---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can't really work on more than one…"
description: "\"I can't really work on more than one thing at a time\" — Alice Hoffman"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/alice-hoffman-427_one-thing_i-can-t-really-work-on-more-than-one-thi_1939634.png"
---

#  I can't really work on more than one thing at a time

![“I can't really work on more than one thing at a time” quote by Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/alice-hoffman-427_one-thing_i-can-t-really-work-on-more-than-one-thi_1939634.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/alice-hoffman-427_one-thing_i-can-t-really-work-on-more-than-one-thi_1939634.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/alice-hoffman-427_one-thing_i-can-t-really-work-on-more-than-one-thi_1939634.png)

> “I can't really work on more than one thing at a time”

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Multitasking reduces effectiveness; focusing on one task at a time yields better results.

**In simple terms:** Focus on one thing improves performance.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize single‑task work.

Themes

focus productivity attention

Mood

determined pragmatic

Type

advice motivational

When to use this quote

- office work
- studying
- creative projects
- household chores
- exercise

Key Concepts

cognitive load task switching

Questions to Reflect On

- Can you identify a task that truly needs simultaneous attention?
- How does single‑tasking affect your stress levels?

A Different Perspective

Multitasking may be necessary in emergencies or fast‑paced environments.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [Really Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-work-846761/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Thing Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-time/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Work Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-thing-447379/)

## Related quotes

> [Work on one thing at a time until finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/work-on-one-thing-at-a-time-until-finished/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [“The most precious thing I have to give is my time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvia-hartmann/the-most-precious-thing-i-have-to-give-is-my-time/)

[Silvia Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvia-hartmann/)

> [I'm like a man in that way. I can only do one thing at a time, haha.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-ruiz/i-m-like-a-man-in-that-way-i-can-only-do-one-thing-at-a-time-haha/)

[Teresa Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-ruiz/)

> [When you don't have much and you need to be at work, there's no such thing as being sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-brooks/when-you-don-t-have-much-and-you-need-to-be-at-work-there-s-no-such/)

[Scott Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-brooks/)

> [The thing to do with money is to put it back into yourself, into your work, into the thing that is important, into whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/the-thing-to-do-with-money-is-to-put-it-back-into-yourself-into-your/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [Work is the only thing I do to escape the corruption of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/work-is-the-only-thing-i-do-to-escape-the-corruption-of-praise/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [I could be working 300 hours a week. I just say 'no.' The power of slow is the power of no. I can't go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-honor/i-could-be-working-300-hours-a-week-i-just-say-no-the-power-of-slow/)

[Carl Honore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-honor/)

> [Work is the thing that stays. Work is the thing that sees us through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-gilchrist/work-is-the-thing-that-stays-work-is-the-thing-that-sees-us-through/)

[Ellen Gilchrist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-gilchrist/)

> [Work is the thing that happens around the game time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-brady/work-is-the-thing-that-happens-around-the-game-time/)

[Wayne Brady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-brady/)

> [For me, work is one thing, and my life is another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/for-me-work-is-one-thing-and-my-life-is-another/)

[Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/)

> [I love my work and that's the only thing I think about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toyah-willcox/i-love-my-work-and-that-s-the-only-thing-i-think-about/)

[Toyah Willcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toyah-willcox/)

> [Do your work, but do your thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/do-your-work-but-do-your-thing/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [When I am doing something I give it 100 per cent. I work on it, do it and go onto the next thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haskell/when-i-am-doing-something-i-give-it-100-per-cent-i-work-on-it-do-it/)

[James Haskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haskell/)

> [My work has always been the thing that justifies my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/my-work-has-always-been-the-thing-that-justifies-my-life/)

[Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/)

> [I've always tried to tell myself that the work itself is the thing, that win, lose, or draw, the work is really what counts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-erving/i-ve-always-tried-to-tell-myself-that-the-work-itself-is-the-thing/)

[Julius Erving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-erving/)

