--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a funny thing: people often ask how…" description: "\"It's a funny thing: people often ask how I discipline myself to write. I can't begin to understand the question. For me, the discipline is turning off ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/298/barbara-kingsolver-200_computer_it-s-a-funny-thing-people-often-ask-how_1161499.png" --- # It's a funny thing: people often ask how I discipline… ![“It's a funny thing: people often ask how I discipline myself to write. I can't begin to understand the question. For me, the discipline is turning off the computer and leaving my desk to do something else.” quote by Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/298/barbara-kingsolver-200_computer_it-s-a-funny-thing-people-often-ask-how_1161499.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/298/barbara-kingsolver-200_computer_it-s-a-funny-thing-people-often-ask-how_1161499.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/298/barbara-kingsolver-200_computer_it-s-a-funny-thing-people-often-ask-how_1161499.png) > “It's a funny thing: people often ask how I discipline myself to write. I can't begin to understand the question. For me, the discipline is turning off the computer and leaving my desk to do something else.” [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Discipline in writing comes from stepping away and engaging in other activities, allowing ideas to refresh. **In simple terms:** Writing discipline means taking breaks. Key Takeaway Take breaks to recharge creativity. Themes creativity self‑care productivity Mood inspirational practical Type creative motivational When to use this quote - writing sessions - research - daily routines - creative blocks - mental health Key Concepts psychology of work habit formation Questions to Reflect On - What non‑writing activity sparks your ideas? - How often should you step away from work? A Different Perspective Too much work can still cause burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ask Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ask-discipline-3326766/) [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Desks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desks/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Discipline Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline-write-2419771/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Funny things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-things/) [How](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/how/) [Leaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving/) [Leaving Desk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving-desk-3326767/) [Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myself/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [To say that I have an undisciplined mind would not be incorrect overall, but it's a little off the mark because I have great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/to-say-that-i-have-an-undisciplined-mind-would-not-be-incorrect/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [I learned to produce whether I wanted to or not. It would be easy to say oh, I have writer's block, oh, I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-learned-to-produce-whether-i-wanted-to-or-not-it-would-be-easy-to/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [CIA Director George Tenet has now testified before the 9/11 commission and he said we are still making the same dumb mistakes, like leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/cia-director-george-tenet-has-now-testified-before-the-9-11/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [A funny thing is that you can't search me on Twitter because Adam Levine dominates there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-devine/a-funny-thing-is-that-you-can-t-search-me-on-twitter-because-adam/) [Adam DeVine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-devine/) > [The short version is that I started an internet diary a long, long time ago (six years!) because I was bored with my job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mulgrew/the-short-version-is-that-i-started-an-internet-diary-a-long-long/) [Jason Mulgrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mulgrew/) > [In politics practically everything you hear is scandal, and besides, the funny thing is that the things they are whispering ain't half has bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/in-politics-practically-everything-you-hear-is-scandal-and-besides/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Funny thing, every time an angel appeared to someone in the Bible, the first thing he'd say was, "Fear not."... I guess they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-morris/funny-thing-every-time-an-angel-appeared-to-someone-in-the-bible-the/) [Gilbert Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-morris/) > [It's a funny thing about writing. You get so balled up in a story idea that you lose your perspective and forget that human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/it-s-a-funny-thing-about-writing-you-get-so-balled-up-in-a-story-idea/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [God has a sense of humor though and he must see funny things in us. He must also have some love. We're still here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/god-has-a-sense-of-humor-though-and-he-must-see-funny-things-in-us-he/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [Funny things tend not to happen to me. I am not a natural comic. I need to think about things a lot before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/funny-things-tend-not-to-happen-to-me-i-am-not-a-natural-comic-i-need/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [The funny thing is, I don't actually think of myself as fat at all. I don't think I am. Not really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-brand/the-funny-thing-is-i-don-t-actually-think-of-myself-as-fat-at-all-i/) [Jo Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-brand/) > [I think religion is a funny thing because, when you see somebody who can really break it down, sometimes it feels foolish what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-costner/i-think-religion-is-a-funny-thing-because-when-you-see-somebody-who/) [Kevin Costner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-costner/) > [Social media, and the way the Internet works, you see a lot of funny things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicklas-bendtner/social-media-and-the-way-the-internet-works-you-see-a-lot-of-funny/) [Nicklas Bendtner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicklas-bendtner/) > [Wendy, Wendy, when you are sleeping in your silly bed you might be flying about with me saying funny things to the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wendy-wendy-when-you-are-sleeping-in-your-silly-bed-you-might-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When we criticize in Iran the actions of the government, the fundamentalists say that we and the Bush Administration are in the same camp.