--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not true that people who accomplish…" description: "\"It is not true that people who accomplish things don't waste time and that people who waste time don't accomplish things. The very concept is ill-infor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/james-gleick-2623_accomplish_it-is-not-true-that-people-who-accomplis_1537300.jpg" --- # It is not true that people who accomplish things don't… ![“It is not true that people who accomplish things don't waste time and that people who waste time don't accomplish things. The very concept is ill-informed. You can't waste time and you can't save time; you can only choose what you do at any given moment.” quote by James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/james-gleick-2623_accomplish_it-is-not-true-that-people-who-accomplis_1537300.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/james-gleick-2623_accomplish_it-is-not-true-that-people-who-accomplis_1537300.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/james-gleick-2623_accomplish_it-is-not-true-that-people-who-accomplis_1537300.jpg) > “It is not true that people who accomplish things don't waste time and that people who waste time don't accomplish things. The very concept is ill-informed. You can't waste time and you can't save time; you can only choose what you do at any given moment.” [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time cannot be wasted or saved; we only allocate our actions, so productivity is a matter of choice, not a resource to be managed. **In simple terms:** Time isn’t a thing you waste or save; you choose actions. Key Takeaway Choose actions wisely. Themes productivity philosophy choice Mood thoughtful motivational Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - daily planning - goal setting - mindfulness practice Key Concepts agency time perception decision making Questions to Reflect On - What choices define your day? - How do constraints affect your sense of agency? A Different Perspective Assumes equal freedom to choose actions for all. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accomplish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplish/) [Accomplish Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplish-things/) [Concepts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concepts/) [Don-t-waste-time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-t-waste-time/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ill/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Accomplish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-accomplish-553042/) [Save Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/save-time/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Save](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-save-864126/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) [Waste time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste-time/) [Wasting time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasting-time/) ## Related quotes > [You can't waste time and you can't save time; you can only choose what you do at any given moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/you-can-t-waste-time-and-you-can-t-save-time-you-can-only-choose-what/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [It takes time to save time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-time-to-save-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To choose time is to save time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon-sr/to-choose-time-is-to-save-time/) [Francis Bacon Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon-sr/) > [We tend to minimize the things we can do, the goals we can accomplish, and for some equally strange reason we think other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/we-tend-to-minimize-the-things-we-can-do-the-goals-we-can-accomplish/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Don't waste time asking God to keep you from doing things. Don't do them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/don-t-waste-time-asking-god-to-keep-you-from-doing-things-don-t-do/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Draw, Antonio; draw, Antonio; draw and don’t waste time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/draw-antonio-draw-antonio-draw-and-don-t-waste-time/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [Don't waste time on what's not important. Don't get sucked into the drama. Get on with it: don't dwell on the past. Be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-huston/don-t-waste-time-on-what-s-not-important-don-t-get-sucked-into-the/) [Allegra Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-huston/) > [I wish my fans will always be nice to one another. Don't waste time & enjoy life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-jung/i-wish-my-fans-will-always-be-nice-to-one-another-don-t-waste-time/) [Jessica Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-jung/) > [“The time you save is just what makes the difference between trivia and culture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-herron/the-time-you-save-is-just-what-makes-the-difference-between-trivia/) [James Herron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-herron/) > [“I think it's about time to save myself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-think-it-s-about-time-to-save-myself/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [A simple fact that is hard to learn is that the time to save money is when you have some.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-moore/a-simple-fact-that-is-hard-to-learn-is-that-the-time-to-save-money-is/) [Joe Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-moore/) > [I often wonder, What do people do with all the extra time they save by writing K .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-often-wonder-what-do-people-do-with-all-the-extra-time-they-save-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The time I save setting up and cleaning up probably balances out by the time I spend on output.