--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Choose your tools carefully, but not so…" description: "\"Choose your tools carefully, but not so carefully that you get uptight or spend more time at the stationery store than at your writing table.\" — Natali..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a02/natalie-goldberg-1741_more-time_choose-your-tools-carefully-but-not-so-c_1953776.jpg" --- # Choose your tools carefully, but not so carefully that you… ![“Choose your tools carefully, but not so carefully that you get uptight or spend more time at the stationery store than at your writing table.” quote by Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a02/natalie-goldberg-1741_more-time_choose-your-tools-carefully-but-not-so-c_1953776.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a02/natalie-goldberg-1741_more-time_choose-your-tools-carefully-but-not-so-c_1953776.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a02/natalie-goldberg-1741_more-time_choose-your-tools-carefully-but-not-so-c_1953776.jpg) > “Choose your tools carefully, but not so carefully that you get uptight or spend more time at the stationery store than at your writing table.” [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Select writing tools wisely, but don’t become overly meticulous or waste time shopping for supplies. **In simple terms:** Choose tools, but stay focused on writing. Key Takeaway Balance preparation with action. Themes creativity productivity tool selection writing Mood pragmatic encouraging Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - writing sessions - studio setup - creative blocks Key Concepts mindfulness process optimization creative flow Questions to Reflect On - What tool do you need most? - How can you limit perfectionism? A Different Perspective Over‑preparation can hinder progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [More time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more-time/) [Stationery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stationery/) [Tools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I saw a stationery store move.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-london/i-saw-a-stationery-store-move/) [Jay London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-london/) > [A Local Government Stationery Store is something to behold. It's like walking through the back of a cupboard into a really dull Narnia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-phillips/a-local-government-stationery-store-is-something-to-behold-it-s-like/) [Sally Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-phillips/) > [Before we choose our tools and technology, we must choose our dreams and values, for some technologies serve them, while others make them more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-ferguson/before-we-choose-our-tools-and-technology-we-must-choose-our-dreams/) [Marilyn Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-ferguson/) > [I am good everywhere; I can pick and choose the tools on the day, or even adjust during the fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hooker/i-am-good-everywhere-i-can-pick-and-choose-the-tools-on-the-day-or/) [Dan Hooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hooker/) > [I'm a total stationery fiend - I have drawers and drawers of lovely printed cards and wrapping paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keeley-hawes/i-m-a-total-stationery-fiend-i-have-drawers-and-drawers-of-lovely/) [Keeley Hawes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keeley-hawes/) > [There is no such thing as remaining stationery in this life. Life is a process. We are a process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-mamerto/there-is-no-such-thing-as-remaining-stationery-in-this-life-life-is-a/) [Edwin Mamerto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-mamerto/) > [Genius can write on the back of old envelopes but mere talent requires the finest stationery available.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/genius-can-write-on-the-back-of-old-envelopes-but-mere-talent/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [There was something very comfortable in having plenty of stationery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-was-something-very-comfortable-in-having-plenty-of-stationery/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/no-matter-how-much-you-push-the-envelope-it-ll-still-be-stationery/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [Whatever you choose for your stationery is your favorite color because it's where you pour your heart out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-pearson/whatever-you-choose-for-your-stationery-is-your-favorite-color/) [Mary E. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/) > [I love stationery and writing sets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clarke/i-love-stationery-and-writing-sets/) [George Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clarke/) > [When narratives fracture, when words fail, I take consolation from the part of my life that always works: the stationery order. The mail-order stationery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/when-narratives-fracture-when-words-fail-i-take-consolation-from-the/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [Love is the hardest thing in the world to write about. So simple. You've got to catch it through details, like the early morning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-wilder/love-is-the-hardest-thing-in-the-world-to-write-about-so-simple-you/) [Billy Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-wilder/) > [At heart, I'm analogue. I'm one of those people who has to buy something if they walk past a stationery shop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-lester/at-heart-i-m-analogue-i-m-one-of-those-people-who-has-to-buy/) [Adrian Lester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-lester/) > [I like my stationery to be funnier, like, 'Here's my note, and it's an elephant with a lady smoking a cigarette on top.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-spade/i-like-my-stationery-to-be-funnier-like-here-s-my-note-and-it-s-an/) [Kate Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-spade/) ## More by Natalie Goldberg > [“We heard about people who go back to their roots. That is good, but don't get stuck in the root. There is the branch,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/we-heard-about-people-who-go-back-to-their-roots-that-is-good-but-don/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Over and over, we have to go back to the beginning. We should not be ashamed of this. It is good. It's like drinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/over-and-over-we-have-to-go-back-to-the-beginning-we-should-not-be/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I feel very rich when I have time to write and very poor when I get a regular paycheck and no time at my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-feel-very-rich-when-i-have-time-to-write-and-very-poor-when-i-get-a/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Actually, when I look at my old notebooks, I think I have been a bit self-indulgent and have given myself too much time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/actually-when-i-look-at-my-old-notebooks-i-think-i-have-been-a-bit/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect experience, and from the decomposition of the thrown-out eggshells, spinach leaves, coffee grinds, and old steak bones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/our-bodies-are-garbage-heaps-we-collect-experience-and-from-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Know that you will eventually have to leave everything behind; the writing will demand it of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/know-that-you-will-eventually-have-to-leave-everything-behind-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [To encounter a fine book and have time to read it is a wonderful thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/to-encounter-a-fine-book-and-have-time-to-read-it-is-a-wonderful-thing/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [In the past few years I've assigned books to be read before a student attends one of my weeklong seminars. I have been