by nature lends to a deeper cognitive experience.

For physical books:

• Touch: You are physically holding the book and turning the pages with (usually) several fingers. You may even be brushing a bookmark against the page to help keep your place.

• Sight: Your eyes are moving on the page, left to right, in a consistent, horizontal line.

• Smell: Books, particularly older ones, can have a distinctive (and to me, comforting) smell.

• Hearing: You hear the rustling pages of the book as you turn its leaves.

• Taste: This is iffy, but Taste and Smell are closely connected . . .

For ebooks on a digital device:

• Touch: You are physically holding the device, but commonly now, only one finger is used to swipe. It is possible, though, to skip using this sense entirely, using an ereader holder + remote control page turner.

• Sight: Your eyes are moving on the screen, but heavy computer use has trained our eyes to scan a screen in a zig-zag pattern from top left to bottom right.

• Smell: Probably not - unless your device is overheating, which would be bad.

• Hearing: It's a fake clicking sound . . . really? (Raise your eyebrow here.)

• Taste: I'd say 'no' to this one.

For audiobooks:

• Touch: You start the audiobook playing, and that's about it.

• Sight: Nope - you're probably doing something else that requires your vision, like driving or cooking.

• Smell: Just . . . no.

• Hearing: Of course; this is the whole point!

• Taste: And no to this one also.

Another advantage I've experienced from reading physical books is I'm much more likely to stop and reread a sentence or paragraph that jumped out at me. I read fairly quickly, averaging 3-4 days for a nonfiction book. But when a particular idea strikes me as profound or original, I'll slow down my reading speed, rereading the section several times. I'm savoring the new concepts in my mind, storing it away for future use (in articles such as this), as if I'm tasting a new fusion dish. I'll note the page number so that I can return to the passage later, which I actually often do.

I’ve found that when I want to relisten to a section of an audiobook, I inevitably go back too far, or not far enough, and end up wasting time searching for the part I care about. Then I usually get irritated and give up.

Go Deeper

I've written about how the average professional working at a computer focuses for only 40 seconds.

Can great things happen in 40 seconds? Sure they can:

• A stranger holding open a door for me with a smile

• News that my adult child was offered a great job without applying for it

• My teenager saying, "I love having you as my mom."

But is it possible to accomplish deep, complex work in 40 seconds? Most of us mortals can't do that. (If you can, get in touch with me - I'd love to hear how you do it!)

An easy, affordable way to start deepening your Concentration is to read a physical book. Commit to just 5 minutes a day. If that feels too long for you, start with 1 minute. Set a timer if you need help to make it that long. And if you're still struggling with 1 minute of reading a physical book a day, then start by leaving the book on your nightstand and picking it up every night for a week before you go to bed. The next week, read for 1 minute each night.

Don’t beat yourself up; just start at the smallest step you can.

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By developing the habit of reading physical books, you'll find your ability to concentrate will stretch into a half-hour, an hour, even several hours at a time.

Many of my friends reading this may laugh out loud at the simplicity of my suggestion, as they are voracious readers themselves. But I've had (sad to me) conversations with adults who've gleefully said, "I haven't picked up a book since college!" These are the same adults who can't get through a conversation without checking their phone constantly.

If you're looking to deepen your Concentration beyond 40 seconds, pick up a physical book.