--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was working, but I didn't have anything…" description: "\"“I was working, but I didn't have anything like enough to do, and the bad times came in the evenings, when I went back to my room, sat on the couch and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/olivia-laing-24147_bad-time_i-was-working-but-i-didn-t-have-anything_1589753.jpg" --- # I was working, but I didn't have anything like enough to… ![“I was working, but I didn't have anything like enough to do, and the bad times came in the evenings, when I went back to my room, sat on the couch and watched the world outside me going on through glass, a light bulb at a time.” quote by Olivia Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/olivia-laing-24147_bad-time_i-was-working-but-i-didn-t-have-anything_1589753.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/olivia-laing-24147_bad-time_i-was-working-but-i-didn-t-have-anything_1589753.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/olivia-laing-24147_bad-time_i-was-working-but-i-didn-t-have-anything_1589753.jpg) > ““I was working, but I didn't have anything like enough to do, and the bad times came in the evenings, when I went back to my room, sat on the couch and watched the world outside me going on through glass, a light bulb at a time.”” [Olivia Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-laing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feeling idle, the narrator watches life pass by through a small window, marking time in tiny increments. **In simple terms:** Idle watching life through a window, counting moments. Key Takeaway Find active ways to engage rather than merely observe. Themes idleness observation time loneliness mundane Mood contemplative somber Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - evening routines - personal growth - mental health - creative projects Key Concepts existential reflection psychology Questions to Reflect On - What small actions could break the cycle of idle watching? - How does framing time in tiny units affect perception? A Different Perspective Passive observation may intensify feelings of helplessness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-times/) [Light bulb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-bulb/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“In the evenings, before I went to sleep, and in the mornings, in the moment I woke up, I realized I was praying for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/makoto-shinkai/in-the-evenings-before-i-went-to-sleep-and-in-the-mornings-in-the/) [Makoto Shinkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/makoto-shinkai/) > [“Stars behind cosmic glass... the light behind one's eyes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-anne-mccartney/stars-behind-cosmic-glass-the-light-behind-one-s-eyes/) [Tracey-anne McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-anne-mccartney/) > [“I flopped on the overstuffed kitchen couch and watched him go. I wondered what would happen to all his films and photographs in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-bauer/i-flopped-on-the-overstuffed-kitchen-couch-and-watched-him-go-i/) [Joan Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-bauer/) > [Anchoring is a different medium. I wanted to try it and not stop working, I didn't want to sit at home and say, 'Will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-wahi/anchoring-is-a-different-medium-i-wanted-to-try-it-and-not-stop/) [Karan Wahi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-wahi/) > [After graduating from high school, even though I was working, I didn't have enough money to pay rent, so I stayed with my Nana.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kane-brown/after-graduating-from-high-school-even-though-i-was-working-i-didn-t/) [Kane Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kane-brown/) > [When I wasn't working I didn't know what to do with myself and sort of didn't exist, in a way, when I wasn't working,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-pfeiffer/when-i-wasn-t-working-i-didn-t-know-what-to-do-with-myself-and-sort/) [Michelle Pfeiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-pfeiffer/) > [When I started to work in the kitchen, there's not a lot of women that were working and I didn't try to pay attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominique-crenn/when-i-started-to-work-in-the-kitchen-there-s-not-a-lot-of-women-that/) [Dominique Crenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominique-crenn/) > [I wouldn't dream of working on something that didn't make my gut rumble and my heart want to explode.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-wouldn-t-dream-of-working-on-something-that-didn-t-make-my-gut/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [Stylists aren't for me. I tried to use one when I first started working in the US, but I didn't click with anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-deeley/stylists-aren-t-for-me-i-tried-to-use-one-when-i-first-started-2/) [Cat Deeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-deeley/) > [“spent my whole life working toward didn’t exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-colfer/spent-my-whole-life-working-toward-didn-t-exist/) [Chris Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-colfer/) > [Stylists aren't for me. I tried to use one when I first started working in the U.S., but I didn't click with anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-deeley/stylists-aren-t-for-me-i-tried-to-use-one-when-i-first-started/) [Cat Deeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-deeley/) > [When I first started working it was as if I didn't understand myself. The fact