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buffy-sainte-marie/the-time-i-save-setting-up-and-cleaning-up-probably-balances-out-by/) [Buffy Sainte-Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buffy-sainte-marie/) > [There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-are-basically-two-types-of-people-people-who-accomplish-things/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [People who accomplish big things did small things well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-jackson-brown-jr/people-who-accomplish-big-things-did-small-things-well/) [H. Jackson Brown, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-jackson-brown-jr/) ## More by James Gleick > [When the Lilliputians first saw Gulliver's watch, that "wonderful kind of engine...a globe, half silver and half of some transparent metal," they identified it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/when-the-lilliputians-first-saw-gulliver-s-watch-that-wonderful-kind/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [You know, entropy is associated thermodynamically, in systems involving heat, with disorder. And in an analogous way, information is associated with disorder, which seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/you-know-entropy-is-associated-thermodynamically-in-systems-involving/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“No one has even a definitive spelling for Cawdrey’s name (Cowdrey, Cawdry). But then, no one agreed on the spelling of most names: they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/no-one-has-even-a-definitive-spelling-for-cawdrey-s-name-cowdrey/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“Where, then, is any particular gene—say, the gene for long legs in humans? This is a little like asking where is Beethoven’s Piano Sonata…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/where-then-is-any-particular-gene-say-the-gene-for-long-legs-in/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [Alphabetical order had to be invented to help people organize the first dictionaries. 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A book is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/a-book-is-not-necessarily-made-of-paper-a-book-is-not-necessarily/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“From this point of view, the laws of science represent data compression in action. A theoretical physicist acts like a very clever coding algorithm.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/from-this-point-of-view-the-laws-of-science-represent-data/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [Children and scientists share an outlook on life. If I do this, what will happen? is both the motto of the child at play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/children-and-scientists-share-an-outlook-on-life-if-i-do-this-what/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“Your body moves always in the present, the dividing line between the past and the future, but your mind is more free. It can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/your-body-moves-always-in-the-present-the-dividing-line-between-the/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [People worry about Twitter. Twitter is banal. It's 140-character messages. By definition, you can hardly say anything profound. On the other hand, we communicate.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/people-worry-about-twitter-twitter-is-banal-it-s-140-character/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“The Difference Engine stands—for a replica works today, in the Science Museum in London—as a milestone of what could be achieved in precision engineering.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/the-difference-engine-stands-for-a-replica-works-today-in-the-science/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [It is significant that one says book lover and music lover and art lover but not record lover or CD lover or, conversely, text…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/it-is-significant-that-one-says-book-lover-and-music-lover-and-art/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“quoting Tolstoy: “I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/quoting-tolstoy-i-know-that-most-men-including-those-at-ease-with/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) [Explore all 157 James Gleick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) ## More Accomplish quotes > [Learn to see the big picture. Often times we get tunnel vision and lose sight of the big picture and what we're really trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cheeke/learn-to-see-the-big-picture-often-times-we-get-tunnel-vision-and/) [Robert Cheeke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cheeke/) > [You know, by the time you reach my age, you've made plenty of mistakes if you've lived your life properly. So you learn. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/you-know-by-the-time-you-reach-my-age-you-ve-made-plenty-of-mistakes/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [I work every day. Sometimes I don't accomplish anything every day, but if I don't work every day, I get depressed and get afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-work-every-day-sometimes-i-don-t-accomplish-anything-every-day-but/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [God has given believers the responsibility of spreading the Gospel to all the world, and we need to use all at our disposal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-epp/god-has-given-believers-the-responsibility-of-spreading-the-gospel-to/) [Theodore Epp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-epp/) > [ \[The Community's\] crosses and trials give me confidence. But I derive my hope above all, and most especially, from our utter incapacity, for it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-guerin/the-community-s-crosses-and-trials-give-me-confidence-but-i-derive-my/) [Theodore Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-guerin/) > [There's things that you want to accomplish, but to do that you have to work. That's the name of the game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-schwarber/there-s-things-that-you-want-to-accomplish-but-to-do-that-you-have-to/) [Kyle Schwarber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-schwarber/) > [To accomplish much you must first lose everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/to-accomplish-much-you-must-first-lose-everything/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [We have to think about the future and what it is we want to accomplish from this party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-bernice-johnson/we-have-to-think-about-the-future-and-what-it-is-we-want-to/) [Eddie Bernice Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-bernice-johnson/) > [Everything that I have ever hoped to accomplish, she has done and done better than anyone I have ever seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hathaway/everything-that-i-have-ever-hoped-to-accomplish-she-has-done-and-done/) [Anne Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hathaway/) > [There's a lot that I want to accomplish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/there-s-a-lot-that-i-want-to-accomplish/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [For what we want to accomplish in the future, we have to be able to view everything from the eyes of the customer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-katz/for-what-we-want-to-accomplish-in-the-future-we-have-to-be-able-to/) [Karen Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-katz/) > [And for me the only way to live life is to grab the bull by the horns and call up recording studios and set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-frusciante/and-for-me-the-only-way-to-live-life-is-to-grab-the-bull-by-the-horns/) [John Frusciante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frusciante/) > [A great tennis career is something that a 15-year-old normally doesn't have. 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