--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Before you measure the years, you measure…" description: "\"Before you measure the years, you measure the days.\" — Mitch Albom" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/mitch-albom-187_days_before-you-measure-the-years-you-measure_466981.png" --- # Before you measure the years, you measure the days. ![“Before you measure the years, you measure the days.” quote by Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/mitch-albom-187_days_before-you-measure-the-years-you-measure_466981.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/mitch-albom-187_days_before-you-measure-the-years-you-measure_466981.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/mitch-albom-187_days_before-you-measure-the-years-you-measure_466981.png) > “Before you measure the years, you measure the days.” [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Measuring time in days emphasizes daily effort over long-term abstraction. **In simple terms:** Focus on daily actions, not just years. Key Takeaway Prioritize daily progress. Themes time management focus productivity life Mood determined hopeful Type practical inspirational When to use this quote - project planning - personal development - health routines Key Concepts habit formation goal setting Questions to Reflect On - What daily habit will you start? - How do you track daily progress? A Different Perspective Days alone don't guarantee success; consistency matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/days/) [Measure Days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measure-days-1639170/) [Measure Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measure-years-3983596/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Measure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-measure-987785/) ## Related quotes > [“Before you measure the years, you measure the days. And before the days, you measure the moon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/before-you-measure-the-years-you-measure-the-days-and-before-the-days/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“Why did you measure the days and nights? To know. Sitting high above the city, Father Time realized that knowing something and understanding it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/why-did-you-measure-the-days-and-nights-to-know-sitting-high-above/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Count your age by great life experiences, not years. Measure your life by laughter, not tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakare/count-your-age-by-great-life-experiences-not-years-measure-your-life/) [Bakare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakare/) > [Some reckon their age by years, Some measure their life by art; But some tell their days by the flow of their tears And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abram-joseph-ryan/some-reckon-their-age-by-years-some-measure-their-life-by-art-but/) [Abram Joseph Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abram-joseph-ryan/) > [We measure our days out in steps of uncertainty not turning to see how far we've come. And peer down the highway from here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/we-measure-our-days-out-in-steps-of-uncertainty-not-turning-to-see/) [Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/) > [“Anger must be the evergy that has not yet found its right channel."---the Measure of my Days”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florida-scott-maxwell/anger-must-be-the-evergy-that-has-not-yet-found-its-right-channel-the/) [Florida Scott-Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florida-scott-maxwell/) > [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/) > [And some by hours; Some measure days by dreams And some by flowers; My heart alone records My days and hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-cawein/and-some-by-hours-some-measure-days-by-dreams-and-some-by-flowers-my/) [Madison Cawein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-cawein/) > [“Give me knowledge of my end and the measure of my days, so I may know my frailty. My lifetime is no longer than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-harkness/give-me-knowledge-of-my-end-and-the-measure-of-my-days-so-i-may-know/) [Deborah Harkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-harkness/) > [My growing up years, we watched 'Happy Days,' every night. I don't know what was reruns and what was new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-silverman/my-growing-up-years-we-watched-happy-days-every-night-i-don-t-know/) [Sarah Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-silverman/) > [When I wake up on a Monday morning, it's nice knowing for the next 10-12 days that I don't have to do much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-i-wake-up-on-a-monday-morning-it-s-nice-knowing-for-the-next-10/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [It's going to be used in the last days to get people to come against Christ, and that's the issue: they come against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/it-s-going-to-be-used-in-the-last-days-to-get-people-to-come-against/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [We're on the road 300 days a year. There's no recovery time. It's a test of your physical and mental endurance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-phoenix/we-re-on-the-road-300-days-a-year-there-s-no-recovery-time-it-s-a/) [Beth Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-phoenix/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) ## More by Mitch Albom > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [the words people do not speak are louder than the ones they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/the-words-people-do-not-speak-are-louder-than-the-ones-they-do/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“Once, lovers on faraway shores sat by candlelight and dipped ink to parchment, writing words that could not be erased. They took an evening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/once-lovers-on-faraway-shores-sat-by-candlelight-and-dipped-ink-to/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Giving to other people makes me feel alive. Not my car or my house. Not what I look like in the mirror. