Quotes about Being Productive

“Anything that must yet be done, virtue can do with courage and promptness. For anyone would call it a sign of foolishness for one to undertake a task with a lazy and begrudging spirit, or to push the body in one direction and the mind in another, to be torn apart by wildly divergent impulses.”
Seneca, via The Daily Stoic (Page 259)

“What are the chances that the busiest person you know is actually the most productive? We tend to associate busyness with goodness and believe that spending many hours at work should be rewarded. Instead, evaluate what you are doing, why you are doing it, and where accomplishing it will take you. If you don’t have a good answer, then stop.”
Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic (Page 164)

“If you put the jelly on before the peanut butter, the sandwich will fail. And if you try to spread the peanut butter on the plate and then add the bread, it will fail even worse. Like so many things, the order is not optional. And yet, we often do the least-scary or easiest parts first, regardless of what the order of operations tells us.”
Seth Godin, Blog

“There’s no one way—there’s too much drivel about this subject. You’re who you are, not Fitzgerald or Thomas Wolfe. You write by sitting down and writing. There’s no particular time or place—you suit yourself, your nature. How one works, assuming he’s disciplined, doesn’t matter. If he or she is not disciplined, no sympathetic magic will help. The trick is to make time—not steal it—and produce the fiction. If the stories come, you get them written, you’re on the right track. Eventually everyone learns his or her own best way. The real mystery to crack is you.”
Bernard Malamud, via Daily Rituals (Page 233)

“I’ve never believed that one should wait until one is inspired because I think that the pleasures of not writing are so great that if you ever start indulging them you will never write again.”
John Updike, via Daily Rituals (Page 195) | Read Matt’s Blog on this quote ➜

“If someone asks you how to write your name, would you bark out each letter? And if they get angry, would you then return the anger? Wouldn’t you rather gently spell out each letter for them? So then, remember in life that your duties are the sum of individual acts. Pay attention to each of these as you do your duty… just methodically complete your task.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, via The Daily Stoic (Page 56)

Hard Work Doesn’t Always Pay Off

“Work hard,
and you will earn good rewards.
Work smart,
and you will earn great rewards.
Work hard and work smart,
and you will earn extraordinary rewards.”
Matshona Dhliwayo

Beyond the Quote (Day 398)

I remember learning this lesson in college when, after giving a big presentation, I found out a classmate of mine—who did far less work than me—got a better grade than me. I vaguely remember the details of the project, but the feelings are as fresh as they were 10 years ago. I was heated. I felt cheated. I kept replaying the thought that I did 10x the work and ending up with nothing to show for it. And I didn’t want to just let all of my hard work go to waste—I wanted to prove that those hours counted for something!

“How can you think of yourself as a caring person if you don’t take care of yourself? If you don’t take care of yourself, you’ll stop thinking of yourself as someone who has a lot to give. Instead you’ll feel deprived. And you’ll hate your life. How can you give others joy if you can’t give yourself joy?”
Mira Kirshenbaum, The Gift of a Year (Page 9)

Beyond the Quote (Day 392)

Isn’t it strange to think how so many of us act like self-care isn’t a productive use of time? Like sleeping for 8 hours in a night is somehow costly? Or skipping a workout to do more office work is somehow admirable? Or spending time to take a break and recover is somehow wasteful? When in reality, it’s often the opposite that is the case.

Do more in love.

“It’s better to do less than you hoped than nothing at all. No zero days.”
James Clear, Blog

Tony Robbins Quote on Focus and How Questions Are One Of The Most Powerful Tools To Utilize

“The most powerful way to control your focus is through the use of questions.”
Tony Robbins

Beyond the Quote (225/365)

Distracted? It’s because you’re asking yourself the wrong questions: Am I missing out on any new posts on the socials? I wonder what he/she is doing right now? I wonder how much it would cost to buy a new kayak? How come I always get so distracted? Why is life always so unfair to me? What am I going to eat for dinner? How can I get rich, quick? What shortcut can I take for better health? Why is my dog so cute? You get the idea.

“The purpose of a habit is to remove that action from self-negotiation. You no longer expend energy deciding whether to do it. You just do it. Good habits can range from telling the truth, to flossing.”
Kevin Kelly, Blog

Beyond the Quote (215/365)

When you get a look at a day in the life of a high performing individual it can leave you feeling dumbfounded. I’m sure you’ve found yourself wondering, like me, how on earth they do so much in one day? What’s their secret? Is it something in their nature? Is it a learned skill? Is it 10 coffees?And while, for some, it might involve 10 coffees, the underlying secret that helps all high performing individuals perform to the best of their ability is their habits.

“Always demand a deadline. A deadline weeds out the extraneous and the ordinary. It prevents you from trying to make it perfect, so you have to make it different. Different is better.”
Kevin Kelly, Blog

Anne Lamott Quote on Unplugging and the Reality of Burnout

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes… Including you.”
Anne Lamott

Beyond the Quote (114/365)

Following through on a commitment is something that you can choose to do or choose not to do. Burning out is something that happens—it’s not something that you can choose against. When there’s no more gas in the car, you can’t choose to magically have more gas with the snap of your fingers—you need a gas station for that. When there’s no more battery juice left in your phone, you can’t choose to boost your battery life with positive thinking—you need a charging cable for that. When there’s no more energy left inside you—mental, physical, or emotional—you can’t demand more energy to appear through even the most disciplined thinking—you need rest, recover, and self-care for that.

“Resistance can be overcome by doing the smallest possible step. For meditation, I just had to get my butt on the cushion. For writing, I just had to open up a document and write a few words. For cooking healthy food, I just had to get out a knife and an onion. For studying a language, I just had to press ‘play’ on the audio lesson. For yoga, I just had to get into child’s pose. For blogging, I just had to open up the form for writing a new post. For flossing, I just had to floss one tooth. For reading, I just had to open up the book and read a sentence. I think you get the point. Find the minimum viable habit. The smallest increment of doing the activity. The least objectionable version. And the resistance is overcome.” ~ Leo Babauta, Essential Zen Habits (Page 80)

“Never let your mood determine whether you should do something or not. Mood is a bad indicator of the worthiness of any activity.” ~ Leo Babauta, Essential Zen Habits (Page 80)

“The more you ritualize the beginning of a process, the more likely it becomes that you can slip into the state of deep focus that is required to do great things. By doing the same warm-up before every workout, you make it easier to get into a state of peak performance. By following the same creative ritual, you make it easier to get into the hard work of creating. By developing a consistent power-down habit, you make it easier to get to bed at a reasonable time each night. You may not be able to automate the whole process, but you can make the first action mindless. Make it easy to start and the rest will follow.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

“Busy, productive people are highly efficient with their time – they must be in order to survive. Being an excellent time manager doesn’t mean that you must become a workaholic. On the contrary, time mastery allows you more time to do the things you love to do, the things that are truly meaningful to you. Time mastery leads to life mastery. Guard time well. Remember, it’s a non-renewable resource.” ~ Robin S. Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

“If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. The more things you do, the more you can do.” ~ Lucille Ball