--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How you spend your days is how you spend…" description: "\"How you spend your days is how you spend your life.\" — Annie Dillard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/annie-dillard-509_days_how-you-spend-your-days-is-how-you-spend_2326977.jpg" --- # How you spend your days is how you spend your life. ![“How you spend your days is how you spend your life.” quote by Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/annie-dillard-509_days_how-you-spend-your-days-is-how-you-spend_2326977.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/annie-dillard-509_days_how-you-spend-your-days-is-how-you-spend_2326977.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/annie-dillard-509_days_how-you-spend-your-days-is-how-you-spend_2326977.jpg) > “How you spend your days is how you spend your life.” [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our daily habits shape the overall quality and direction of our lives. **In simple terms:** Daily habits determine life quality. Key Takeaway Cultivate purposeful daily routines. Themes life philosophy habit formation self‑development Mood thoughtful motivational Type self‑help philosophical When to use this quote - personal planning - time management - self‑reflection - coaching Key Concepts mindfulness routine long‑term impact Questions to Reflect On - How do your daily actions reflect your values? - What habit could most improve your life? A Different Perspective Habits alone may not change deep‑seated patterns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/days/) [Days Spend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/days-spend-1420485/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Spend Days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spend-days/) [Spend Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spend-life/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [“How we spend our days is how we spend our lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/how-we-spend-our-days-is-how-we-spend-our-lives/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour and with that one, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/how-we-spend-our-days-is-of-course-how-we-spend-our-lives-what-we-do/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/how-we-spend-our-days-is-of-course-how-we-spend-our-lives/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/how-we-spend-our-days-is-of-course-how-we-spend-our-lives-what-we-do-2/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I go to dance clubs...about once a year just to justify the other 364 days I spend in my apartment going 'God, what idiots!'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-go-to-dance-clubs-about-once-a-year-just-to-justify-the-other-364/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [“We have our store of days and we spend them like forgetful drunkards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/we-have-our-store-of-days-and-we-spend-them-like-forgetful-drunkards/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [Usually, if I'm coming to Europe, I'm on a boat for seven days, so I spend the seven days doing a bunch of things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-barker/usually-if-i-m-coming-to-europe-i-m-on-a-boat-for-seven-days-so-i/) [Travis Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-barker/) > [“...on those days when he could not spend half an hour in the company of a good book, he felt deprived.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/on-those-days-when-he-could-not-spend-half-an-hour-in-the-company-of/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [Now, most days, I spend like a child. Who's afraid of ghosts in my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-lee/now-most-days-i-spend-like-a-child-who-s-afraid-of-ghosts-in-my-mind/) [Amos Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-lee/) > [“So if you start at the center of the peak, you can see that for every five days you spend being average, you spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/so-if-you-start-at-the-center-of-the-peak-you-can-see-that-for-every/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“These empty days. How do you spend them?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/these-empty-days-how-do-you-spend-them/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [I made the choice not to have children, so I can spend my days just writing; there are no kids demanding my time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seanan-mcguire/i-made-the-choice-not-to-have-children-so-i-can-spend-my-days-just/) [Seanan McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seanan-mcguire/) > [I tell my students, if you are going to spend days and months and years with someone, you had better like that person!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-nagel/i-tell-my-students-if-you-are-going-to-spend-days-and-months-and/) [Susan Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-nagel/) > [“Alfred Hitchcock said movies are “life with the dull bits cut out.”5 Car chases and first kisses, interesting plot lines and good conversations. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tish-harrison-warren/alfred-hitchcock-said-movies-are-life-with-the-dull-bits-cut-out-5/) [Tish Harrison Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tish-harrison-warren/) > [I am simply looking for a companion with whom to spend my days, a companion who will cherish as much as I the stupidity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-julavits/i-am-simply-looking-for-a-companion-with-whom-to-spend-my-days-a/) [Heidi Julavits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-julavits/) ## More by Annie Dillard > [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“This is a spendthrift economy; though nothing is lost, all is spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/this-is-a-spendthrift-economy-though-nothing-is-lost-all-is-spent/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The creatures I seek do not want to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-creatures-i-seek-do-not-want-to-be-seen/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Nothing moves a woman so deeply as the boyhood of the man she loves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/nothing-moves-a-woman-so-deeply-as-the-boyhood-of-the-man-she-loves/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/we-live-in-all-we-seek-the-hidden-shows-up-in-too-plain-sight-it/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“...The mockingbird took a single step into the air and dropped. His wings were still folded against his sides as though he were singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-mockingbird-took-a-single-step-into-the-air-and-dropped-his-wings/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Father