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirin-ebadi/when-we-criticize-in-iran-the-actions-of-the-government-the/) [Shirin Ebadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirin-ebadi/) ## More by Barbara Kingsolver > [“Jesus was a more reliable backer, evidently, less likely to drink himself unconscious or get liver cancer. No wonder people chose Him as their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/jesus-was-a-more-reliable-backer-evidently-less-likely-to-drink/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Now I'm starting to think he wasn't supposed to be my whole life, he was just this doorway to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/now-i-m-starting-to-think-he-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-my-whole-life-he/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“In Bobby Ogle's version of heaven everyone would wind up in one place, criminals and Muslims included.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/in-bobby-ogle-s-version-of-heaven-everyone-would-wind-up-in-one-place/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Weeds are job security for the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/weeds-are-job-security-for-the-gardener/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“It's what you do that makes your soul, not the other way around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-s-what-you-do-that-makes-your-soul-not-the-other-way-around/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Lusa turned to Crys, her eyes shining. "That was a luna." Crys shrugged. "So?" "So? So what? You want it should sing, too?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/lusa-turned-to-crys-her-eyes-shining-that-was-a-luna-crys-shrugged-so/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-strength-of-motherhood-is-greater-than-natural-laws/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“An imperfectly remembered life is a useless treachery. Every day, more fragments of the past roll around heavily in the chambers of an empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/an-imperfectly-remembered-life-is-a-useless-treachery-every-day-more/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Respecting the dignity of a spectacular food means enjoying it at its best. Europeans celebrate the short season of abundant asparagus as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/respecting-the-dignity-of-a-spectacular-food-means-enjoying-it-at-its/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Somehow it had come to pass that this man was her whole world, and she had failed to take his measure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/somehow-it-had-come-to-pass-that-this-man-was-her-whole-world-and-she/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [After 'The Poisonwood Bible' was published, several people believed that my parents were missionaries, which could not be further from the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/after-the-poisonwood-bible-was-published-several-people-believed-that/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I can count all the ways in which being a mother has enriched my understanding of the world, of character, my sense of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-can-count-all-the-ways-in-which-being-a-mother-has-enriched-my/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-the-lord-hasn-t-got-a-boyfriend-lined-up-for-me-to-marry-that-s/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) [Explore all 939 Barbara Kingsolver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## More Computer quotes > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) [Jen-Hsun Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-hsun-huang/) > [It's interesting that the greatest minds of computer science, the founding fathers, like Alan Turing and Claude Shannon and Norbert Wiener, they all looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/it-s-interesting-that-the-greatest-minds-of-computer-science-the/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [One of our big goals in search is to make search that really understands exactly what you want, understands everything in the world. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/one-of-our-big-goals-in-search-is-to-make-search-that-really/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [I'm from the South, so I'm very old-fashioned and I'm not very computer savvy at all, but I'm getting it. I understand that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-harmon/i-m-from-the-south-so-i-m-very-old-fashioned-and-i-m-not-very/) [Angie Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-harmon/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [A little bit more than 50% of what you see on screen is handcrafted and the other 50% was about emulating these textures on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-abreu/a-little-bit-more-than-50-of-what-you-see-on-screen-is-handcrafted/) [Alex Abreu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-abreu/) > [Well I'm trying to think what I put in... 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I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/yeah-i-m-a-geek-i-read-sci-fi-and-i-watch-sci-fi-films-i-love-my/) [Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/) [Browse all 3,924 Computer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's a funny thing: people often ask how I discipline myself to write. I can't begin to understand the question. 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