--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don’t be afraid to discard work you know…" description: "\"Don’t be afraid to discard work you know isn’t up to standard. Don’t save junk, just because it took you a long time to write it.\" — David Eddings" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/david-eddings-2147_discard_don-t-be-afraid-to-discard-work-you-know_900743.jpg" --- # Don’t be afraid to discard work you know isn’t up to… ![“Don’t be afraid to discard work you know isn’t up to standard. Don’t save junk, just because it took you a long time to write it.” quote by David Eddings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/david-eddings-2147_discard_don-t-be-afraid-to-discard-work-you-know_900743.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/david-eddings-2147_discard_don-t-be-afraid-to-discard-work-you-know_900743.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/david-eddings-2147_discard_don-t-be-afraid-to-discard-work-you-know_900743.jpg) > “Don’t be afraid to discard work you know isn’t up to standard. Don’t save junk, just because it took you a long time to write it.” [David Eddings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eddings/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Discard substandard work; avoid preserving junk merely due to effort invested. **In simple terms:** Throw away low‑quality work regardless of time spent. Key Takeaway Delete or revise work that doesn’t meet standards. Themes productivity creativity quality self‑discipline Mood pragmatic encouraging Type creative motivational When to use this quote - draft revisions - project management - creative brainstorming Key Concepts writing process perfectionism efficiency Questions to Reflect On - What criteria define “up to standard” for you? - How can you prevent future junk creation? A Different Perspective Fear of loss can make letting go difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [In science, each new result, sometimes quite surprising, heralds a step forward and allows one to discard some hypotheses, even though one or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-b-prusiner/in-science-each-new-result-sometimes-quite-surprising-heralds-a-step/) [Stanley B. Prusiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-b-prusiner/) > [We have to discard the past / and, as one builds / floor by floor, window by window, / and the building rises, /…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/we-have-to-discard-the-past-and-as-one-builds-floor-by-floor-window/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/absorb-what-is-useful-discard-what-is-not-add-what-is-uniquely-your/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose. And if you no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-kondo/to-truly-cherish-the-things-that-are-important-to-you-you-must-first/) [Marie Kondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-kondo/) > [“Return Gifts: Those cheap things kids almost lynch you for, and then discard on their way out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachna-singh/return-gifts-those-cheap-things-kids-almost-lynch-you-for-and-then/) [Rachna Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachna-singh/) > [You can never discard too many bad ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/you-can-never-discard-too-many-bad-ideas/) [Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/) > [“If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard our (scheming for) gain, there would be no thieves nor robbers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/if-we-could-renounce-our-artful-contrivances-and-discard-our-scheming/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“Sorting papers Rule of thumb—discard everything Once”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-kondo/sorting-papers-rule-of-thumb-discard-everything-once/) [Marie Kondō](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-kondo/) > [Goethe said there would be little left of him if he were to discard what he owed to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-saunders-cushman/goethe-said-there-would-be-little-left-of-him-if-he-were-to-discard/) [Charlotte Saunders Cushman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-saunders-cushman/) > [Keep only those things that speak to your heart. 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By doing this, you can reset…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-kondo/keep-only-those-things-that-speak-to-your-heart-then-take-the-plunge/) [Marie Kondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-kondo/) > [Goethe said there would be little left of him if he were to discard what he owed to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-saunders-cushman/goethe-said-there-would-be-little-left-of-him-if-he-were-to-discard/) [Charlotte Saunders Cushman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-saunders-cushman/) > [“Sorting papers Rule of thumb—discard everything Once”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-kondo/sorting-papers-rule-of-thumb-discard-everything-once/) [Marie Kondō](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-kondo/) > [“If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard our (scheming for) gain, there would be no thieves nor robbers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/if-we-could-renounce-our-artful-contrivances-and-discard-our-scheming/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [You can never discard too many bad ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/you-can-never-discard-too-many-bad-ideas/) [Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/) > [“Return Gifts: Those cheap things kids almost lynch you for, and then discard on their way out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachna-singh/return-gifts-those-cheap-things-kids-almost-lynch-you-for-and-then/) [Rachna Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachna-singh/) > [To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose. And if you no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-kondo/to-truly-cherish-the-things-that-are-important-to-you-you-must-first/) [Marie Kondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-kondo/) > [Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/absorb-what-is-useful-discard-what-is-not-add-what-is-uniquely-your/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [We have to discard the past / and, as one builds / floor by floor, window by window, / and the building rises, /…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/we-have-to-discard-the-past-and-as-one-builds-floor-by-floor-window/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [We discard the personal specifics which don't conform to the ideal conventional beauty created by art directors and cinematographers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-loeb/we-discard-the-personal-specifics-which-don-t-conform-to-the-ideal/) [Damian Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-loeb/) Browse all 70 Discard quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Don’t be afraid to discard work you know isn’t up to standard. 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