--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On my desk are two things: an unfinished…" description: "\"“On my desk are two things: an unfinished research paper due tomorrow, and a goat, and I don't feel like doing either of them.”\" — Jarod Kintz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7d/jarod-kintz-2_unfinished_on-my-desk-are-two-things-an-unfinished_2969793.jpg" --- # On my desk are two things: an unfinished research paper… ![“On my desk are two things: an unfinished research paper due tomorrow, and a goat, and I don't feel like doing either of them.” quote by Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7d/jarod-kintz-2_unfinished_on-my-desk-are-two-things-an-unfinished_2969793.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7d/jarod-kintz-2_unfinished_on-my-desk-are-two-things-an-unfinished_2969793.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7d/jarod-kintz-2_unfinished_on-my-desk-are-two-things-an-unfinished_2969793.jpg) > ““On my desk are two things: an unfinished research paper due tomorrow, and a goat, and I don't feel like doing either of them.”” [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Procrastination can stem from overwhelming tasks and lack of motivation. **In simple terms:** Avoiding work leads to stress. Key Takeaway Break tasks into small steps. Themes procrastination motivation focus Mood frustrated determined Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - academic deadlines - creative projects - daily chores Key Concepts task management psychology Questions to Reflect On - What small action can you start now? - How can you make the task more appealing? A Different Perspective Distractions may persist despite planning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Research Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research-paper/) ## Related quotes > [“I hate it when things are unfinished.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-lockhart/i-hate-it-when-things-are-unfinished/) [E. Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-lockhart/) > [There were days when we used to say, what was in today's paper is tomorrow's fish-and-chip paper.When I became successful, I enjoyed myself a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-coogan/there-were-days-when-we-used-to-say-what-was-in-today-s-paper-is/) [Steve Coogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-coogan/) > [Yesterday is an old paper, Today is a news paper, Tomorrow is a question paper, But life is an answer paper. So write it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keesling-moraiji-tatenda/yesterday-is-an-old-paper-today-is-a-news-paper-tomorrow-is-a/) [Keesling Moraiji Tatenda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keesling-moraiji-tatenda/) > [“I, who even as a child had been so distrustful of music (not because it took me out of myself more powerfully than anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-who-even-as-a-child-had-been-so-distrustful-of-music-not-because-it/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [The title which I most covet is that of teacher. The writing of a research paper and the teaching of freshman calculus, and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-a-cohen/the-title-which-i-most-covet-is-that-of-teacher-the-writing-of-a/) Marshall A. Cohen > [“Without wisdom, a teacher is nothing more than a research paper: a knowledge filled text which is boring and has no practical use. With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charbel-tadros/without-wisdom-a-teacher-is-nothing-more-than-a-research-paper-a/) [Charbel Tadros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charbel-tadros/) > [“I did my graduate research paper on the biochemistry of schizophrenia . Intellectually , I believe that most serious mental illness has a biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talitha-day-fair/i-did-my-graduate-research-paper-on-the-biochemistry-of-schizophrenia/) [Talitha Day Fair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talitha-day-fair/) > [“the joys of coauthoring a research paper, it is really time to go to bed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/the-joys-of-coauthoring-a-research-paper-it-is-really-time-to-go-to/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [Grading creative writing is always an ethical dilemma. But what you brought up about grading personal stories versus the research paper is of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-monroe/grading-creative-writing-is-always-an-ethical-dilemma-but-what-you/) [Debra Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-monroe/) > [“Why did Dodgson just stand there like that? That's not the way to act around predators. You get caught around lions, you make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/why-did-dodgson-just-stand-there-like-that-that-s-not-the-way-to-act/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [“I find it disturbing that one anthropologist's readings of transcripts are being listened to more seriously than 40 senior health service clinicians. \[Referring to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-sinason/i-find-it-disturbing-that-one-anthropologist-s-readings-of/) [Valerie Sinason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-sinason/) > [“Another of Mack’s patients says that the aliens have been taking eggs from her since she was sexually mature, and that her reproductive system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/another-of-mack-s-patients-says-that-the-aliens-have-been-taking-eggs/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [I did a lot of tests, and I finalized my research. Paper has become a part of my visual vocabulary. You know, paper is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shigeru-ban/i-did-a-lot-of-tests-and-i-finalized-my-research-paper-has-become-a/) [Shigeru Ban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shigeru-ban/) > [“I really love folklore. I had read a lot of faerie folklore that informed the books I wrote. I also really love vampire folklore;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/i-really-love-folklore-i-had-read-a-lot-of-faerie-folklore-that/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [“ONE OF THE main differences between standard and behavioral economics involves this concept of “free lunches.” According to the assumptions of standard economics, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/one-of-the-main-differences-between-standard-and-behavioral-economics/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) ## More by Jarod Kintz > [“I notice when you’re gone. Or do I? How can I observe something that isn’t there?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-notice-when-you-re-gone-or-do-i-how-can-i-observe-something-that/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“I wouldn’t love you if you were the last Sodomite in Gomorrah.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-wouldn-t-love-you-if-you-were-the-last-sodomite-in-gomorrah/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“A blanket could be used to make sweet, sweet music with the love of your life. Hopefully that person is me, because I’ve been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-blanket-could-be-used-to-make-sweet-sweet-music-with-the-love-of/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“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/) > [“We have a love so pure that it makes snow seem yellow. (Don’t eat it!)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/we-have-a-love-so-pure-that-it-makes-snow-seem-yellow-don-t-eat-it/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“I hid Mrs. Frozenwater’s body in the ice cube trays in my freezer. Better to keep her there than let her memory thaw out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-hid-mrs-frozenwater-s-body-in-the-ice-cube-trays-in-my-freezer/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Two similar words might lead to two similar ideas. They might also lead to the basement, which I recently converted into a dungeon/torture chamber.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/two-similar-words-might-lead-to-two-similar-ideas-they-might-also/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Nothing is and isn’t; nothing is and isn’t—nothing itself is, and at the same time, nothing isn’t.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/nothing-is-and-isn-t-nothing-is-and-isn-t-nothing-itself-is-and-at/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Embossed letters represent the topography of typography.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/embossed-letters-represent-the-topography-of-typography/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“There’s only one piece of clothing I could eat fast, and that’s a scarf.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/there-s-only-one-piece-of-clothing-i-could-eat-fast-and-that-s-a-scarf/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Dora J. Arod is to Jarod Ora, as yes is to yes. Yes is also the correct answer to “Will you marry me?” Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/dora-j-arod-is-to-jarod-ora-as-yes-is-to-yes-yes-is-also-the-correct/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“The best part about being kidnapped is being blindfolded and getting kicked into the trunk of a car. Boy, normally I have to beg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-best-part-about-being-kidnapped-is-being-blindfolded-and-getting/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Orafoura once told me that if I were a car, I’d be a Ferrari. One that was scratched smashed, rusted, and stolen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/orafoura-once-told-me-that-if-i-were-a-car-i-d-be-a-ferrari-one-that/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“What makes a good leader? I ask myself this every day, and then as I begin to list off characteristics I realize I’m describing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/what-makes-a-good-leader-i-ask-myself-this-every-day-and-then-as-i/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“I’d like to file a missing person’s report—on my clone. It’s nearly 2012. He should have been here by now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-d-like-to-file-a-missing-person-s-report-on-my-clone-it-s-nearly/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) [Explore all 6,921 Jarod Kintz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) ## More Unfinished quotes > [That toil of growing up; The ignominy of boyhood; the distress Of boyhood changing into man; The unfinished man and his pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/that-toil-of-growing-up-the-ignominy-of-boyhood-the-distress-of/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [From '86 until the summer of last year, wherever I went, people would say, You would have made a great James Bond! Weren't you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/from-86-until-the-summer-of-last-year-wherever-i-went-people-would/) [Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/) > [He looked at my lips. I suddenly found myself wanting to lick his. 