--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Productivity, I discovered, is a broad…" description: "\"“Productivity, I discovered, is a broad church that tolerates many creeds. Some successful academics write daily, others sporadically; some at home, ot..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/helen-sword-47239_children_productivity-i-discovered-is-a-broad-chu_2629945.jpg" --- # Productivity, I discovered, is a broad church that… ![“Productivity, I discovered, is a broad church that tolerates many creeds. Some successful academics write daily, others sporadically; some at home, others at work; some on trains or airplanes or during children’s sports practice, others in distraction-free environments; some on a word processor…” quote by Helen Sword](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/helen-sword-47239_children_productivity-i-discovered-is-a-broad-chu_2629945.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/helen-sword-47239_children_productivity-i-discovered-is-a-broad-chu_2629945.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/helen-sword-47239_children_productivity-i-discovered-is-a-broad-chu_2629945.jpg) > ““Productivity, I discovered, is a broad church that tolerates many creeds. Some successful academics write daily, others sporadically; some at home, others at work; some on trains or airplanes or during children’s sports practice, others in distraction-free environments; some on a word processor, others in longhand or using voice-recognition software; some whenever they have a few minutes free, others only when they have cleared hours or days of uninterrupted time. Some map out a detailed topic outline before they start writing; others write to discover what they have to say.”” [Helen Sword](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-sword/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Productivity varies; many methods work, from structured outlines to spontaneous writing, across environments. **In simple terms:** Productivity is personal and flexible. Key Takeaway Experiment with writing habits. Themes productivity flexibility academic writing workflow Mood pragmatic encouraging Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - research projects - grant writing - teaching preparation - personal essays Key Concepts education psychology time management Questions to Reflect On - Which writing environment sparks your best work? - How can you adapt habits to different tasks? A Different Perspective No single method fits all; may cause inconsistency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Anyone can write an academic piece directed at other academics. To write something that delivers an argument and a gripping storyline to someone's granny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/anyone-can-write-an-academic-piece-directed-at-other-academics-to/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [I have more of a soccer dad. He was always the one taking us to sports practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soccer-mommy/i-have-more-of-a-soccer-dad-he-was-always-the-one-taking-us-to-sports/) [Soccer Mommy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soccer-mommy/) > [“Being infuriated was actually a boost to my productivity I discovered. I bulldozed through the stack of work on my desk…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-smith/being-infuriated-was-actually-a-boost-to-my-productivity-i-discovered/) [Andrea Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-smith/) > [“The grace of writing is upon me. I love writing. I write daily.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-grace-of-writing-is-upon-me-i-love-writing-i-write-daily/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Write about daily life as you would write history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flaubert/write-about-daily-life-as-you-would-write-history/) FLAUBERT > [Work at your craft, write daily, and follow your dreams because dreams do come true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paul-curtis/work-at-your-craft-write-daily-and-follow-your-dreams-because-dreams/) [Christopher Paul Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paul-curtis/) > [Keep a small can of WD-40 on your desk-away from any open flames-to remind yourself that if you don't write daily, you will get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-singleton/keep-a-small-can-of-wd-40-on-your-desk-away-from-any-open-flames-to/) [George Singleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-singleton/) > [The main reason I write the daily observations is because I want to know where I'm wrong. So lots of times if somebody points…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/the-main-reason-i-write-the-daily-observations-is-because-i-want-to/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [To write weekly, to write daily, to write shortly, to write for busy people catching trains in the morning or for tired people coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/to-write-weekly-to-write-daily-to-write-shortly-to-write-for-busy/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [My approach to comedy is that whenever it comes to me, I write it. With 'The Daily Show,' you have to write stuff every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-chieng/my-approach-to-comedy-is-that-whenever-it-comes-to-me-i-write-it-with/) [Ronny Chieng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-chieng/) > [“Of all the myths surrounding academic writing, the fallacy of effortless productivity is among the most persistent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-sword/of-all-the-myths-surrounding-academic-writing-the-fallacy-of/) [Helen Sword](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-sword/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Everybody is different. Some writers can write reams of great books and then J. D. Salinger wrote just a few. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/everybody-is-different-some-writers-can-write-reams-of-great-books/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) > [Performance matters because games are built on great performance, but form factor and energy efficiency matter incredibly because they want to build something that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jensen-huang/performance-matters-because-games-are-built-on-great-performance-but/) [Jensen Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jensen-huang/) ## More by Helen Sword > [“Of all the myths surrounding academic writing, the fallacy of effortless productivity is among the most persistent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-sword/of-all-the-myths-surrounding-academic-writing-the-fallacy-of/) [Helen Sword](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-sword/) > [“Stylish scholars, my colleagues told me, express complex ideas clearly and precisely; produce elegant, carefully crafted sentences; convey a sense of energy, intellectual commitment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-sword/stylish-scholars-my-colleagues-told-me-express-complex-ideas-clearly/) [Helen Sword](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-sword/) > [“academic writing is a process of making intelligent choices, not of following rigid rules.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-sword/academic-writing-is-a-process-of-making-intelligent-choices-not-of/) [Helen Sword](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-sword/) > [“To be a successful academic, it is not enough merely to have mastered the craft of writing intelligibly. You must also be creative enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-sword/to-be-a-successful-academic-it-is-not-enough-merely-to-have-mastered/) [Helen Sword](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-sword/) > [“Academics identified by their peers as stylish writers for other reasons—their intelligence, humor, personal voice, or descriptive power—are invariably sticklers for well-crafted prose. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-sword/academics-identified-by-their-peers-as-stylish-writers-for-other/) [Helen Sword](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-sword/) > [“For the rest of us—members of that peculiar, prosaic species classified by Pierre Bourdieu as homo academicus9—dwelling poetically could mean gauging the dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-sword/for-the-rest-of-us-members-of-that-peculiar-prosaic-species/) [Helen Sword](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-sword/) > [“Perhaps what we need is a radical reconceptualization of time: not as an adversary to be vanquished (a race against time) or a criminal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-sword/perhaps-what-we-need-is-a-radical-reconceptualization-of-time-not-as/) [Helen Sword](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-sword/) [Explore all 8 Helen Sword quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-sword/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) [Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Productivity, I discovered, is a broad church that tolerates many creeds. Some successful academics write daily, others sporadically; some at home, others at work; some on trains or airplanes or during children’s sports practice, others in distraction-free environments; some on a word processor, others in longhand or using voice-recognition software; some whenever they have a few minutes free, others only when they have cleared hours or days of uninterrupted time. Some map out a detailed topic outline before they start writing; others write to discover what they have to say.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Helen Sword" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-sword/productivity-i-discovered-is-a-broad-church-that-tolerates-many/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Children" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-sword/productivity-i-discovered-is-a-broad-church-that-tolerates-many/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/helen-sword-47239_children_productivity-i-discovered-is-a-broad-chu_2629945.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/helen-sword-47239_children_productivity-i-discovered-is-a-broad-chu_2629945.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/helen-sword-47239_children_productivity-i-discovered-is-a-broad-chu_2629945.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Productivity, I discovered, is a broad church that tolerates many creeds. Some successful academics write…” — Helen Sword", "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": "Helen Sword", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-sword/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Productivity, I discovered, is a broad...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-sword/productivity-i-discovered-is-a-broad-church-that-tolerates-many/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-sword/productivity-i-discovered-is-a-broad-church-that-tolerates-many/#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 } } ] } ```