astonished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/in-the-past-few-years-i-ve-assigned-books-to-be-read-before-a-student/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [“When you draw and pay attention to what is, it's a form of being present. This inspires the mind, makes it happy, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/when-you-draw-and-pay-attention-to-what-is-it-s-a-form-of-being/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Poetry is a dumb Buddha who thinks a donkey is as important as a diamond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/poetry-is-a-dumb-buddha-who-thinks-a-donkey-is-as-important-as-a/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I told all kinds of stories about going to Japan, about playing ball with my father... I wanted to record my life in case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-told-all-kinds-of-stories-about-going-to-japan-about-playing-ball/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [“No matter what a person does to cover up and conceal themselves, when we write and lose control, I can spot a person from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/no-matter-what-a-person-does-to-cover-up-and-conceal-themselves-when/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [To stay close and intimate with experience is to stay close to the mind; the nitty gritty mind of the way things really are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/to-stay-close-and-intimate-with-experience-is-to-stay-close-to-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I read Eve Ensler and thought it was fabulous. Not only that, but it was really the only thing I could relate to about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-read-eve-ensler-and-thought-it-was-fabulous-not-only-that-but-it/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [If you feel bored or uncomfortable as you're writing, ask yourself what's bothering you and write about that. Sometimes your creative energy is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/if-you-feel-bored-or-uncomfortable-as-you-re-writing-ask-yourself/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) [Explore all 212 Natalie Goldberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) ## More More time quotes > [Then come to realize that you're making mountains out of molehills. Realize how petty you've become. Sure, it may feel like you can't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/then-come-to-realize-that-you-re-making-mountains-out-of-molehills/) [Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [When you have counted eighty years and more, Time and Fate will batter at your door; But if you should survive to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/when-you-have-counted-eighty-years-and-more-time-and-fate-will-batter/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) > [People waste more time waiting for someone to take charge of their lives than they do in any other pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/people-waste-more-time-waiting-for-someone-to-take-charge-of-their/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Everybody is different. Some writers can write reams of great books and then J. D. Salinger wrote just a few. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/everybody-is-different-some-writers-can-write-reams-of-great-books/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) > [Memories seem to surface in no particular order, with no time attached. Yesterday can seem as distant as last year. My life now consists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/memories-seem-to-surface-in-no-particular-order-with-no-time-attached/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [In the course of our eternal existence, we spend infinitely more time in the spirit world on the other side than we spend in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/in-the-course-of-our-eternal-existence-we-spend-infinitely-more-time/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) > [With any good projects, I feel like the off-screen chemistry factors on-screen. It's great when you don't have to force it, but when it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldis-hodge/with-any-good-projects-i-feel-like-the-off-screen-chemistry-factors/) [Aldis Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldis-hodge/) > [The average American expends more time becoming informed about choosing a car than choosing a candidate. But, then, the consequences of the former choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-average-american-expends-more-time-becoming-informed-about/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [It takes a little more time to get into the role, but not very much more. In making a record you don't have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-callas/it-takes-a-little-more-time-to-get-into-the-role-but-not-very-much/) [Maria Callas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-callas/) > [Every peasant cuisine has incredible ingenious tricks for getting a lot of nutrition out of a small amount of ingredients. There are people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/every-peasant-cuisine-has-incredible-ingenious-tricks-for-getting-a/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [Developing fewer features allows you to conserve development resources and spend more time refining those features that users really need. Fewer features mean fewer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-nielsen/developing-fewer-features-allows-you-to-conserve-development/) [Jakob Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-nielsen/) > [Frying gives cooks numerous ways of concealing what appeared the day before and in a pinch facilitates sudden demands, for it takes little more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-anthelme-brillat-savarin/frying-gives-cooks-numerous-ways-of-concealing-what-appeared-the-day/) [Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-anthelme-brillat-savarin/) > [When I was little, I asked God if I could meet my mom just one more time, and my prayer was answered in 2001.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-arenas/when-i-was-little-i-asked-god-if-i-could-meet-my-mom-just-one-more/) [Gilbert Arenas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-arenas/) > [The thing I miss about L.A. is time. I feel like I had much more time there, partly because no one is ever really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mortimer/the-thing-i-miss-about-l-a-is-time-i-feel-like-i-had-much-more-time/) [Emily Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mortimer/) [Browse all 881 More time quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more-time/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Choose your tools carefully, but not so carefully that you get uptight or spend more time at the stationery store than at your writing table.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Natalie Goldberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/choose-your-tools-carefully-but-not-so-carefully-that-you-get-uptight/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "More time" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/choose-your-tools-carefully-but-not-so-carefully-that-you-get-uptight/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a02/natalie-goldberg-1741_more-time_choose-your-tools-carefully-but-not-so-c_1953776.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a02/natalie-goldberg-1741_more-time_choose-your-tools-carefully-but-not-so-c_1953776.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a02/natalie-goldberg-1741_more-time_choose-your-tools-carefully-but-not-so-c_1953776.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Choose your tools carefully, but not so carefully that you get uptight or spend more time at the stationery…” — Natalie Goldberg", "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": "Natalie Goldberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Choose your tools carefully, but not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/choose-your-tools-carefully-but-not-so-carefully-that-you-get-uptight/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/choose-your-tools-carefully-but-not-so-carefully-that-you-get-uptight/#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 } } ] } ```