had stretched out his long legs and was tilting back in his chair. Mother sat with her knees crossed, in blue slacks, smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/father-had-stretched-out-his-long-legs-and-was-tilting-back-in-his/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-frayed-and-nibbled-survivor-in-a-fallen-world-and-i-am-getting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It should surprise no one that the life of the writer - such as it is - is colorless to the point of sensory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-should-surprise-no-one-that-the-life-of-the-writer-such-as-it-is/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-is-madness-to-wear-ladies-straw-hats-and-velvet-hats-to-church-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain. This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-sense-impressions-of-one-celled-animals-are-not-edited-for-the/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“What can we make of the inexpressible joy of children? It is a kind of gratitude, I think—the gratitude of the ten-year-old who wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-can-we-make-of-the-inexpressible-joy-of-children-it-is-a-kind-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“If we were to judge nature by its common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed. In nature, improbabilities are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-its-common-sense-or-likelihood-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [For writing a first draft requires from the writer a peculiar internal state which ordinary life does not induce. ... how to set yourself spinning?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/for-writing-a-first-draft-requires-from-the-writer-a-peculiar/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a fugitive and a vagabond, a sojourner seeking signs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-fugitive-and-a-vagabond-a-sojourner-seeking-signs/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Explore all 509 Annie Dillard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## More Days quotes > [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [We're on the road 300 days a year. There's no recovery time. It's a test of your physical and mental endurance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-phoenix/we-re-on-the-road-300-days-a-year-there-s-no-recovery-time-it-s-a/) [Beth Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-phoenix/) > [It's going to be used in the last days to get people to come against Christ, and that's the issue: they come against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/it-s-going-to-be-used-in-the-last-days-to-get-people-to-come-against/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [When I wake up on a Monday morning, it's nice knowing for the next 10-12 days that I don't have to do much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-i-wake-up-on-a-monday-morning-it-s-nice-knowing-for-the-next-10/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [Everybody has bad days, but how you respond to it is a testament to whether you are a winner or a loser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-gordon/everybody-has-bad-days-but-how-you-respond-to-it-is-a-testament-to/) [Aaron Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-gordon/) > [I recently had an epiphany and now I'm making the most of my days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-recently-had-an-epiphany-and-now-i-m-making-the-most-of-my-days/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [I've always been a fan of old-time hymns and Scots-Irish dirges, though I wouldn't necessarily consider myself an expert on the type of music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-bingham/i-ve-always-been-a-fan-of-old-time-hymns-and-scots-irish-dirges/) [Ryan Bingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-bingham/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [These were days when my heart was volcanic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allen-poe/these-were-days-when-my-heart-was-volcanic/) [Edgar Allen Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allen-poe/) > [Some days, I'm going to miss shots; some days, I'm not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-green/some-days-i-m-going-to-miss-shots-some-days-i-m-not/) [Gerald Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-green/) > [Whose school-hours are all the days and nights of our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/whose-school-hours-are-all-the-days-and-nights-of-our-existence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [We simply do not have time as we move from one meeting to the next to have hours to peruse leisure websites of whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/we-simply-do-not-have-time-as-we-move-from-one-meeting-to-the-next-to/) [Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/) > [The country of Iraq is somewhat of an artificial creation going back to colonial days. And so you have the Kurds and then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clapper/the-country-of-iraq-is-somewhat-of-an-artificial-creation-going-back/) [James Clapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clapper/) [Browse all 4,561 Days quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/days/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How you spend your days is how you spend your life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Annie Dillard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/how-you-spend-your-days-is-how-you-spend-your-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Days" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/how-you-spend-your-days-is-how-you-spend-your-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/annie-dillard-509_days_how-you-spend-your-days-is-how-you-spend_2326977.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/annie-dillard-509_days_how-you-spend-your-days-is-how-you-spend_2326977.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/592/annie-dillard-509_days_how-you-spend-your-days-is-how-you-spend_2326977.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How you spend your days is how you spend your life.” — Annie Dillard", "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": "Annie Dillard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "How you spend your days is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/how-you-spend-your-days-is-how-you-spend-your-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/how-you-spend-your-days-is-how-you-spend-your-life/#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 } } ] } ```