--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That's the thing with time, isn't it?…" description: "\"“That's the thing with time, isn't it? It's not all the same. Some days - some years - some decades - are empty. There is nothing to them. It's just fl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/matt-haig-1036_time_that-s-the-thing-with-time-isn-t-it-it-s_2138081.jpg" --- # That's the thing with time, isn't it? It's not all the… ![“That's the thing with time, isn't it? It's not all the same. Some days - some years - some decades - are empty. There is nothing to them. It's just flat water. And then you come across a year, or even a day, or an afternoon. And it is everything. It is the whole thing.” quote by Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/matt-haig-1036_time_that-s-the-thing-with-time-isn-t-it-it-s_2138081.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/matt-haig-1036_time_that-s-the-thing-with-time-isn-t-it-it-s_2138081.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/matt-haig-1036_time_that-s-the-thing-with-time-isn-t-it-it-s_2138081.jpg) > ““That's the thing with time, isn't it? It's not all the same. Some days - some years - some decades - are empty. There is nothing to them. It's just flat water. And then you come across a year, or even a day, or an afternoon. And it is everything. It is the whole thing.”” [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time varies in perception; some periods feel empty, others fully alive, reflecting life's fluid nature. **In simple terms:** Time feels empty or full. Key Takeaway Appreciate moments that feel alive. Themes time perception existence meaning fluidity Mood contemplative hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily routines - significant events - personal milestones - creative work Key Concepts subjective experience philosophical reflection life cycles Questions to Reflect On - Which moments feel most alive to you? - How do you navigate empty periods? A Different Perspective Not all empty moments are negative; they can precede richness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Passing time isn't a steady thing. People try to measure it, but some days seem to have years packed into them, and others pass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blue-balliett/passing-time-isn-t-a-steady-thing-people-try-to-measure-it-but-some/) [Blue Balliett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blue-balliett/) > [World War II has always been of great interest to me. I've known for decades that it was just one more war the politicians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/world-war-ii-has-always-been-of-great-interest-to-me-i-ve-known-for/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [Moments into minutes. Minutes into hours. Hours into days. Days into years. Years into possibility. This will linger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/moments-into-minutes-minutes-into-hours-hours-into-days-days-into/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Real isn't what they try to tell you. Time isn't. Grown-ups hammer down all these markers, bells, schedules, coffee-breaks, to stake down time so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/real-isn-t-what-they-try-to-tell-you-time-isn-t-grown-ups-hammer-down/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [You have to own your days and name them, each one of them, every one of them, or else the years go right by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-gardner/you-have-to-own-your-days-and-name-them-each-one-of-them-every-one-of/) [Herb Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-gardner/) > [“Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/few-and-evil-have-the-days-of-the-years-of-my-life-been-and-have-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“From the day he first made me his, to the last day I made him mine, yes, let me set it down in numbers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-bordo/from-the-day-he-first-made-me-his-to-the-last-day-i-made-him-mine-yes/) Susan Bordo > [What can a man do to move along in some kind of grace through his days and years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/what-can-a-man-do-to-move-along-in-some-kind-of-grace-through-his/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [“The number of days and years one lives on Earth is insignificant. It’s the quality of those days and years that’s important, quality measured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-l-weiss/the-number-of-days-and-years-one-lives-on-earth-is-insignificant-it-s/) [Brian L. Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-l-weiss/) > [Life is not lived in hours, days, or years, but in moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-robbins/life-is-not-lived-in-hours-days-or-years-but-in-moments/) [Ryan Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-robbins/) > [I want you for always...days, years, eternities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-schubert/i-want-you-for-always-days-years-eternities/) [Franz Schubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-schubert/) > [“How do you suppose time works? A slippery succession of long hours adding up to ever-shorter days and years that disappear like falling dominoes?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dani-shapiro/how-do-you-suppose-time-works-a-slippery-succession-of-long-hours/) [Dani Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dani-shapiro/) > [“The place would welcome you back in five days or in five years or in fifty or, for that matter, if such things were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-alghamdi/the-place-would-welcome-you-back-in-five-days-or-in-five-years-or-in/) [Alaa Alghamdi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-alghamdi/) > [If we are meticulously careful with the use of the days, the years will take care of themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders/if-we-are-meticulously-careful-with-the-use-of-the-days-the-years/) [J. Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders/) > [It doesn't matter how many days or years go by, a best friend is someone who after numerous years you can still talk to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-doesn-t-matter-how-many-days-or-years-go-by-a-best-friend-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Matt Haig > [“Maybe that is what growing up was all about. It was about changing your mind. Opening it right up. Admitting to yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/maybe-that-is-what-growing-up-was-all-about-it-was-about-changing/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“It felt civilised and modern. It felt refined and tantalising, all at once, like a polite collective pre-orgasm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/it-felt-civilised-and-modern-it-felt-refined-and-tantalising-all-at/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [If you can't give children optimism, then what are you doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/if-you-can-t-give-children-optimism-then-what-are-you-doing/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“He just wanted to live inside a moment of that life with her forever, to pluck it like a flower and press it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/he-just-wanted-to-live-inside-a-moment-of-that-life-with-her-forever/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [British culture is very cynical sometimes of overt displays of sentimentality, and I think that becomes almost a suspicion of emotion, or a suspicion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/british-culture-is-very-cynical-sometimes-of-overt-displays-of/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“That is one of the patterns: when nothing is happening, nothing continues to happen, but after a while the lull becomes too much and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/that-is-one-of-the-patterns-when-nothing-is-happening-nothing/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [The single biggest act of bravery or madness anyone can do is the act of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/the-single-biggest-act-of-bravery-or-madness-anyone-can-do-is-the-act/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [For me, as a writer, I desperately want to be read. I'm very conscious of readers as I'm writing. I think, 'If you write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/for-me-as-a-writer-i-desperately-want-to-be-read-i-m-very-conscious/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“It’s not you. It’s them. (No, really. It is.