## More by Alice Hoffman

> [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“All of the quarters in his hand were tarnished. He had no idea that the silver in a man’s pockets always turns black if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/all-of-the-quarters-in-his-hand-were-tarnished-he-had-no-idea-that/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [But most important of all, she explained that it was all right to say 'No. I disagree.' that was a gift. I understood it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/but-most-important-of-all-she-explained-that-it-was-all-right-to-say/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“It was after dark when the woods were most filled with magic, when there were fireflies and the mist was rising from the streams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/it-was-after-dark-when-the-woods-were-most-filled-with-magic-when/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“Never look back, that's what she's told herself. Don't think about swans or being alone in the dark. Don't think of storms, or lightning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/never-look-back-that-s-what-she-s-told-herself-don-t-think-about/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [This was what it meant to be human, to know that time moved and all things changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/this-was-what-it-meant-to-be-human-to-know-that-time-moved-and-all/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“She preferred cats to human beings and turned down every offer from the men who fell in love with her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/she-preferred-cats-to-human-beings-and-turned-down-every-offer-from/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [I'm a really eclectic reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-m-a-really-eclectic-reader/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [It's not the lie that's the problem; it's the distance the lie forges between you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/it-s-not-the-lie-that-s-the-problem-it-s-the-distance-the-lie-forges/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“Her vision was going, but she could see him, the way people see clouds-beautiful, racing by, casting shadows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/her-vision-was-going-but-she-could-see-him-the-way-people-see-clouds/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [That's why there are ten gates to pass through before you reach the garden. If life were easy there would be one gate. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/that-s-why-there-are-ten-gates-to-pass-through-before-you-reach-the/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“...the summer of the gypsy moths when all the trees in their yard were bare, the leaves chewed by caterpillars. You could hear crunching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/the-summer-of-the-gypsy-moths-when-all-the-trees-in-their-yard-were/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“The best way to die is when you're living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/the-best-way-to-die-is-when-you-re-living/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“Haylin was given a good talking-to by the headmaster and made to write a paper about workers’ rights, which he considered a privilege rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/haylin-was-given-a-good-talking-to-by-the-headmaster-and-made-to/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/my-darling-girl-when-are-you-going-to-realize-that-being-normal-is/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

[Explore all 571 Alice Hoffman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

## More One thing quotes

> [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/)

[John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/)

> [When you reach that competing point, when you reach that time when the gun is about to go off, everyone's level is pretty much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apolo-ohno/when-you-reach-that-competing-point-when-you-reach-that-time-when-the/)

[Apolo Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apolo-ohno/)

> [One thing that we have learned is that piracy is not a pricing issue. It’s a service issue,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabe-newell/one-thing-that-we-have-learned-is-that-piracy-is-not-a-pricing-issue/)

[Gabe Newell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabe-newell/)

> [My kids all do love to hunt and fish. When they get together, I think that's what they get together more for than anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/my-kids-all-do-love-to-hunt-and-fish-when-they-get-together-i-think/)

[Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/)

> [I'll tell you one thing: I will always play the sh\*\* out of my guitar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-satriani/i-ll-tell-you-one-thing-i-will-always-play-the-sh-out-of-my-guitar/)

[Joe Satriani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-satriani/)

> [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing: war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-render-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/)

[Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/)

> [One thing the young Christian should be taught as quickly as possible after his conversion is that Jesus Christ is all he needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/one-thing-the-young-christian-should-be-taught-as-quickly-as-possible/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [The one thing that flies in the face of all human history and experience, is that the government can do a superior job than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/the-one-thing-that-flies-in-the-face-of-all-human-history-and/)

[James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/)

> [One of the noblest words in our language is "grace," defined as "unearned blessing." We live by grace far more than by anything else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/one-of-the-noblest-words-in-our-language-is-grace-defined-as-unearned/)

[D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/)

> [You can have examples of reasons to hate people, but if you analyze those reasons it's like, Oh, I'm hating that person based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlyne-yi/you-can-have-examples-of-reasons-to-hate-people-but-if-you-analyze/)

[Charlyne Yi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlyne-yi/)

> [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/)

[Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/)

> [In any event, it is one thing to assert, then or now, that the Iraq war was ill-advised. It is quite another to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-silberman/in-any-event-it-is-one-thing-to-assert-then-or-now-that-the-iraq-war/)

[Laurence Silberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-silberman/)

> [ I walked all around it \[the Guggenheim Bilbao\] and couldn't find one clear, clean shot. To make things worse, the weather was lousy. Nothing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-polidori/i-walked-all-around-it-the-guggenheim-bilbao-and-couldn-t-find-one/)

[Robert Polidori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-polidori/)

> [I know one thing: that you can do a lot of things but if you don't educate people into conscious anarchism it gets frittered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-know-one-thing-that-you-can-do-a-lot-of-things-but-if-you-don-t/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

[Browse all 5,057 One thing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I can't really work on more than one thing at a time",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Alice Hoffman"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-can-t-really-work-on-more-than-one-thing-at-a-time/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "One thing"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-can-t-really-work-on-more-than-one-thing-at-a-time/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/alice-hoffman-427_one-thing_i-can-t-really-work-on-more-than-one-thi_1939634.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/alice-hoffman-427_one-thing_i-can-t-really-work-on-more-than-one-thi_1939634.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/alice-hoffman-427_one-thing_i-can-t-really-work-on-more-than-one-thi_1939634.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I can't really work on more than one thing at a time” — Alice Hoffman",
                "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": "Alice Hoffman",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I can't really work on more...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-can-t-really-work-on-more-than-one-thing-at-a-time/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-can-t-really-work-on-more-than-one-thing-at-a-time/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```