--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It seems to me that the problem with…" description: "\"It seems to me that the problem with diaries, and the reason that most of them are so boring, is that every day we vacillate between examining our hang..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/ann-beattie-14884_boring_it-seems-to-me-that-the-problem-with-dia_1327843.jpg" --- # It seems to me that the problem with diaries, and the… ![“It seems to me that the problem with diaries, and the reason that most of them are so boring, is that every day we vacillate between examining our hangnails and speculating on cosmic order.” quote by Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/ann-beattie-14884_boring_it-seems-to-me-that-the-problem-with-dia_1327843.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/ann-beattie-14884_boring_it-seems-to-me-that-the-problem-with-dia_1327843.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/ann-beattie-14884_boring_it-seems-to-me-that-the-problem-with-dia_1327843.jpg) > “It seems to me that the problem with diaries, and the reason that most of them are so boring, is that every day we vacillate between examining our hangnails and speculating on cosmic order.” [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Diaries feel dull because they swing between trivial self‑care and grand philosophical speculation, never fully committing to either. **In simple terms:** Boredom arises from indecisive focus. Key Takeaway Choose a clear diary purpose. Themes boredom writing self‑reflection philosophy mundane Mood thoughtful introspective Type advice literary When to use this quote - daily journaling - mindful observation - introspective practice Key Concepts creative writing personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How can you make entries both personal and meaningful? - What topics energize you? A Different Perspective Balancing depth and detail is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Diaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diaries/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) ## Related quotes > [I don't try to be completely calculating in everything I say and do, but there's no way I'm going to talk. There's no reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-o-donnell/i-don-t-try-to-be-completely-calculating-in-everything-i-say-and-do/) [Chris O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-o-donnell/) > [The day you stop learning and creating must be the most boring day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-barks/the-day-you-stop-learning-and-creating-must-be-the-most-boring-day/) [Samantha Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-barks/) > [“Why is it that parents always want to know every detail about your boring day at school?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-vogel-frederick/why-is-it-that-parents-always-want-to-know-every-detail-about-your/) [Heather Vogel Frederick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-vogel-frederick/) > [I hate movies. They're so boring. So tedious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-idle/i-hate-movies-they-re-so-boring-so-tedious/) [Eric Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-idle/) > [They're so boring. They're so pathetic, all those journalists. Most of them are. Most of those kind that write gossip stuff, and most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-jagger/they-re-so-boring-they-re-so-pathetic-all-those-journalists-most-of/) [Mick Jagger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-jagger/) > [Newspapers are so boring. How can you read a newspaper that starts with a 51-word lead sentence?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/newspapers-are-so-boring-how-can-you-read-a-newspaper-that-starts/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [Some people are so boring that they make you waste an entire day in five minutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/some-people-are-so-boring-that-they-make-you-waste-an-entire-day-in/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [I'd hate to die twice. It's so boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-d-hate-to-die-twice-it-s-so-boring/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Advertising agencies don't care about a better world in the end. They are servants of their client: what the client wants is what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliviero-toscani/advertising-agencies-don-t-care-about-a-better-world-in-the-end-they/) [Oliviero Toscani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliviero-toscani/) > [To learn bad dialogue is so difficult and so boring, and to work with a stupid director who tells you to do the wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-sharif/to-learn-bad-dialogue-is-so-difficult-and-so-boring-and-to-work-with/) [Omar Sharif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-sharif/) > [Everything intelligent is so boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/everything-intelligent-is-so-boring/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I really think I write about everyday life. I don't think I'm quite as odd as others say I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-really-think-i-write-about-everyday-life-i-don-t-think-i-m-quite-as/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I couldn't imagine playing someone young now; it would be so boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-annis/i-couldn-t-imagine-playing-someone-young-now-it-would-be-so-boring/) [Francesca Annis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-annis/) > [Looking at somebody looking good is so... boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaby-hoffmann/looking-at-somebody-looking-good-is-so-boring/) [Gaby Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaby-hoffmann/) > [One of the reasons so many nonfiction books are so boring is because what they've done, very diligently, is fulfill the terms of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/one-of-the-reasons-so-many-nonfiction-books-are-so-boring-is-because/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) ## More by Ann Beattie > [Clouds are poems, and the most moving poems linger on the blackboard so long, written in cursive so lovely, they also exist inside our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/clouds-are-poems-and-the-most-moving-poems-linger-on-the-blackboard/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [If you could have a book called My Favorite Six Stories, I don't think I'd have trouble doing that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/if-you-could-have-a-book-called-my-favorite-six-stories-i-don-t-think/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [Nobody can assume that, to a writer, everything is off-limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/nobody-can-assume-that-to-a-writer-everything-is-off-limits/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [“This is a story, told the way you say stories should be told: Somebody grew up, fell in love, and spent a winter with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/this-is-a-story-told-the-way-you-say-stories-should-be-told-somebody/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [“This is a story, told the way you say stories should be told: Somebody grew