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/it-s-not-you-it-s-them-no-really-it-is/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“We are all so weird that, really, none of us are. There are seven billion versions of strange on this freak wonder of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/we-are-all-so-weird-that-really-none-of-us-are-there-are-seven/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“Sa asculti muzica, mi-am dat eu seama, nu era altceva decat placerea de a numara fara sa iti dai seama ca numeri.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/sa-asculti-muzica-mi-am-dat-eu-seama-nu-era-altceva-decat-placerea-de/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“Beauty--be not caused," said Emily Dickinson. "It is." In one way she was wrong. The scattering of light over a long distance creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/beauty-be-not-caused-said-emily-dickinson-it-is-in-one-way-she-was/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [I'm a firm believer in the connection between the body and the mind: feed one, feed both. I like to run, but only short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/i-m-a-firm-believer-in-the-connection-between-the-body-and-the-mind/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [Look at the sky; remind yourself of the cosmos. Seek vastness at every opportunity in order to see the smallness of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/look-at-the-sky-remind-yourself-of-the-cosmos-seek-vastness-at-every/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [A book is a map. There will be times in your life when you will feel lost and confused. The way back to yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/a-book-is-a-map-there-will-be-times-in-your-life-when-you-will-feel/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) [Explore all 294 Matt Haig quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) ## More Clock quotes > [Even Einstein had to rely for his time on his clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/even-einstein-had-to-rely-for-his-time-on-his-clock/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) > [“Time was never neutral and often felt dangerous. We either think we have all the time in the world or time moves too fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-reay/time-was-never-neutral-and-often-felt-dangerous-we-either-think-we/) [Katherine Reay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-reay/) > [Before a clock was in the tower, Or e'er a watch was worn; I knew of night the passing hour, And prophesied the morn;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-a-clock-was-in-the-tower-or-e-er-a-watch-was-worn-i-knew-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [“Time is, to put it in its most impressive and some might say poncy-sounding form, my domain. I can see things that once happened,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-rayner/time-is-to-put-it-in-its-most-impressive-and-some-might-say-poncy/) [Jacqueline Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-rayner/) > [Time travel offends our sense of cause and effect - but maybe the universe doesn't insist on cause and effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/time-travel-offends-our-sense-of-cause-and-effect-but-maybe-the/) [Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/) > [My only aim is to clock a time that everyone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hima-das/my-only-aim-is-to-clock-a-time-that-everyone-remembers/) [Hima Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hima-das/) > [Time.The greatest creator, and the worst destroyer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-keely/time-the-greatest-creator-and-the-worst-destroyer/) Levi Keely > [Steven Spielberg seems to have wanted to be a director from 13. He put his dog in a certain position and made him eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/steven-spielberg-seems-to-have-wanted-to-be-a-director-from-13-he-put/) [Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/) > [No life goes past so swiftly as an eventless one, no clock spins like a clock whose days are all alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/no-life-goes-past-so-swiftly-as-an-eventless-one-no-clock-spins-like/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Those who stop marketing to save money are like those who stop a clock to save time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/those-who-stop-marketing-to-save-money-are-like-those-who-stop-a/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [Time is the nervous system of narration, whether factual or fictive. If it gets confused some of the minutiae of human nature are certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenway-wescott/time-is-the-nervous-system-of-narration-whether-factual-or-fictive-if/) [Glenway Wescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenway-wescott/) > [I don't know if it's just me or everyone, but the whole vibe with skiing is not so much thriving on competition against others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/picabo-street/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-just-me-or-everyone-but-the-whole-vibe-with/) [Picabo Street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/picabo-street/) > [Time goes on, even when yer not looking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/time-goes-on-even-when-yer-not-looking/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [CLOCK, n. A machine of great moral value to man, allaying his concern for the future by reminding him what a lot of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/clock-n-a-machine-of-great-moral-value-to-man-allaying-his-concern/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) [Browse all 2,738 Clock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“That's the thing with time, isn't it? It's not all the same. Some days - some years - some decades - are empty. There is nothing to them. It's just flat water. And then you come across a year, or even a day, or an afternoon. And it is everything. It is the whole thing.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matt Haig" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/that-s-the-thing-with-time-isn-t-it-it-s-not-all-the-same-some-days/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clock" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/that-s-the-thing-with-time-isn-t-it-it-s-not-all-the-same-some-days/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/matt-haig-1036_time_that-s-the-thing-with-time-isn-t-it-it-s_2138081.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/matt-haig-1036_time_that-s-the-thing-with-time-isn-t-it-it-s_2138081.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/matt-haig-1036_time_that-s-the-thing-with-time-isn-t-it-it-s_2138081.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That's the thing with time, isn't it? It's not all the same. Some days - some years - some decades - are…” — Matt Haig", "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": "Matt Haig", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“That's the thing with time, isn't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/that-s-the-thing-with-time-isn-t-it-it-s-not-all-the-same-some-days/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/that-s-the-thing-with-time-isn-t-it-it-s-not-all-the-same-some-days/#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 } } ] } ```