--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A watch is always too fast or too slow. I…" description: "\"“A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated to by a watch.”\" — Jane Austen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/jane-austen-39_slow_a-watch-is-always-too-fast-or-too-slow-i_2838520.jpg" --- # A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be… ![“A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated to by a watch.” quote by Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/jane-austen-39_slow_a-watch-is-always-too-fast-or-too-slow-i_2838520.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/jane-austen-39_slow_a-watch-is-always-too-fast-or-too-slow-i_2838520.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/jane-austen-39_slow_a-watch-is-always-too-fast-or-too-slow-i_2838520.jpg) > ““A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated to by a watch.”” [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) ## 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 forced; we must not let schedules dominate our lives. **In simple terms:** Watch is too fast or slow; we resist dictation. Key Takeaway Live on your own rhythm. Themes time autonomy societal pressure Mood contemplative lighthearted Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - daily scheduling - deadline management - personal routines - work‑life balance Key Concepts literature philosophy social critique Questions to Reflect On - What does your personal clock feel like? - How can you honor your natural pace? A Different Perspective Rigid schedules can cause stress and loss of spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dictated Watch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictated-watch-3557327/) [Fast Slow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fast-slow-1440027/) [Slow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow/) [Slow Dictated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow-dictated-3708427/) [Watch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watch/) [Watch Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watch-fast-2298378/) ## Related quotes > [Oh! do not attack me with your watch. A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated to by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/oh-do-not-attack-me-with-your-watch-a-watch-is-always-too-fast-or-too/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [I fall so fast, but get up so slow...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meeee/i-fall-so-fast-but-get-up-so-slow/) [Meeee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meeee/) > [Approach every meeting with a purposeful, high-energy, ready-to-make-a-contribution attitude, and watch how fast leadership’s perception of you follows your behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/approach-every-meeting-with-a-purposeful-high-energy-ready-to-make-a/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [Watch how fast she maneuvers through life when you're not in the way anymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-danner/watch-how-fast-she-maneuvers-through-life-when-you-re-not-in-the-way/) [Kimberly Danner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-danner/) > [You lay your hands on me, watch how fast I take your freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/you-lay-your-hands-on-me-watch-how-fast-i-take-your-freedom/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [Go fast enough to get there, but slow enough to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-buffett/go-fast-enough-to-get-there-but-slow-enough-to-see/) [Jimmy Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-buffett/) > [“You want to see fast, we’l go into the bedroom and I’l show you fast but I’l show it to you slow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/you-want-to-see-fast-we-l-go-into-the-bedroom-and-i-l-show-you-fast/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [There are two kinds: one takes the music too fast, and the other too slow. There is no third!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-st-laurent/there-are-two-kinds-one-takes-the-music-too-fast-and-the-other-too/) [Louis St. Laurent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-st-laurent/) > [“Want to go really fast? Slow down and focus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-fargo/want-to-go-really-fast-slow-down-and-focus/) [Tim Fargo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-fargo/) > [You know the car fast I slow my speed up. Made a million off keeping it G and rolling weed up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/you-know-the-car-fast-i-slow-my-speed-up-made-a-million-off-keeping/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) > [There are times where you're in the zone and everything moves in slow motion, and there's sometimes when everything goes really fast and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-gostkowski/there-are-times-where-you-re-in-the-zone-and-everything-moves-in-slow/) [Stephen Gostkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-gostkowski/) > [I would play fast if I was fast, but I'm slow, so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luka-doncic/i-would-play-fast-if-i-was-fast-but-i-m-slow-so/) [Luka Doncic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luka-doncic/) > [When educating horses there is no greater maxim than slow is fast and fast is slow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monty-roberts/when-educating-horses-there-is-no-greater-maxim-than-slow-is-fast-and/) [Monty Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monty-roberts/) > [I've always been attracted to cars, and driving is a completely measurable experience: if you qualify last on the grid, you're the slowest, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bana/i-ve-always-been-attracted-to-cars-and-driving-is-a-completely/) [Eric Bana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bana/) > [If you complain about the world moving too fast, slow down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dolan/if-you-complain-about-the-world-moving-too-fast-slow-down/) [Michael Dolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dolan/) ## More by Jane Austen > [Let us have the luxury of silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/let-us-have-the-luxury-of-silence/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“How earnestly did she then wish that her former opinions had been more reasonable, more moderate!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/how-earnestly-did-she-then-wish-that-her-former-opinions-had-been/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“it is very well worth-while to be tormented for two or three years of one's life, for the sake of being able to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/it-is-very-well-worth-while-to-be-tormented-for-two-or-three-years-of/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [ “Everybody is taken in at some period or another. \[...\] In marriage especially. \[...