up, fell in love, and spent a winter with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/this-is-a-story-told-the-way-you-say-stories-should-be-told-somebody-2/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [There is some reason, obviously, that you are drawn to your material, but the way in which you explore it might come to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/there-is-some-reason-obviously-that-you-are-drawn-to-your-material/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [I don't even correct people when they mispronounce my name now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/i-don-t-even-correct-people-when-they-mispronounce-my-name-now/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [Also minimalism is a term that all of us who share so little in common and who are lumped together as minimalists are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/also-minimalism-is-a-term-that-all-of-us-who-share-so-little-in/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [Italics provide a wonderful advantage: you see, right away, that the words are in a rush. When something exists at a slant, you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/italics-provide-a-wonderful-advantage-you-see-right-away-that-the/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [I think I write about things that are mysterious to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/i-think-i-write-about-things-that-are-mysterious-to-me/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [Whatever one intends, the work takes on a life of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/whatever-one-intends-the-work-takes-on-a-life-of-its-own/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [I like a lot of Margaret Atwood, I like much of Alice Munro. Again, if you were to ask me about male writers, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/i-like-a-lot-of-margaret-atwood-i-like-much-of-alice-munro-again-if/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [It's not about having things figured out, or about communicating with other people, trying to make them understand what you understand. It's about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/it-s-not-about-having-things-figured-out-or-about-communicating-with/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [What will happen can't be stopped. Aim for Grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/what-will-happen-can-t-be-stopped-aim-for-grace/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [I don't write about things that I have the answers to or things that are very close to home. It just wouldn't be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/i-don-t-write-about-things-that-i-have-the-answers-to-or-things-that/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) [Explore all 45 Ann Beattie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) ## More Boring quotes > [Normal is so Boring!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/normal-is-so-boring/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't want easy success. It's boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudeep/i-don-t-want-easy-success-it-s-boring/) [Sudeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudeep/) > [I'd be very controversial if I said why, and I don't do controversial anymore. That's too passé. So last year. Being controversial is boring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-d-be-very-controversial-if-i-said-why-and-i-don-t-do-controversial/) M.I.A > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I had sort of had a 21st birthday when I was 17, 18 years old living in Japan. I had all of that stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wright/i-had-sort-of-had-a-21st-birthday-when-i-was-17-18-years-old-living/) [Sarah Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wright/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [The films I find boring are the ones that have no space for the audience's misconceptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-decker/the-films-i-find-boring-are-the-ones-that-have-no-space-for-the/) [Josephine Decker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-decker/) > [It is an interesting law of romance that a truly strong woman will choose a strong man who disagrees with her over a weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-is-an-interesting-law-of-romance-that-a-truly-strong-woman-will/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [I've always felt that dark lyrics with dark music is pretty useless. Maybe that's a strong statement - not useless, but for me, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bird/i-ve-always-felt-that-dark-lyrics-with-dark-music-is-pretty-useless/) [Andrew Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bird/) > [Something is wrong if workers do not look around each day, find things that are tedious or boring, and then rewrite the procedures. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taiichi-ohno/something-is-wrong-if-workers-do-not-look-around-each-day-find-things/) [Taiichi Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taiichi-ohno/) > [Plumbing is usually boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/plumbing-is-usually-boring/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) > [If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/if-something-is-boring-after-two-minutes-try-it-for-four-if-still/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Acting is an escape from the boring person that I am in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/acting-is-an-escape-from-the-boring-person-that-i-am-in-real-life/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) Browse all 3,123 Boring quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It seems to me that the problem with diaries, and the reason that most of them are so boring, is that every day we vacillate between examining our hangnails and speculating on cosmic order.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ann Beattie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/it-seems-to-me-that-the-problem-with-diaries-and-the-reason-that-most/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boring" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/it-seems-to-me-that-the-problem-with-diaries-and-the-reason-that-most/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/ann-beattie-14884_boring_it-seems-to-me-that-the-problem-with-dia_1327843.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/ann-beattie-14884_boring_it-seems-to-me-that-the-problem-with-dia_1327843.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/ann-beattie-14884_boring_it-seems-to-me-that-the-problem-with-dia_1327843.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It seems to me that the problem with diaries, and the reason that most of them are so boring, is that every…” — Ann Beattie", "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": "Ann Beattie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It seems to me that the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/it-seems-to-me-that-the-problem-with-diaries-and-the-reason-that-most/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/it-seems-to-me-that-the-problem-with-diaries-and-the-reason-that-most/#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 } } ] } ```