--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't want to do procedural: I want to…" description: "\"I don't want to do procedural: I want to do longform.\" — David Harbour" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83f/david-harbour-5331_procedural_i-don-t-want-to-do-procedural-i-want-to_324099.jpg" --- # I don't want to do procedural: I want to do longform. ![“I don't want to do procedural: I want to do longform.” quote by David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83f/david-harbour-5331_procedural_i-don-t-want-to-do-procedural-i-want-to_324099.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83f/david-harbour-5331_procedural_i-don-t-want-to-do-procedural-i-want-to_324099.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83f/david-harbour-5331_procedural_i-don-t-want-to-do-procedural-i-want-to_324099.jpg) > “I don't want to do procedural: I want to do longform.” [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker prefers deep, exploratory creative work over structured, step‑by‑step processes, valuing freedom and depth. **In simple terms:** Prefers longform creative work over procedural tasks. Key Takeaway Choose projects that allow deep exploration. Themes creativity work style artistic freedom process personal preference Mood inspired determined thoughtful Type philosophical motivational personal When to use this quote - writing a novel - film directing - research projects - personal art practice Key Concepts creative process flow state artistic integrity Questions to Reflect On - What projects benefit from a procedural approach? - How can you balance depth with productivity? A Different Perspective Longform work can be less efficient and risk lack of focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Procedural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procedural/) [Procedural Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procedural-want-3047616/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Longform](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-longform-3047614/) [Want Procedural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-procedural-3047615/) ## Related quotes > [I think the thing that made this stand out the most was just the fact that there's a lot more character to these characters.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-harmon/i-think-the-thing-that-made-this-stand-out-the-most-was-just-the-fact/) [Angie Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-harmon/) > [By not foretelling the ending to yourself, as a writer, you're able to open up the canvas and say, "I'm going to go here.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veena-sud/by-not-foretelling-the-ending-to-yourself-as-a-writer-you-re-able-to/) [Veena Sud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veena-sud/) > [ I think the show \[Grimm\] became a little more procedural following the pilot, and I didn't know that would happen. Recently more of the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-giuntoli/i-think-the-show-grimm-became-a-little-more-procedural-following-the/) [David Giuntoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-giuntoli/) > [The only thing that's different about doing a superhero show is that you can have your hero do things that a normal cop in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheo-hodari-coker/the-only-thing-that-s-different-about-doing-a-superhero-show-is-that/) [Cheo Hodari Coker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheo-hodari-coker/) > [I'm a huge fan of good, procedural-type shows on television... there are a lot of roles for women. But there aren't a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-taylor/i-m-a-huge-fan-of-good-procedural-type-shows-on-television-there-are/) [Rachael Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-taylor/) > [I'm OK with procedural code, and the web is a top-down type of problem. It makes sense to me that you have HTML, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasmus-lerdorf/i-m-ok-with-procedural-code-and-the-web-is-a-top-down-type-of-problem/) [Rasmus Lerdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasmus-lerdorf/) > [“Use your intuition. Picture how things happen, why they happen. Don’t stick rigidly to first impressions, and once you’ve read the rule book, throw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-barrett/use-your-intuition-picture-how-things-happen-why-they-happen-don-t/) [Andrew Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-barrett/) > [Studios are often very nervous of things they don't recognize, by which I mean things that haven't been done before, and therefore, they take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wright/studios-are-often-very-nervous-of-things-they-don-t-recognize-by/) [Joe Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wright/) > [“In practice, because the models of adversarial and inquisitorial procedure are ideal types—derived from medieval and early modern European history—no procedural system today fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amalia-d-kessler/in-practice-because-the-models-of-adversarial-and-inquisitorial/) [Amalia D. Kessler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amalia-d-kessler/) > [There's a lot of successful procedural shows that are out there. A lot of them are very successful. I just know there's an audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-smits/there-s-a-lot-of-successful-procedural-shows-that-are-out-there-a-lot/) [Jimmy Smits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-smits/) > [Carbon is probably a bit harder to wrap since it's procedural.