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/giving-to-other-people-makes-me-feel-alive-not-my-car-or-my-house-not/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Life goes quickly, doesn't it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/life-goes-quickly-doesn-t-it/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [As children grow, they gravitate to their fates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/as-children-grow-they-gravitate-to-their-fates/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“If the only thing wrong with Moses is that he's not yours; if the only thing wrong with Jesus is that he's not yours;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/if-the-only-thing-wrong-with-moses-is-that-he-s-not-yours-if-the-only/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“Sometimes your kids will say the nastiest things, won't they, Rose? You want to ask,'Whose child is this?'" Rose chuckled. "But usually, they're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/sometimes-your-kids-will-say-the-nastiest-things-won-t-they-rose-you/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“whisper their good-byes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/whisper-their-good-byes/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“I had also developed my own culture. Work. Over the years, I had taken labor as my companion and had moved everything else to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/i-had-also-developed-my-own-culture-work-over-the-years-i-had-taken/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [When we are most alone is when we embrace another's loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/when-we-are-most-alone-is-when-we-embrace-another-s-loneliness/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“You didn’t get it. Sacrifice is a part of life. It’s supposed to be. It’s not something to regret. It’s something to aspire to.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/you-didn-t-get-it-sacrifice-is-a-part-of-life-it-s-supposed-to-be-it/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [I give myself a good cry if I need it. But then I concentrate on the good things still in my life. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/i-give-myself-a-good-cry-if-i-need-it-but-then-i-concentrate-on-the/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [It was sad, the imbalance of it all. Why do kids assume so much from one parent and hold the other to a lower,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/it-was-sad-the-imbalance-of-it-all-why-do-kids-assume-so-much-from/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) [Explore all 962 Mitch Albom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) ## More Days quotes > [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [We're on the road 300 days a year. There's no recovery time. It's a test of your physical and mental endurance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-phoenix/we-re-on-the-road-300-days-a-year-there-s-no-recovery-time-it-s-a/) [Beth Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-phoenix/) > [It's going to be used in the last days to get people to come against Christ, and that's the issue: they come against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/it-s-going-to-be-used-in-the-last-days-to-get-people-to-come-against/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [When I wake up on a Monday morning, it's nice knowing for the next 10-12 days that I don't have to do much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-i-wake-up-on-a-monday-morning-it-s-nice-knowing-for-the-next-10/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [Everybody has bad days, but how you respond to it is a testament to whether you are a winner or a loser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-gordon/everybody-has-bad-days-but-how-you-respond-to-it-is-a-testament-to/) [Aaron Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-gordon/) > [I recently had an epiphany and now I'm making the most of my days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-recently-had-an-epiphany-and-now-i-m-making-the-most-of-my-days/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [I've always been a fan of old-time hymns and Scots-Irish dirges, though I wouldn't necessarily consider myself an expert on the type of music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-bingham/i-ve-always-been-a-fan-of-old-time-hymns-and-scots-irish-dirges/) [Ryan Bingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-bingham/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [These were days when my heart was volcanic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allen-poe/these-were-days-when-my-heart-was-volcanic/) [Edgar Allen Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allen-poe/) > [Some days, I'm going to miss shots; some days, I'm not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-green/some-days-i-m-going-to-miss-shots-some-days-i-m-not/) [Gerald Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-green/) > [Whose school-hours are all the days and nights of our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/whose-school-hours-are-all-the-days-and-nights-of-our-existence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [We simply do not have time as we move from one meeting to the next to have hours to peruse leisure websites of whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/we-simply-do-not-have-time-as-we-move-from-one-meeting-to-the-next-to/) [Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/) > [The country of Iraq is somewhat of an artificial creation going back to colonial days. And so you have the Kurds and then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clapper/the-country-of-iraq-is-somewhat-of-an-artificial-creation-going-back/) [James Clapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clapper/) [Browse all 4,561 Days quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/days/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Before you measure the years, you measure the days.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mitch Albom" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/before-you-measure-the-years-you-measure-the-days/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Days" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/before-you-measure-the-years-you-measure-the-days/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/mitch-albom-187_days_before-you-measure-the-years-you-measure_466981.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/mitch-albom-187_days_before-you-measure-the-years-you-measure_466981.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/mitch-albom-187_days_before-you-measure-the-years-you-measure_466981.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Before you measure the years, you measure the days.” — Mitch Albom", "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": "Mitch Albom", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Before you measure the years, you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/before-you-measure-the-years-you-measure-the-days/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/before-you-measure-the-years-you-measure-the-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 } } ] } ```