--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s hard to know, when you’re in such a…" description: "\"“It’s hard to know, when you’re in such a jam, which is worse—not having a place to sleep or not having a place to work. One can sleep almost anywhere,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/henry-miller-179_books_it-s-hard-to-know-when-you-re-in-such-a_1075333.jpg" --- # It’s hard to know, when you’re in such a jam, which is… ![“It’s hard to know, when you’re in such a jam, which is worse—not having a place to sleep or not having a place to work. One can sleep almost anywhere, but one must have a place to work. Even if it’s not a masterpiece you’re doing. Even a bad novel requires a chair to sit on and a bit of privacy.” quote by Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/henry-miller-179_books_it-s-hard-to-know-when-you-re-in-such-a_1075333.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/henry-miller-179_books_it-s-hard-to-know-when-you-re-in-such-a_1075333.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/henry-miller-179_books_it-s-hard-to-know-when-you-re-in-such-a_1075333.jpg) > ““It’s hard to know, when you’re in such a jam, which is worse—not having a place to sleep or not having a place to work. One can sleep almost anywhere, but one must have a place to work. Even if it’s not a masterpiece you’re doing. Even a bad novel requires a chair to sit on and a bit of privacy.”” [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage argues that having a place to work is more essential than a place to sleep, as work provides purpose and structure. **In simple terms:** Work space matters more than sleeping space. Key Takeaway Prioritize a functional workspace. Themes productivity necessity creativity survival comfort Mood reflective pragmatic inspirational Type essay philosophical motivational When to use this quote - writing - remote work - studying - creative projects Key Concepts purpose environment discipline Questions to Reflect On - How does your environment affect your productivity? - Can you create a work space with limited resources? A Different Perspective Even minimal workspaces can be uncomfortable without proper conditions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Cybersecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cybersecurity/) [Having Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-place-583653/) [Place Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place-sleep-349630/) [Place Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place-work-417244/) [Sleep Having](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep-having-2406966/) [Sleep Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep-place-637895/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Home is, in the end, not just the place where you sleep, but the place where you stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/home-is-in-the-end-not-just-the-place-where-you-sleep-but-the-place/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Lately sleep and I have been having an unhealthy relationship...I think we need to spend more time together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lately-sleep-and-i-have-been-having-an-unhealthy-relationship-i-think/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“if we go to sleep as Christians, we go to sleep as having everything. There is nothing that the world can give us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-reynolds/if-we-go-to-sleep-as-christians-we-go-to-sleep-as-having-everything/) [Adrian Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-reynolds/) > [I was proud of working 18 hours a day and sleeping three hours a night. It's something now that has turned into a problem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-proud-of-working-18-hours-a-day-and-sleeping-three-hours-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sleep has no place it can call its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/sleep-has-no-place-it-can-call-its-own/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [When sleep over at my place, you can have my bed .but not my Pillow I feel like you had to much to say,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syntific/when-sleep-over-at-my-place-you-can-have-my-bed-but-not-my-pillow-i/) [Syntific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syntific/) > [In the biggest and the smallest I sleep but at the same place I stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/in-the-biggest-and-the-smallest-i-sleep-but-at-the-same-place-i-stay/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [You can never awaken using the same system that put you to sleep in the first place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-i-gurdjieff/you-can-never-awaken-using-the-same-system-that-put-you-to-sleep-in/) [G. I. Gurdjieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-i-gurdjieff/) > [Or, if you decide you want to sleep at my place, on opposite sides of my bedroom with a Do Not Cross line drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/or-if-you-decide-you-want-to-sleep-at-my-place-on-opposite-sides-of/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [Secrets find a way out in sleep . . . It is the place where there is no pretense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/secrets-find-a-way-out-in-sleep-it-is-the-place-where-there-is-no/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [When I'm with my parents, that's the place I can unplug. That's the place I can shut down and not worry about work or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-underwood/when-i-m-with-my-parents-that-s-the-place-i-can-unplug-that-s-the/) [Carrie Underwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-underwood/) > [I have a very spartan flat in London, and when they see it people say: 'Why don't you make it more homely?' The reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-wallace/i-have-a-very-spartan-flat-in-london-and-when-they-see-it-people-say/) [Gregg Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-wallace/) > [Classroom .. the only place where you can sleep with the lights on and in the weirdest of noises !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/admin/classroom-the-only-place-where-you-can-sleep-with-the-lights-on-and/) [Admin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/admin/) > [The advice I give to all adventurers is to seek a place where they may sleep in safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-de-champlain/the-advice-i-give-to-all-adventurers-is-to-seek-a-place-where-they/) [Samuel de Champlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-de-champlain/) > [“I sleep. In this room. In the dark. I have a place I can sleep. I have a chair. That's just beautiful. Oh, yeah.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hughes/i-sleep-in-this-room-in-the-dark-i-have-a-place-i-can-sleep-i-have-a/) [Howard Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hughes/) ## More by Henry Miller > [“I reached out for something to attach myself to—and I found nothing. But in reaching out, in the effort to grasp, to attach myself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-reached-out-for-something-to-attach-myself-to-and-i-found-nothing/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“I saw the errors I had made and assumed full responsibility for everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-saw-the-errors-i-had-made-and-assumed-full-responsibility-for/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [The monstrous thing is not that men have created roses out of this dung heap, but that, for some reason or other, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-monstrous-thing-is-not-that-men-have-created-roses-out-of-this/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [They never opened the door which leads to the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/they-never-opened-the-door-which-leads-to-the-soul/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“(...)I decided to let myself drift with the tide, to make not the least resistance to fate, no matter in what form it presented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-decided-to-let-myself-drift-with-the-tide-to-make-not-the-least/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“If it be knowledge or wisdom one is seeking, then one had better go direct to the source. And the source is not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/if-it-be-knowledge-or-wisdom-one-is-seeking-then-one-had-better-go/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“In the egocentric prism the helpless victim is walled in by the very light which he refracts. The ego dies in its own glass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/in-the-egocentric-prism-the-helpless-victim-is-walled-in-by-the-very/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“When one spends what he has on himself, when one has a thoroughly good time with his own money, people are apt to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/when-one-spends-what-he-has-on-himself-when-one-has-a-thoroughly-good/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Paint what you like and die happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/paint-what-you-like-and-die-happy/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [She may be lying in bed reading a book, she may be making love with a prize fighter, or she may be running like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/she-may-be-lying-in-bed-reading-a-book-she-may-be-making-love-with-a/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“And no one sets about saving the world unless he has first experienced the miracle of personal salvation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/and-no-one-sets-about-saving-the-world-unless-he-has-first/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“He looks about the room at the few sticks of furniture, at the dirty bed sheets and the wash basin with the dirty water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/he-looks-about-the-room-at-the-few-sticks-of-furniture-at-the-dirty/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Since then, of course, I have discovered what every madman in Paris discovers sooner of later; that there are no ready made infernos for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/since-then-of-course-i-have-discovered-what-every-madman-in-paris/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Looking back upon my career, I see myself as a person capable of undertaking almost any task, any vocation. It was the monotony and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/looking-back-upon-my-career-i-see-myself-as-a-person-capable-of/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“The word in your mouth is anarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-word-in-your-mouth-is-anarchy/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) [Explore all 894 Henry Miller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [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/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It’s hard to know, when you’re in such a jam, which is worse—not having a place to sleep or not having a place to work. One can sleep almost anywhere, but one must have a place to work. Even if it’s not a masterpiece you’re doing. 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