--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But on that particular day I did not even…" description: "\"“But on that particular day I did not even begin to feel interested in this chore, and was suddenly more deeply bored than I have ever been before, and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d00/lydia-davis-3244_chore_but-on-that-particular-day-i-did-not-eve_62531.jpg" --- # But on that particular day I did not even begin to feel… ![“But on that particular day I did not even begin to feel interested in this chore, and was suddenly more deeply bored than I have ever been before, and just turned around and went back inside. Which made me wonder why I wanted to do this chore at all, on other days, and also which was real: my…” quote by Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d00/lydia-davis-3244_chore_but-on-that-particular-day-i-did-not-eve_62531.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d00/lydia-davis-3244_chore_but-on-that-particular-day-i-did-not-eve_62531.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d00/lydia-davis-3244_chore_but-on-that-particular-day-i-did-not-eve_62531.jpg) > ““But on that particular day I did not even begin to feel interested in this chore, and was suddenly more deeply bored than I have ever been before, and just turned around and went back inside. Which made me wonder why I wanted to do this chore at all, on other days, and also which was real: my slight interest on other days or my profound boredom now. And it made me wonder if I really should be profoundly bored by this chore all the time and never do it again, and if there was something wrong with my mind that I was not bored by it all the time.”” [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator questions the fluctuating interest and boredom toward a routine task, probing whether the occasional curiosity is genuine or a sign of mental imbalance. **In simple terms:** Examines inconsistent motivation for chores. Key Takeaway Boredom reveals self‑doubt. Themes self‑reflection motivation boredom cognitive dissonance routine Mood introspective conflicted curious Type philosophical personal essay contemplative When to use this quote - doing household chores - facing repetitive work - evaluating personal drive - contemplating mental health Key Concepts interest boredom mindset habit Practical Applications - self‑assessment of task engagement - identifying patterns of motivation Questions to Reflect On - What does occasional interest tell us about our values? - How can we distinguish genuine curiosity from fleeting distraction? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chore/) [Chore Days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chore-days-846900/) [Chore Suddenly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chore-suddenly-846898/) [Interested Chore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interested-chore-846899/) [Mind Bored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-bored-518383/) ## Related quotes > [“The whole procedure of his thinking, Jason knew, was an imbecilic exercise; there was no compelling reason for him to seek an answer. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/the-whole-procedure-of-his-thinking-jason-knew-was-an-imbecilic/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [“Boredom is a symptom of a conditioned and closed mind. If you are bored, you’re doing yourself a tremendous disservice. Open your mind, break-free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/boredom-is-a-symptom-of-a-conditioned-and-closed-mind-if-you-are/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [ \[S\]tudies show that one of the best ways to lift your mood is to engineer an easy success, such as tackling a long-delayed chore. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/s-tudies-show-that-one-of-the-best-ways-to-lift-your-mood-is-to/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [For me in the past, working out has been a real chore and a punishment. When you're down that route, you're never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-bridge/for-me-in-the-past-working-out-has-been-a-real-chore-and-a-punishment/) [Frankie Bridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-bridge/) > [I do have a chore schedule - in my mind. I don't tell anyone I have it, but it's in my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-alan-basche/i-do-have-a-chore-schedule-in-my-mind-i-don-t-tell-anyone-i-have-it/) [David Alan Basche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-alan-basche/) > [If you have to dry the dishes (Such an awful boring chore) If you have to dry the dishes ('Stead of going to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/if-you-have-to-dry-the-dishes-such-an-awful-boring-chore-if-you-have/) [Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/) > [There are some subjects in school that I love, but it can still feel like a chore. Acting never feels like a chore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sierra-mccormick/there-are-some-subjects-in-school-that-i-love-but-it-can-still-feel/) [Sierra McCormick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sierra-mccormick/) > [I avoid that bleak first hour of the working day during which my still sluggish senses and body make every chore a penance. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kennedy-toole/i-avoid-that-bleak-first-hour-of-the-working-day-during-which-my/) [John Kennedy Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kennedy-toole/) > [“Cooking from scratch seems to have become a hobby for a small group of people and a chore that the rest of us no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mika-brzezinski/cooking-from-scratch-seems-to-have-become-a-hobby-for-a-small-group/) [Mika Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mika-brzezinski/) > [Writing is a chore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gilbert/writing-is-a-chore/) [Paul Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gilbert/) > [“When you consciously choose to do what you love, life becomes a pleasure and ceases to be a chore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-leigh-mercree/when-you-consciously-choose-to-do-what-you-love-life-becomes-a/) [Amy Leigh Mercree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-leigh-mercree/) > [Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/reading-should-not-be-presented-to-children-as-a-chore-a-duty-it/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [I have fun writing. I don't make it a chore. I don't have to struggle with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/i-have-fun-writing-i-don-t-make-it-a-chore-i-don-t-have-to-struggle/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [When you're trying to do something because you're trying to stay relevant or it's the thing to do, then it's a chore. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wall/when-you-re-trying-to-do-something-because-you-re-trying-to-stay/) [Paul Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wall/) > [I don't enjoy killing, but when done righteously, it's just a chore, like any other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua/i-don-t-enjoy-killing-but-when-done-righteously-it-s-just-a-chore/) [Joshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua/) ## More by Lydia Davis > [Heart weeps. Head tries to help heart. Head tells heart how it is, again: You will lose the ones you love. They will all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/heart-weeps-head-tries-to-help-heart-head-tells-heart-how-it-is-again/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [If a translation doesn't have obvious writing problems, it may seem quite all right at first glance. We readers, after all, quickly adapt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/if-a-translation-doesn-t-have-obvious-writing-problems-it-may-seem/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I always interrupt work with other work, either in a small way or big way, so that's normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-always-interrupt-work-with-other-work-either-in-a-small-way-or-big/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [ I worked more intensively hour after hour when I