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hayden/carbon-is-probably-a-bit-harder-to-wrap-since-it-s-procedural/) [Bill Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hayden/) > [I am excited to be doing 'SVU' - I think there's a lot of inherent drama and a lot of inherent conflict in procedural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-pino/i-am-excited-to-be-doing-svu-i-think-there-s-a-lot-of-inherent-drama/) [Danny Pino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-pino/) > [Writing should not be routine; writing should actually be the opposite of procedural because otherwise the written word would become a routine word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/writing-should-not-be-routine-writing-should-actually-be-the-opposite/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > ['Southland' is very real; it's not about who found the hair in the bed. There are procedural aspects to it, but it's not about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-chulack/southland-is-very-real-it-s-not-about-who-found-the-hair-in-the-bed/) [Christopher Chulack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-chulack/) > [If I want to go to sleep, click on a procedural, put me right out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-fichtner/if-i-want-to-go-to-sleep-click-on-a-procedural-put-me-right-out/) [William Fichtner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-fichtner/) ## More by David Harbour > [I did this movie, 'A Walk Among the Tombstones' - I truly play a horrible, horrible individual in that - and I would occasionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/i-did-this-movie-a-walk-among-the-tombstones-i-truly-play-a-horrible/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [I don't associate success with happiness, and I don't take it to heart, like, 'Oh, I'm so special.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/i-don-t-associate-success-with-happiness-and-i-don-t-take-it-to-heart/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [I want to bring love handles and eating sandwiches back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/i-want-to-bring-love-handles-and-eating-sandwiches-back/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [The mythos of superheroes is our mythos today. They are American myths. 'Captain America,' 'Iron Man,' 'Hulk' - these are the biggest movies in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/the-mythos-of-superheroes-is-our-mythos-today-they-are-american-myths/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [“...through our art to battle against fear, self-centeredness and exclusivity of our predominately narcissistic culture, and through our craft to cultivate a more empathetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/through-our-art-to-battle-against-fear-self-centeredness-and/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [People are three-dimensional. They're not good or bad. They're not righteous or unrighteous. They are a million different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/people-are-three-dimensional-they-re-not-good-or-bad-they-re-not/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [I feel like the most human among us are the weirdest among us. Those voices can be the most creative and the most special.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/i-feel-like-the-most-human-among-us-are-the-weirdest-among-us-those/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [I'm a big fan of public trust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/i-m-a-big-fan-of-public-trust/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [It was always my dream to be a New York theater actor. I never thought I was pretty enough to be on camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/it-was-always-my-dream-to-be-a-new-york-theater-actor-i-never-thought/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [I'm normally a pretty loquacious, kind of fun person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/i-m-normally-a-pretty-loquacious-kind-of-fun-person/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [People are more complicated than you give them credit for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/people-are-more-complicated-than-you-give-them-credit-for/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [I feel like Shakespeare is so epic, in a way that sci-fi genre stuff is epic, it transcends the mundane, and it takes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/i-feel-like-shakespeare-is-so-epic-in-a-way-that-sci-fi-genre-stuff/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [There is a lot of good television out there, stuff that is better for you than 'Stranger Things,' that, critically, people would be like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/there-is-a-lot-of-good-television-out-there-stuff-that-is-better-for/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [What makes someone sexy in my mind is who they are. It's not necessarily how they look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/what-makes-someone-sexy-in-my-mind-is-who-they-are-it-s-not/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [Always, with speeches, I feel like it's an opportunity to say something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/always-with-speeches-i-feel-like-it-s-an-opportunity-to-say-something/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) [Explore all 101 David Harbour quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) ## More Procedural quotes > [I think the thing that made this stand out the most was just the fact that there's a lot more character to these characters.