--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Grown-up people seem to be busy by…" description: "\"“Grown-up people seem to be busy by clockwork: even when someone is not ill, when there has been no telegram, they run their unswerving course from obj..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/elizabeth-bowen-1197_adults_grown-up-people-seem-to-be-busy-by-clock_1468249.png" --- # Grown-up people seem to be busy by clockwork: even when… ![“Grown-up people seem to be busy by clockwork: even when someone is not ill, when there has been no telegram, they run their unswerving course from object to object, directed by some mysterious inner needle that points all the time to what they must do next. You can only marvel at such misuse of…” quote by Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/elizabeth-bowen-1197_adults_grown-up-people-seem-to-be-busy-by-clock_1468249.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/elizabeth-bowen-1197_adults_grown-up-people-seem-to-be-busy-by-clock_1468249.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/194/elizabeth-bowen-1197_adults_grown-up-people-seem-to-be-busy-by-clock_1468249.png) > ““Grown-up people seem to be busy by clockwork: even when someone is not ill, when there has been no telegram, they run their unswerving course from object to object, directed by some mysterious inner needle that points all the time to what they must do next. You can only marvel at such misuse of time.”” [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often follow rigid schedules, driven by internal pressures, wasting time on meaningless tasks. **In simple terms:** Busy schedules can waste time. Key Takeaway Question your daily habits. Themes time management routine mindfulness Mood reflective critical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - workday - personal planning - health routines - family time Key Concepts psychology social pressure Questions to Reflect On - What tasks truly matter today? - How can you break the clockwork habit? A Different Perspective Busy routines can limit creativity and fulfillment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) [Busy Clockwork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busy-clockwork-4684505/) [Clockwork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clockwork/) [Clockwork Ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clockwork-ill-5320813/) [People Busy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-busy/) [Telegram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telegram/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Grown-up people seem to be busy by clockwork... They run their unswerving course from object to object, directed by some mysterious inner needle that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/grown-up-people-seem-to-be-busy-by-clockwork-they-run-their/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [This telegram is a work of art if I say it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/this-telegram-is-a-work-of-art-if-i-say-it-is/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [When you're expecting bad news you have to be prepared for it a long time ahead so that when the telegram comes you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pinget/when-you-re-expecting-bad-news-you-have-to-be-prepared-for-it-a-long/) [Robert Pinget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pinget/) > [In the First World War, people would be receiving letters from loved ones who had been dead for weeks, and they would not know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/in-the-first-world-war-people-would-be-receiving-letters-from-loved/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“ten o’clock!” “What does it matter when my things are put up?” the young man said.  “There’s no crowd at this moment; there will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/ten-o-clock-what-does-it-matter-when-my-things-are-put-up-the-young/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [For an Italian peasant a telegram from anywhere is a wondrous thing; and a cable from the terrestrial paradise of America is not lightly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-k-smith/for-an-italian-peasant-a-telegram-from-anywhere-is-a-wondrous-thing/) [Howard K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-k-smith/) > [Now here's a funky introduction of how nice I am, Tell your mother, tell your father, send a telegram.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-here-s-a-funky-introduction-of-how-nice-i-am-tell-your-mother/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In America they started to refer to Telegram as 'ISIS's preferred messaging app,' But in reality there are many more legitimate users.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pavel-durov/in-america-they-started-to-refer-to-telegram-as-isis-s-preferred/) [Pavel Durov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pavel-durov/) > [“The Long Telegram’.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-taylor/the-long-telegram/) [Frederick Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-taylor/) > [“It was truly a transitional moment: There he was, at the cusp of the twentieth century, using the telephone to send a telegram.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/it-was-truly-a-transitional-moment-there-he-was-at-the-cusp-of-the/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [The headline is the most important element in most advertisements. It is the telegram which decides the reader whether to read the copy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/the-headline-is-the-most-important-element-in-most-advertisements-it/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [ISIS' key social media-encrypted platform is Telegram, which is engineered by a Berlin-based tech company that can simply ignore the rulings of American federal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bergen/isis-key-social-media-encrypted-platform-is-telegram-which-is/) [Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/) > [Rache,” he said, trying to get into my line of sight. “What more do you need? God to send a telegram?" (Jenks)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/rache-he-said-trying-to-get-into-my-line-of-sight-what-more-do-you/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [The first thing that we wanted to make clear is that nobody has to trust anybody. We don't take people's trust for Telegram for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pavel-durov/the-first-thing-that-we-wanted-to-make-clear-is-that-nobody-has-to/) [Pavel Durov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pavel-durov/) > [“The telegram was sealed – an old-fashioned touch, I thought, but then I’d never had a telegram before. I took my time opening it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wyndham-thomas/the-telegram-was-sealed-an-old-fashioned-touch-i-thought-but-then-i-d/) [Michael Wyndham Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wyndham-thomas/) ## More by Elizabeth Bowen > [Temperamentally, the writer exists on happenings, on contacts, conflicts, action and reaction, speed, pressure, tension. Were he acontemplative purely, he would not write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/temperamentally-the-writer-exists-on-happenings-on-contacts-conflicts/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“Are you really an orphan? Yes, I am, said Portia a shade shortly. Are you? No, not at present, but I suppose it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/are-you-really-an-orphan-yes-i-am-said-portia-a-shade-shortly-are-you/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [It is not our exalted feelings, it is our sentiments that build the necessary home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/it-is-not-our-exalted-feelings-it-is-our-sentiments-that-build-the/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Every love has a poetic relevance of its own; each love brings to light only what to it is relevant. 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Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/plainly-the-environment-must-be-a-living-one-directed-by-a-higher/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society . . . but for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/education-for-most-people-means-trying-to-lead-the-child-to-resemble/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [I do not believe in public shaming. I do believe that young adults go to college to learn things, and that this process will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/i-do-not-believe-in-public-shaming-i-do-believe-that-young-adults-go/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance”: “The differences between expert performers and normal adults are not immutable, that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-anders-ericsson/the-role-of-deliberate-practice-in-the-acquisition-of-expert/) [K. 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