--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Worriers spend a lot of time shoveling…" description: "\"Worriers spend a lot of time shoveling smoke.\" — Claude Maxwell MacDonald" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/claude-maxwell-macdonald-53314_funny_worriers-spend-a-lot-of-time-shoveling-s_1670899.png" --- # Worriers spend a lot of time shoveling smoke. ![“Worriers spend a lot of time shoveling smoke.” quote by Claude Maxwell MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/claude-maxwell-macdonald-53314_funny_worriers-spend-a-lot-of-time-shoveling-s_1670899.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/claude-maxwell-macdonald-53314_funny_worriers-spend-a-lot-of-time-shoveling-s_1670899.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/734/claude-maxwell-macdonald-53314_funny_worriers-spend-a-lot-of-time-shoveling-s_1670899.png) > “Worriers spend a lot of time shoveling smoke.” [Claude Maxwell MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-maxwell-macdonald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Worry wastes effort on intangible problems, like shoveling smoke. **In simple terms:** Worry is futile. Key Takeaway Focus on actionable tasks. Themes worry productivity illusion Mood practical reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - project planning - stress reduction - decision making - health habits Key Concepts cognitive bias time management Questions to Reflect On - What worries are productive? - How to distinguish real threats? A Different Perspective Some concerns require attention. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Shoveling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shoveling-634020/) [Shoveling Smoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shoveling-smoke-856873/) [Smoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoke/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Shoveling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-shoveling-856875/) [Worriers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worriers-856874/) [Worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worry/) ## Related quotes > [Lawyers spend a great deal of their time shoveling smoke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/lawyers-spend-a-great-deal-of-their-time-shoveling-smoke/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Lawyers spend their professional careers shoveling smoke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/lawyers-spend-their-professional-careers-shoveling-smoke/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [“herding cats and shoveling smoke.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/herding-cats-and-shoveling-smoke/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [My parents are highly evolved worriers. ... If worrying were an Olympic sport, my parents' faces would have graced the Wheaties box a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/firoozeh-dumas/my-parents-are-highly-evolved-worriers-if-worrying-were-an-olympic/) [Firoozeh Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/firoozeh-dumas/) > [Meditation is not hard to understand. Anyone who knows how to worry knows how to meditate. Worriers are skilled in the meditation process but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-berg/meditation-is-not-hard-to-understand-anyone-who-knows-how-to-worry/) [Jim Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-berg/) > [“I like worrying. I come from a long line of worriers. It's in my blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/i-like-worrying-i-come-from-a-long-line-of-worriers-it-s-in-my-blood/) [Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/) > [“I don't mind worriers," I said. "Worrying is the correct worldview. Life is worrisome.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-don-t-mind-worriers-i-said-worrying-is-the-correct-worldview-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [We're professional worriers. You're constantly imagining things that could go wrong and then writing about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/we-re-professional-worriers-you-re-constantly-imagining-things-that/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Golfers are the greatest worriers in the world of sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-casper/golfers-are-the-greatest-worriers-in-the-world-of-sport/) [Billy Casper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-casper/) > [There's danger in just shoveling out money to people who say, 'My life is a little harder than it used to be.' At a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/there-s-danger-in-just-shoveling-out-money-to-people-who-say-my-life/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [He'd be better off shoveling snow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/he-d-be-better-off-shoveling-snow/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [Cleaning up with children around is like shoveling during a blizzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-culkin-banning/cleaning-up-with-children-around-is-like-shoveling-during-a-blizzard/) [Margaret Culkin Banning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-culkin-banning/) > [I know what it's like to be shoveling to pay bills. I know what it's like to not have a job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-dewyze/i-know-what-it-s-like-to-be-shoveling-to-pay-bills-i-know-what-it-s/) [Lee DeWyze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-dewyze/) > [An ordinary man will work every day for a year at shoveling dirt to support his body, or a family of bodies; but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/an-ordinary-man-will-work-every-day-for-a-year-at-shoveling-dirt-to/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Snow rocks but snow shoveling sucks!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/snow-rocks-but-snow-shoveling-sucks/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) ## More by Claude Maxwell MacDonald > [Maturity is a stage of life when you don't see eye to eye but can walk arm in arm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-maxwell-macdonald/maturity-is-a-stage-of-life-when-you-don-t-see-eye-to-eye-but-can/) [Claude Maxwell MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-maxwell-macdonald/) > [What isn't tried won't work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-maxwell-macdonald/what-isn-t-tried-won-t-work/) [Claude Maxwell MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-maxwell-macdonald/) > [Opportunity is a bird that never perches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-maxwell-macdonald/opportunity-is-a-bird-that-never-perches/) [Claude Maxwell MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-maxwell-macdonald/) > [If hard work is the key to success, most people would rather pick the lock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-maxwell-macdonald/if-hard-work-is-the-key-to-success-most-people-would-rather-pick-the/) [Claude Maxwell MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-maxwell-macdonald/) > [Most worries are reruns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-maxwell-macdonald/most-worries-are-reruns/) [Claude Maxwell MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-maxwell-macdonald/) [Explore all 6 Claude Maxwell MacDonald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-maxwell-macdonald/) ## More Funny quotes > [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. 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