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-harmon/i-think-the-thing-that-made-this-stand-out-the-most-was-just-the-fact/) [Angie Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-harmon/) > ['Southland' is very real; it's not about who found the hair in the bed. There are procedural aspects to it, but it's not about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-chulack/southland-is-very-real-it-s-not-about-who-found-the-hair-in-the-bed/) [Christopher Chulack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-chulack/) > [Writing should not be routine; writing should actually be the opposite of procedural because otherwise the written word would become a routine word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/writing-should-not-be-routine-writing-should-actually-be-the-opposite/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I am excited to be doing 'SVU' - I think there's a lot of inherent drama and a lot of inherent conflict in procedural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-pino/i-am-excited-to-be-doing-svu-i-think-there-s-a-lot-of-inherent-drama/) [Danny Pino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-pino/) > [Carbon is probably a bit harder to wrap since it's procedural.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hayden/carbon-is-probably-a-bit-harder-to-wrap-since-it-s-procedural/) [Bill Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hayden/) > [There's a lot of successful procedural shows that are out there. A lot of them are very successful. I just know there's an audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-smits/there-s-a-lot-of-successful-procedural-shows-that-are-out-there-a-lot/) [Jimmy Smits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-smits/) > [“In practice, because the models of adversarial and inquisitorial procedure are ideal types—derived from medieval and early modern European history—no procedural system today fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amalia-d-kessler/in-practice-because-the-models-of-adversarial-and-inquisitorial/) [Amalia D. Kessler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amalia-d-kessler/) > [Studios are often very nervous of things they don't recognize, by which I mean things that haven't been done before, and therefore, they take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wright/studios-are-often-very-nervous-of-things-they-don-t-recognize-by/) [Joe Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wright/) > [“Use your intuition. Picture how things happen, why they happen. Don’t stick rigidly to first impressions, and once you’ve read the rule book, throw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-barrett/use-your-intuition-picture-how-things-happen-why-they-happen-don-t/) [Andrew Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-barrett/) > [I'm OK with procedural code, and the web is a top-down type of problem. It makes sense to me that you have HTML, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasmus-lerdorf/i-m-ok-with-procedural-code-and-the-web-is-a-top-down-type-of-problem/) [Rasmus Lerdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasmus-lerdorf/) > [I'm a huge fan of good, procedural-type shows on television... there are a lot of roles for women. But there aren't a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-taylor/i-m-a-huge-fan-of-good-procedural-type-shows-on-television-there-are/) [Rachael Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-taylor/) > [The only thing that's different about doing a superhero show is that you can have your hero do things that a normal cop in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheo-hodari-coker/the-only-thing-that-s-different-about-doing-a-superhero-show-is-that/) [Cheo Hodari Coker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheo-hodari-coker/) > [ I think the show \[Grimm\] became a little more procedural following the pilot, and I didn't know that would happen. Recently more of the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-giuntoli/i-think-the-show-grimm-became-a-little-more-procedural-following-the/) [David Giuntoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-giuntoli/) > [By not foretelling the ending to yourself, as a writer, you're able to open up the canvas and say, "I'm going to go here.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veena-sud/by-not-foretelling-the-ending-to-yourself-as-a-writer-you-re-able-to/) [Veena Sud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veena-sud/) > [If I want to go to sleep, click on a procedural, put me right out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-fichtner/if-i-want-to-go-to-sleep-click-on-a-procedural-put-me-right-out/) [William Fichtner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-fichtner/) [Browse all 23 Procedural quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procedural/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't want to do procedural: I want to do longform.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Harbour" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/i-don-t-want-to-do-procedural-i-want-to-do-longform/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Procedural" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/i-don-t-want-to-do-procedural-i-want-to-do-longform/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83f/david-harbour-5331_procedural_i-don-t-want-to-do-procedural-i-want-to_324099.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83f/david-harbour-5331_procedural_i-don-t-want-to-do-procedural-i-want-to_324099.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83f/david-harbour-5331_procedural_i-don-t-want-to-do-procedural-i-want-to_324099.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't want to do procedural: I want to do longform.” — David Harbour", "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": "David Harbour", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't want to do procedural:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/i-don-t-want-to-do-procedural-i-want-to-do-longform/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/i-don-t-want-to-do-procedural-i-want-to-do-longform/#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 } } ] } ```