--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It turns out there's only 10 minutes of…" description: "\"It turns out there's only 10 minutes of productive conversation in any family dinner. The rest is taken up with 'take your elbows off the table' and 'p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/bruce-feiler-8058_any_it-turns-out-there-s-only-10-minutes-of_2320722.png" --- # It turns out there's only 10 minutes of productive… ![“It turns out there's only 10 minutes of productive conversation in any family dinner. The rest is taken up with 'take your elbows off the table' and 'pass the ketchup.' And what researchers have found is you can take that 10 minutes and put it in any time of the day and get the benefit. So, if you…” quote by Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/bruce-feiler-8058_any_it-turns-out-there-s-only-10-minutes-of_2320722.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/bruce-feiler-8058_any_it-turns-out-there-s-only-10-minutes-of_2320722.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/bruce-feiler-8058_any_it-turns-out-there-s-only-10-minutes-of_2320722.png) > “It turns out there's only 10 minutes of productive conversation in any family dinner. The rest is taken up with 'take your elbows off the table' and 'pass the ketchup.' And what researchers have found is you can take that 10 minutes and put it in any time of the day and get the benefit. So, if you can't have family dinner, have family breakfast!” [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Family meals have brief moments of deep connection; those minutes can be captured at any time for similar benefit. **In simple terms:** Brief family talks are valuable; you can schedule them elsewhere. Key Takeaway Schedule short, meaningful conversations. Themes family communication time-management Mood thoughtful optimistic Type practical inspirational When to use this quote - family dinner - breakfast - work lunch - evening wind-down Key Concepts connection quality time social bonding Questions to Reflect On - When can you create a 10‑minute deep talk? - How to maintain spontaneity in scheduled chats? A Different Perspective Not all families can replicate the same intimacy outside meals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Any](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/any/) [Benefit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benefit/) [Breakfast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breakfast/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/) [Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day/) [Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) [Dinner Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner-family-1771939/) [Elbows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elbows/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Family Breakfast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-breakfast-4234235/) [Family dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-dinner/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Get](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/get/) [Ketchup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ketchup/) [Minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minutes/) [Off](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/off/) [Only](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/only/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [Pass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pass/) [Pass Ketchup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pass-ketchup-1109432/) [Productive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productive/) [Put](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/put/) [Researchers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/researchers/) [Rest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rest/) [Table](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/table/) [Take](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/take/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) [Your](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your/) ## Related quotes > [When they call me nutsy� that sure gives me a pain. Please pass the ketchup� I think it's going to rain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daffy-duck/when-they-call-me-nutsy-that-sure-gives-me-a-pain-please-pass-the/) [Daffy Duck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daffy-duck/) > [“I love like an albino. But I don’t want to get sunburned, so would you please pass the ketchup?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-love-like-an-albino-but-i-don-t-want-to-get-sunburned-so-would-you/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I take my kids to school. And if I go to work, I go to work, and they visit me on set. I come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/i-take-my-kids-to-school-and-if-i-go-to-work-i-go-to-work-and-they/) [Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/) > [Everybody has heard that family dinner is great for kids. But unfortunately, it doesn't work in many of our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/everybody-has-heard-that-family-dinner-is-great-for-kids-but/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [Both of my parents worked, so it was my way of helping around the house by making dinner for my family. I fell in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayesha-curry/both-of-my-parents-worked-so-it-was-my-way-of-helping-around-the/) [Ayesha Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayesha-curry/) > [It's been nice, actually, to keep in touch with a lot of the people and families that I've written about. Like with the kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-stillman/it-s-been-nice-actually-to-keep-in-touch-with-a-lot-of-the-people-and/) [Sarah Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-stillman/) > [The thing I love about television is that people watch you in their pajamas, and when they're eating dinner. You're part of the family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-feldon/the-thing-i-love-about-television-is-that-people-watch-you-in-their/) [Barbara Feldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-feldon/) > [One of the problems of our youth is that the family unit is broken up. When we'd sit down to dinner together as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-prudhomme/one-of-the-problems-of-our-youth-is-that-the-family-unit-is-broken-up/) [Paul Prudhomme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-prudhomme/) > [The high spot of my day has always been getting home to have my dinner with my family. It still is: to have my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-wogan/the-high-spot-of-my-day-has-always-been-getting-home-to-have-my/) [Terry Wogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-wogan/) > [Friday is my night to make dinner for my family, to have Shabbat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-lipman/friday-is-my-night-to-make-dinner-for-my-family-to-have-shabbat/) [Maureen Lipman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-lipman/) > [“Dinner was a family affair. And oh, how she enjoyed it! Who knew there was so much to talk about each day? She loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-calonita/dinner-was-a-family-affair-and-oh-how-she-enjoyed-it-who-knew-there/) [Jen Calonita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-calonita/) > [My parents are nice people, and they also made a point to have dinner as a family every night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-einhorn/my-parents-are-nice-people-and-they-also-made-a-point-to-have-dinner/) [David Einhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-einhorn/) > [ When I'm sittin' down to dinner with the family, stuff \[another Yogiism\] just pops out. And they'll say, 'Dad, you just said another one.'… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-berra/when-i-m-sittin-down-to-dinner-with-the-family-stuff-another-yogiism/) [Yogi Berra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-berra/) > [I have always been lucky enough to have Thanksgiving dinner with my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee/i-have-always-been-lucky-enough-to-have-thanksgiving-dinner-with-my/) [David Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee/) > [Well, sometimes if I go out to dinner with my family, people will come up to me and put their hand across my plate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdul-qadeer-khan/well-sometimes-if-i-go-out-to-dinner-with-my-family-people-will-come/) [Abdul Qadeer Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdul-qadeer-khan/) ## More by Bruce Feiler > [Moses became America's true founding father because he evangelized action; he justified risk. He gave ordinary people the courage to live with uncertainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/moses-became-america-s-true-founding-father-because-he-evangelized/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [Even Superman's name reflects his creators' biblical knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/even-superman-s-name-reflects-his-creators-biblical-knowledge/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [But humans disappoint. Adam, in tasting the fruit, indicates that he prefers Eve to God, so God banishes them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/but-humans-disappoint-adam-in-tasting-the-fruit-indicates-that-he/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [The way to tell a really big story, I think, is to tell a really small story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/the-way-to-tell-a-really-big-story-i-think-is-to-tell-a-really-small/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [The key idea of agile is that teams essentially manage themselves. ... It works in software, and it turns out that it works with kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/the-key-idea-of-agile-is-that-teams-essentially-manage-themselves-it/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [The bottom line: if you want a happier family, create, refine and retell the story of your family's positive moments and your ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/the-bottom-line-if-you-want-a-happier-family-create-refine-and-retell/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [Knowing more about family history is the single biggest predictor of a child's emotional well-being. Grandparents can play a special role in this process,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/knowing-more-about-family-history-is-the-single-biggest-predictor-of/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [“A meta-analysis of sixty-six studies completed in 1992 found that mothers who have more support from grandmothers have less stress and more well-adjusted children.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/a-meta-analysis-of-sixty-six-studies-completed-in-1992-found-that/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [The bottom line: If you want a happier family, bring those skeletons out of the closet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/the-bottom-line-if-you-want-a-happier-family-bring-those-skeletons/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [I think that most of the action in religion is around the home, is in families, and is in individual lives, and they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/i-think-that-most-of-the-action-in-religion-is-around-the-home-is-in/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [My name is Bruce Feiler, and I'm an explainaholic. 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