--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you can spend a perfectly useless…" description: "\"If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live.\" — Lin Yutang" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/843/lin-yutang-2491_afternoon_if-you-can-spend-a-perfectly-useless-aft_2115904.png" --- # If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a… ![“If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live.” quote by Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/843/lin-yutang-2491_afternoon_if-you-can-spend-a-perfectly-useless-aft_2115904.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/843/lin-yutang-2491_afternoon_if-you-can-spend-a-perfectly-useless-aft_2115904.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/843/lin-yutang-2491_afternoon_if-you-can-spend-a-perfectly-useless-aft_2115904.png) > “If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live.” [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Learning to enjoy idle time teaches the art of living fully, valuing presence over productivity. **In simple terms:** Enjoying idle moments is key to living. Key Takeaway Embrace leisure as practice. Themes mindfulness leisure presence philosophy life balance Mood contemplative calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative work - stress relief - mindful walking Key Concepts existentialism Zen slow living Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish purposeful leisure from procrastination? - What does “perfectly useless” mean to you? A Different Perspective If leisure becomes avoidance, it may hinder growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afternoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon/) [Afternoon Perfectly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon-perfectly-4293636/) [Perfectly Useless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfectly-useless-4293634/) [Useless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/useless/) [Useless Afternoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/useless-afternoon-4293633/) [Useless Manner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/useless-manner-4293635/) ## Related quotes > [There are only two perfectly useless things in this world. One is an appendix and the other is Poincaré.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-clemenceau/there-are-only-two-perfectly-useless-things-in-this-world-one-is-an/) [Georges Clemenceau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-clemenceau/) > [A man who has to be punctually at a certain place at five o'clock has the whole afternoon ruined for him already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/a-man-who-has-to-be-punctually-at-a-certain-place-at-five-o-clock-has/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. So it's useless to gaze very early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-shadows-in-the-early-morning-don-t-tell-much-the-shadows-rest-at/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [Imagine you are walking down a leafy path…The sun is receding, and you are walking alone, caressed by the breezy light of the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/imagine-you-are-walking-down-a-leafy-path-the-sun-is-receding-and-you/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that, and the next thirty years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-ll-we-do-with-ourselves-this-afternoon-and-the-day-after-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [“I discovered windows one afternoon and after that, nothing was ever the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-spollen/i-discovered-windows-one-afternoon-and-after-that-nothing-was-ever/) [Anne Spollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-spollen/) > [At five in the afternoon. It was exactly five in the afternoon. A boy brought the white sheet at five in the afternoon. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-five-in-the-afternoon-it-was-exactly-five-in-the-afternoon-a-boy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [I think that if most guys in America could somehow get their fave-rave poster girl in bed and have total license to do whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-think-that-if-most-guys-in-america-could-somehow-get-their-fave/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [Sunday afternoon is for papers and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/sunday-afternoon-is-for-papers-and-writing/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/it-was-a-very-intense-and-stressful-situation-there-was-playing-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [Honestly, I'm living my fantasy. It's being with my family, preferably on a snowy afternoon with a fire going, cuddled up in blankets, playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-vieira/honestly-i-m-living-my-fantasy-it-s-being-with-my-family-preferably/) [Meredith Vieira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-vieira/) > [My dental hygienist is cute. Every time I visit, I eat a whole package of Oreo cookies while waiting in the lobby. Sometimes she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/my-dental-hygienist-is-cute-every-time-i-visit-i-eat-a-whole-package/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I didn't grow up thinking of movies as film, or art, but as movies, something to do on a Saturday afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/i-didn-t-grow-up-thinking-of-movies-as-film-or-art-but-as-movies/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) ## More by Lin Yutang > [There are no books in this world that everybody must read, but only books that a person must read at a certain time in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/there-are-no-books-in-this-world-that-everybody-must-read-but-only/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [And if the reader has no taste for what he reads, all the time is wasted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/and-if-the-reader-has-no-taste-for-what-he-reads-all-the-time-is/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [“Much as I like reasonable persons, I hate completely rational beings. For that reason, I am always scared and ill at ease when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/much-as-i-like-reasonable-persons-i-hate-completely-rational-beings/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [An educated man is one who has the loves and hatreds together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/an-educated-man-is-one-who-has-the-loves-and-hatreds-together/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [The best that we can hope for in this life is that we shall not have sons and grandsons of whom we need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/the-best-that-we-can-hope-for-in-this-life-is-that-we-shall-not-have/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [By association with nature's enormities, a man's heart may truly grow big also.