'Yes,' he replied, his eyes going molten. My breath caught in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-macalister/he-looked-at-my-lips-i-suddenly-found-myself-wanting-to-lick-his-yes/) [Katie MacAlister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-macalister/) > [New Haven cultivates ... an open gloom that seems happy to acknowledge disrepair and the superfluity of appearance. ... I realized that what cramped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-suleri/new-haven-cultivates-an-open-gloom-that-seems-happy-to-acknowledge/) Sara Suleri > [I’m more interested in a photography that is ‘unfinished’ - a photography that is suggestive and can trigger a conversation or dialogue. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-pellegrin/i-m-more-interested-in-a-photography-that-is-unfinished-a-photography/) Paolo Pellegrin > [I always believed that my work should be unfinished in the sense that I encourage people to add their creativity to it, either conceptually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/i-always-believed-that-my-work-should-be-unfinished-in-the-sense-that/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [It is the striving after perfection that makes one an artist. It is the sense that one is imperfect, unfulfilled, unfinished. One attempts by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/it-is-the-striving-after-perfection-that-makes-one-an-artist-it-is/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [When I'm playing, I'm never through. It's unfinished. I like to find a place to leave for someone else to finish it. That's where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/when-i-m-playing-i-m-never-through-it-s-unfinished-i-like-to-find-a/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [When established identities become outworn or unfinished ones threaten to remain incomplete, special crises compel men to wage holy wars, by the cruelest means,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-established-identities-become-outworn-or-unfinished-ones/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What if everything was unfinished? What if everything was made incomplete?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-vann/what-if-everything-was-unfinished-what-if-everything-was-made/) [David Vann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-vann/) > [The finality of Christs redemption for us is intimately tied to the finality of his revelation to us. . . . If we say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/the-finality-of-christs-redemption-for-us-is-intimately-tied-to-the/) [Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/) > [If you don't use an image now you might have a place to put it in further down the line - and I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-pettibon/if-you-don-t-use-an-image-now-you-might-have-a-place-to-put-it-in/) [Raymond Pettibon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-pettibon/) > [There's nothing that makes you so aware of the improvisation of human existence as a song unfinished. Or an old address book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/there-s-nothing-that-makes-you-so-aware-of-the-improvisation-of-human/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [Justice has its anger, my lord Bishop, and the wrath of justice is an element of progress. Whatever else may be said of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/justice-has-its-anger-my-lord-bishop-and-the-wrath-of-justice-is-an/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“It was typical of the American to identify the one unfinished strand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davis-bunn/it-was-typical-of-the-american-to-identify-the-one-unfinished-strand/) [Davis Bunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davis-bunn/) Browse all 334 Unfinished quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“On my desk are two things: an unfinished research paper due tomorrow, and a goat, and I don't feel like doing either of them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jarod Kintz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/on-my-desk-are-two-things-an-unfinished-research-paper-due-tomorrow/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Unfinished" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/on-my-desk-are-two-things-an-unfinished-research-paper-due-tomorrow/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7d/jarod-kintz-2_unfinished_on-my-desk-are-two-things-an-unfinished_2969793.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7d/jarod-kintz-2_unfinished_on-my-desk-are-two-things-an-unfinished_2969793.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7d/jarod-kintz-2_unfinished_on-my-desk-are-two-things-an-unfinished_2969793.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“On my desk are two things: an unfinished research paper due tomorrow, and a goat, and I don't feel like…” — Jarod Kintz", "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": "Jarod Kintz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“On my desk are two things:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/on-my-desk-are-two-things-an-unfinished-research-paper-due-tomorrow/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/on-my-desk-are-two-things-an-unfinished-research-paper-due-tomorrow/#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 } } ] } ```