was starting out \[writing\]. More laboriously. I'd say quantity is important as well as quality,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-worked-more-intensively-hour-after-hour-when-i-was-starting-out/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I don't feel I have to struggle against allegory. I let the readers do the interpreting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-don-t-feel-i-have-to-struggle-against-allegory-i-let-the-readers-do/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“because she couldn’t write the name of what she was: a wa wam owm owamn womn”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/because-she-couldn-t-write-the-name-of-what-she-was-a-wa-wam-owm/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“Everything was sharper, clearer, and closer, as though, before, I had been seeing only little bits at a time, not all of it, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/everything-was-sharper-clearer-and-closer-as-though-before-i-had-been/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“He did not know exactly when to thank his hostess after attending a dinner or a weekend party. In his uncertainty, he would thank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/he-did-not-know-exactly-when-to-thank-his-hostess-after-attending-a/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“There was no confusion of our bodies. I knew which arm was his and which mine, and which leg, and which shoulder. I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/there-was-no-confusion-of-our-bodies-i-knew-which-arm-was-his-and/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“So it’s not really $100 a shot because it goes on all day, from the start when you wake up and feel her body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/so-it-s-not-really-100-a-shot-because-it-goes-on-all-day-from-the/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“The people of the town, though, remained strangers: I could not realize that I must be seeing some of them over and over again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/the-people-of-the-town-though-remained-strangers-i-could-not-realize/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“He does not trust her: she will claim to be in a bad mood when she is not, and then require him to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/he-does-not-trust-her-she-will-claim-to-be-in-a-bad-mood-when-she-is/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I would recommend, definitely, developing a 'day job' that you like - don't expect to make money writing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-would-recommend-definitely-developing-a-day-job-that-you-like-don-t/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [the translator, a lonely sort of acrobat, becomes confused in a labyrinth of paradox, or climbs a pyramid of dependent clauses and has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/the-translator-a-lonely-sort-of-acrobat-becomes-confused-in-a/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [No one is calling me. I can’t check the answering machine because I have been here all this time. If I go out, someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/no-one-is-calling-me-i-can-t-check-the-answering-machine-because-i/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) [Explore all 135 Lydia Davis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) ## More Chore quotes > [I don't enjoy killing, but when done righteously, it's just a chore, like any other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua/i-don-t-enjoy-killing-but-when-done-righteously-it-s-just-a-chore/) [Joshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua/) > [When you're trying to do something because you're trying to stay relevant or it's the thing to do, then it's a chore. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wall/when-you-re-trying-to-do-something-because-you-re-trying-to-stay/) [Paul Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wall/) > [I have fun writing. I don't make it a chore. I don't have to struggle with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/i-have-fun-writing-i-don-t-make-it-a-chore-i-don-t-have-to-struggle/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/reading-should-not-be-presented-to-children-as-a-chore-a-duty-it/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [“When you consciously choose to do what you love, life becomes a pleasure and ceases to be a chore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-leigh-mercree/when-you-consciously-choose-to-do-what-you-love-life-becomes-a/) [Amy Leigh Mercree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-leigh-mercree/) > [Writing is a chore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gilbert/writing-is-a-chore/) [Paul Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gilbert/) > [“Cooking from scratch seems to have become a hobby for a small group of people and a chore that the rest of us no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mika-brzezinski/cooking-from-scratch-seems-to-have-become-a-hobby-for-a-small-group/) [Mika Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mika-brzezinski/) > [I avoid that bleak first hour of the working day during which my still sluggish senses and body make every chore a penance. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kennedy-toole/i-avoid-that-bleak-first-hour-of-the-working-day-during-which-my/) [John Kennedy Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kennedy-toole/) > [There are some subjects in school that I love, but it can still feel like a chore. Acting never feels like a chore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sierra-mccormick/there-are-some-subjects-in-school-that-i-love-but-it-can-still-feel/) [Sierra McCormick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sierra-mccormick/) > [If you have to dry the dishes (Such an awful boring chore) If you have to dry the dishes ('Stead of going to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/if-you-have-to-dry-the-dishes-such-an-awful-boring-chore-if-you-have/) [Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/) > [I do have a chore schedule - in my mind. I don't tell anyone I have it, but it's in my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-alan-basche/i-do-have-a-chore-schedule-in-my-mind-i-don-t-tell-anyone-i-have-it/) [David Alan Basche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-alan-basche/) > [For me in the past, working out has been a real chore and a punishment. When you're down that route, you're never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-bridge/for-me-in-the-past-working-out-has-been-a-real-chore-and-a-punishment/) [Frankie Bridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-bridge/) > [ \[S\]tudies show that one of the best ways to lift your mood is to engineer an easy success, such as tackling a long-delayed chore. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/s-tudies-show-that-one-of-the-best-ways-to-lift-your-mood-is-to/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [When you're a father in a marriage, you sort of become the mother's assistant, and you sort of get a list from her every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-c-k/when-you-re-a-father-in-a-marriage-you-sort-of-become-the-mother-s/) [Louis C. K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/) > [If I give myself a chore, for instance, when I was writing the songs for Shameless, I said to myself, Now, every day for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/if-i-give-myself-a-chore-for-instance-when-i-was-writing-the-songs/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) [Browse all 69 Chore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chore/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But on that particular day I did not even begin to feel interested in this chore, and was suddenly more deeply bored than I have ever been before, and just turned around and went back inside. Which made me wonder why I wanted to do this chore at all, on other days, and also which was real: my slight interest on other days or my profound boredom now. 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