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/by-association-with-nature-s-enormities-a-man-s-heart-may-truly-grow/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [Art is both creation and recreation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/art-is-both-creation-and-recreation/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [Now it is characteristic of play that one plays without reason and there must be no reason for it. Play is its own good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/now-it-is-characteristic-of-play-that-one-plays-without-reason-and/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [The wise man reads both books and life itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/the-wise-man-reads-both-books-and-life-itself/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [I like spring, but it is too young. I like summer, but it is too proud. So I like best of all autumn, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/i-like-spring-but-it-is-too-young-i-like-summer-but-it-is-too-proud/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/hope-is-like-a-road-in-the-country-there-was-never-a-road-but-when/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [Is it not tragic, for example, that while in the last World War almost everyone believed it was the war to end all wars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/is-it-not-tragic-for-example-that-while-in-the-last-world-war-almost/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [All I know is that if God loves me only half as much as my mother does, he will not send me to Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/all-i-know-is-that-if-god-loves-me-only-half-as-much-as-my-mother/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [Let him cry whoever feels like crying, for we were animals before we became reasoning beings, and the shedding of a tear, whether of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/let-him-cry-whoever-feels-like-crying-for-we-were-animals-before-we/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [There is a great probability that our loss of capacity for enjoying the positive joys of life is largely due to the decreased sensibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/there-is-a-great-probability-that-our-loss-of-capacity-for-enjoying/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) [Explore all 162 Lin Yutang quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) ## More Afternoon quotes > [I didn't grow up thinking of movies as film, or art, but as movies, something to do on a Saturday afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/i-didn-t-grow-up-thinking-of-movies-as-film-or-art-but-as-movies/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [My dental hygienist is cute. Every time I visit, I eat a whole package of Oreo cookies while waiting in the lobby. Sometimes she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/my-dental-hygienist-is-cute-every-time-i-visit-i-eat-a-whole-package/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Honestly, I'm living my fantasy. It's being with my family, preferably on a snowy afternoon with a fire going, cuddled up in blankets, playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-vieira/honestly-i-m-living-my-fantasy-it-s-being-with-my-family-preferably/) [Meredith Vieira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-vieira/) > [It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/it-was-a-very-intense-and-stressful-situation-there-was-playing-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [Sunday afternoon is for papers and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/sunday-afternoon-is-for-papers-and-writing/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [I think that if most guys in America could somehow get their fave-rave poster girl in bed and have total license to do whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-think-that-if-most-guys-in-america-could-somehow-get-their-fave/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [At five in the afternoon. It was exactly five in the afternoon. A boy brought the white sheet at five in the afternoon. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-five-in-the-afternoon-it-was-exactly-five-in-the-afternoon-a-boy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. So it's useless to gaze very early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-shadows-in-the-early-morning-don-t-tell-much-the-shadows-rest-at/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“I discovered windows one afternoon and after that, nothing was ever the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-spollen/i-discovered-windows-one-afternoon-and-after-that-nothing-was-ever/) [Anne Spollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-spollen/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that, and the next thirty years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-ll-we-do-with-ourselves-this-afternoon-and-the-day-after-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Imagine you are walking down a leafy path…The sun is receding, and you are walking alone, caressed by the breezy light of the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/imagine-you-are-walking-down-a-leafy-path-the-sun-is-receding-and-you/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [A good umpire is the umpire you don't even notice. He's there all afternoon but when the game is over, you don't even remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-johnson/a-good-umpire-is-the-umpire-you-don-t-even-notice-he-s-there-all/) [Ban Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-johnson/) > [Sometimes in the afternoon sky the moon would pass white as a cloud, furtive, lusterless, like an actress who does not have to perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/sometimes-in-the-afternoon-sky-the-moon-would-pass-white-as-a-cloud/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) [Browse all 1,085 Afternoon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lin Yutang" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/if-you-can-spend-a-perfectly-useless-afternoon-in-a-perfectly-useless/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afternoon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/if-you-can-spend-a-perfectly-useless-afternoon-in-a-perfectly-useless/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/843/lin-yutang-2491_afternoon_if-you-can-spend-a-perfectly-useless-aft_2115904.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/843/lin-yutang-2491_afternoon_if-you-can-spend-a-perfectly-useless-aft_2115904.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/843/lin-yutang-2491_afternoon_if-you-can-spend-a-perfectly-useless-aft_2115904.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live.” — Lin Yutang", "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": "Lin Yutang", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you can spend a perfectly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/if-you-can-spend-a-perfectly-useless-afternoon-in-a-perfectly-useless/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/if-you-can-spend-a-perfectly-useless-afternoon-in-a-perfectly-useless/#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 } } ] } ```