that I didn't understand myself was tied up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rirkrit-tiravanija/when-i-first-started-working-it-was-as-if-i-didn-t-understand-myself/) [Rirkrit Tiravanija](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rirkrit-tiravanija/) > [We live technologically, with man as the master of nature, man as the engineer, and let anyone who raises his voice against it stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-frisch/we-live-technologically-with-man-as-the-master-of-nature-man-as-the/) [Max Frisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-frisch/) > [Writing music and lyrics, you tend to become a control freak - sitting alone in your room with a bare light bulb over your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-robert-brown/writing-music-and-lyrics-you-tend-to-become-a-control-freak-sitting/) [Jason Robert Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-robert-brown/) > [When my mood was high, I seemed normal, even buoyant. I felt smarter. I had secrets. I could see God in a light bulb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tierney/when-my-mood-was-high-i-seemed-normal-even-buoyant-i-felt-smarter-i/) [Gene Tierney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tierney/) ## More by Olivia Laing > [“Not so long ago, I spent a period in New York City, that teeming island of gneiss and concrete and glass, inhabiting loneliness on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-laing/not-so-long-ago-i-spent-a-period-in-new-york-city-that-teeming-island/) [Olivia Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-laing/) > [“There is no possibility of permanent tenancy on this circling planet. It isn’t part of the deal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-laing/there-is-no-possibility-of-permanent-tenancy-on-this-circling-planet/) [Olivia Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-laing/) > [“they’d even met, he recommended him to his own editor at Scribner, Max Perkins, suggesting Max sign up this promising young”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-laing/they-d-even-met-he-recommended-him-to-his-own-editor-at-scribner-max/) [Olivia Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-laing/) > [“The revelation of loneliness, the omnipresent, unanswerable feeling that I was in a state of lack, that I didn't have what people were supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-laing/the-revelation-of-loneliness-the-omnipresent-unanswerable-feeling/) [Olivia Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-laing/) > [“The city reveals itself as a set of cells, a hundred thousand windows, some darkened and some flooded with green or white or golden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-laing/the-city-reveals-itself-as-a-set-of-cells-a-hundred-thousand-windows/) [Olivia Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-laing/) > [“But already this isn't quite right. The first apartment I had wasn't on the island at all. It was in Brooklyn Heights, a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-laing/but-already-this-isn-t-quite-right-the-first-apartment-i-had-wasn-t/) [Olivia Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-laing/) > [“Loneliness is a very special place. 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Sometimes, what causes the most pain is actually the attempt to resist feeling, or the shame…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-laing/sometimes-all-you-need-is-permission-to-feel-sometimes-what-causes/) [Olivia Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-laing/) > [“Physically, Echo Spring is nothing more than a nickname for a liquor cabinet, drawn from the brand of bourbon it contains.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-laing/physically-echo-spring-is-nothing-more-than-a-nickname-for-a-liquor/) [Olivia Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-laing/) > [“As long as Frank was well, I was happy,’ he wrote in Memoirs. ‘He had a gift for creating a life and, when he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-laing/as-long-as-frank-was-well-i-was-happy-he-wrote-in-memoirs-he-had-a/) [Olivia Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-laing/) > [“If I could have put what I was feeling into words, the words would have been an infant's wail: I don't want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-laing/if-i-could-have-put-what-i-was-feeling-into-words-the-words-would/) [Olivia Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-laing/) > [“Cities can be lonely places, and in admitting this we see that loneliness doesn't necessarily require physical solitude, but rather an absence or paucity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-laing/cities-can-be-lonely-places-and-in-admitting-this-we-see-that/) [Olivia Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-laing/) > [“seemed to me that this second act of Darger’s life compounded the isolation of the first; divesting him of dignity and drowning out or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-laing/seemed-to-me-that-this-second-act-of-darger-s-life-compounded-the/) [Olivia Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-laing/) [Explore all 25 Olivia Laing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-laing/) ## More Bad time quotes > [Buddhism advises you not to implant feelings that you don’t really have or avoid feelings that you do have. If you are miserable you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/buddhism-advises-you-not-to-implant-feelings-that-you-don-t-really/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My friends and family are my support system. They tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-clarkson/my-friends-and-family-are-my-support-system-they-tell-me-what-i-need/) [Kelly Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-clarkson/) > [Always respect, honour And Pray for those who helped you in your bad time. Also be thankful to bad time, For showing you those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/always-respect-honour-and-pray-for-those-who-helped-you-in-your-bad/) Pacifiersucker > [It's certainly been very important to have my own family with me. They came with me to Italy, left what they had in Brazil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-anderson/it-s-certainly-been-very-important-to-have-my-own-family-with-me-they/) [Felipe Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-anderson/) > [The passing of John Bonham... Let's just put it... Before we say, 'the passing of John Bonham,' the introduction of John Bonham on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-page/the-passing-of-john-bonham-let-s-just-put-it-before-we-say-the/) [Jimmy Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-page/) > [The good time become good memories. The bad time become good lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glemar/the-good-time-become-good-memories-the-bad-time-become-good-lesson/) Glemar > [Writing is for men who can think and feel, not mindless sensation seekers out of nightclubs and bars. But these are bad times. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naguib-mahfouz/writing-is-for-men-who-can-think-and-feel-not-mindless-sensation/) [Naguib Mahfouz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naguib-mahfouz/) > [“Don’t let the bad times get you down, You have some of those moments where life tells you, it’s time to cry. Without those,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-mcdaniel-on-the-savage-side/don-t-let-the-bad-times-get-you-down-you-have-some-of-those-moments/) Tiffany McDaniel, On the Savage Side > [The comments I most appreciate come from ordinary readers who've happened on one of my books at some time of stress in their lives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/the-comments-i-most-appreciate-come-from-ordinary-readers-who-ve/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [Everybody need a partner to stand right by their side. Not only down for the good times. But also down through the bad times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-smith/everybody-need-a-partner-to-stand-right-by-their-side-not-only-down/) [Will Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-smith/) > [I don't know if it's fair to say that it's a bad time for movies. It seems to me that throughout the entire history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-macy/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-fair-to-say-that-it-s-a-bad-time-for-movies-it/) [William H. Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-macy/) > [Love is . . . Being happy for the other person when they are happy, Being sad for the person when they are sad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/love-is-being-happy-for-the-other-person-when-they-are-happy-being/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Don't give up on yourself. Fight for yourself and what you stand for. In life, you've got to go through some bad times to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-give-up-on-yourself-fight-for-yourself-and-what-you-stand-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My dad? He died when I was 19, which is a bad time for your dad to die, because there's an awful lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-dad-he-died-when-i-was-19-which-is-a-bad-time-for-your-dad-to-die/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “My dear friend, clear your mind of cant \[excessive thought\]. You may talk as other people do: you may say to a man, "Sir,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/my-dear-friend-clear-your-mind-of-cant-excessive-thought-you-may-talk/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) Browse all 638 Bad time quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I was working, but I didn't have anything like enough to do, and the bad times came in the evenings, when I went back to my room, sat on the couch and watched the world outside me going on through glass, a light bulb at a time.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olivia Laing" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-laing/i-was-working-but-i-didn-t-have-anything-like-enough-to-do-and-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad time" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-laing/i-was-working-but-i-didn-t-have-anything-like-enough-to-do-and-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/olivia-laing-24147_bad-time_i-was-working-but-i-didn-t-have-anything_1589753.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/olivia-laing-24147_bad-time_i-was-working-but-i-didn-t-have-anything_1589753.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/olivia-laing-24147_bad-time_i-was-working-but-i-didn-t-have-anything_1589753.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was working, but I didn't have anything like enough to do, and the bad times came in the evenings, when I…” — Olivia Laing", "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": "Olivia Laing", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-laing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I was working, but I didn't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-laing/i-was-working-but-i-didn-t-have-anything-like-enough-to-do-and-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-laing/i-was-working-but-i-didn-t-have-anything-like-enough-to-do-and-the/#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 } } ] } ```