\] There is not one in a hundred of either sex,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/everybody-is-taken-in-at-some-period-or-another-in-marriage/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [She knew that what Marianne and her mother conjectured one moment, they believed the next: that with them, to wish was to hope, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/she-knew-that-what-marianne-and-her-mother-conjectured-one-moment/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“…for I look upon the Frasers to be about as unhappy as most other married people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/for-i-look-upon-the-frasers-to-be-about-as-unhappy-as-most-other/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“It raises my spleen more than any thing, to have the pretence of being asked, of being given a choice, and at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/it-raises-my-spleen-more-than-any-thing-to-have-the-pretence-of-being/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [her spirits wanted the solitude and silence which only numbers could give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/her-spirits-wanted-the-solitude-and-silence-which-only-numbers-could/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“But in such cases as these a good memory is unpardonable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/but-in-such-cases-as-these-a-good-memory-is-unpardonable/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“...the pleasantness of an employment does not always evince its propriety.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/the-pleasantness-of-an-employment-does-not-always-evince-its-propriety/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/such-squeamish-youths-as-cannot-bear-to-be-connected-with-a-little/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“I must tell you what you will not ask, though I may wish it unsaid the next moment”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-must-tell-you-what-you-will-not-ask-though-i-may-wish-it-unsaid-the/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“Lady Catherine seemed quite astonished at not receiving a direct answer; and Elizabeth suspected herself to be the first creature who had ever dared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/lady-catherine-seemed-quite-astonished-at-not-receiving-a-direct/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“He had suffered, and he had learnt to think, two advantages that he had never known before…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/he-had-suffered-and-he-had-learnt-to-think-two-advantages-that-he-had/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Eliot's character; vanity of person and of situation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/vanity-was-the-beginning-and-the-end-of-sir-walter-eliot-s-character/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) [Explore all 2,013 Jane Austen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) ## More Slow quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [I like Sam Smith and Taylor Swift. I love pop music, but I also like Sam Smith's slow songs. That would be more to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maddie-ziegler/i-like-sam-smith-and-taylor-swift-i-love-pop-music-but-i-also-like/) [Maddie Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maddie-ziegler/) > [“The phrase “low and slow” was coined to describe the relatively low temperatures used for smoking and the lengthy amount of time it takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-reader/the-phrase-low-and-slow-was-coined-to-describe-the-relatively-low/) [Ted Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-reader/) > [“A brick could be used to slow down time. Sort of like a camel in a wheelchair pushed by a thirsty Arab. Hey, Khalid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-be-used-to-slow-down-time-sort-of-like-a-camel-in-a/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [To bring the benefits of the digital age to all Americans, the FCC needs to make it easier for companies to build and expand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajit-pai/to-bring-the-benefits-of-the-digital-age-to-all-americans-the-fcc/) [Ajit Pai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ajit-pai/) > [The reason we have not gone to newspapers is because its a slow growth industry and I think they are dying. I'm not sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-redstone/the-reason-we-have-not-gone-to-newspapers-is-because-its-a-slow/) [Sumner Redstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-redstone/) > [Slow buds the pink dawn like a rose From out night's gray and cloudy sheath; Softly and still it grows and grows, Petal by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-chauncey-woolsey/slow-buds-the-pink-dawn-like-a-rose-from-out-night-s-gray-and-cloudy/) [Sarah Chauncey Woolsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-chauncey-woolsey/) > [I'm not one of those James Joyce intellectuals who can stand back and look at the whole edifice... It was a slow process for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/i-m-not-one-of-those-james-joyce-intellectuals-who-can-stand-back-and/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [I love my slow jams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-yarde/i-love-my-slow-jams/) [Anthony Yarde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-yarde/) > [I did nothing but international liberation politics for ten years, and usually it was like, you gain an inch, you lose a half an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-van-zandt/i-did-nothing-but-international-liberation-politics-for-ten-years-and/) [Steven Van Zandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-van-zandt/) > [I was nervous about writing Slow Regard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-was-nervous-about-writing-slow-regard/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [My journey has been a very slow build-up. Each year has been a step upward. I've never actually gone backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-singh/my-journey-has-been-a-very-slow-build-up-each-year-has-been-a-step/) [Vijay Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-singh/) > [It's a long, slow sunset for ink-on-paper magazines, but sunsets can produce vast sums of money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/it-s-a-long-slow-sunset-for-ink-on-paper-magazines-but-sunsets-can/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) [Browse all 1,739 Slow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated to by a watch.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Austen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/a-watch-is-always-too-fast-or-too-slow-i-cannot-be-dictated-to-by-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Slow" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/a-watch-is-always-too-fast-or-too-slow-i-cannot-be-dictated-to-by-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/jane-austen-39_slow_a-watch-is-always-too-fast-or-too-slow-i_2838520.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/jane-austen-39_slow_a-watch-is-always-too-fast-or-too-slow-i_2838520.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/jane-austen-39_slow_a-watch-is-always-too-fast-or-too-slow-i_2838520.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated to by a watch.” — Jane Austen", "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": "Jane Austen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A watch is always too fast...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/a-watch-is-always-too-fast-or-too-slow-i-cannot-be-dictated-to-by-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/a-watch-is-always-too-fast-or-too-slow-i-cannot-be-dictated-to-by-a/#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 } } ] } ```