--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All I know is that the hours are long…" description: "\"“All I know is that the hours are long... and constrain us to beguile them with proceedings which ... may at first sight seem reasonable, until they be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/samuel-beckett-365_first-sight_all-i-know-is-that-the-hours-are-long-an_676443.png" --- # All I know is that the hours are long... and constrain us… ![“All I know is that the hours are long... and constrain us to beguile them with proceedings which ... may at first sight seem reasonable, until they become a habit.” quote by Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/samuel-beckett-365_first-sight_all-i-know-is-that-the-hours-are-long-an_676443.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/samuel-beckett-365_first-sight_all-i-know-is-that-the-hours-are-long-an_676443.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/samuel-beckett-365_first-sight_all-i-know-is-that-the-hours-are-long-an_676443.png) > ““All I know is that the hours are long... and constrain us to beguile them with proceedings which ... may at first sight seem reasonable, until they become a habit.”” [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time feels endless, leading us to create routines that seem sensible but become habitual constraints. **In simple terms:** Long hours make us form habits that feel reasonable. Key Takeaway Recognize and break unhelpful habits. Themes time habit routine illusion Mood thoughtful introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - workplace - creative projects - daily planning Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you fill idle time? - What habits have you accepted without question? A Different Perspective Habits can mask underlying dissatisfaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [First sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-sight/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) ## Related quotes > [Any two philosophers can tell each other all they know in two hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/any-two-philosophers-can-tell-each-other-all-they-know-in-two-hours/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Once you work hard, you're confident. You know what it takes. And you know the hours that you put in to have the results…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-siakam/once-you-work-hard-you-re-confident-you-know-what-it-takes-and-you/) [Pascal Siakam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-siakam/) > [“We Americans seem to know everything about the last twenty-four hours but very little of the last sixty centuries or the last sixty years.”4”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/we-americans-seem-to-know-everything-about-the-last-twenty-four-hours/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“When you have only know someone for a few hours it is difficult to now what they would like to hear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/when-you-have-only-know-someone-for-a-few-hours-it-is-difficult-to/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“It should not matter, but it does. I want to know how many hours of the night are gone and how many remain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredric-brown/it-should-not-matter-but-it-does-i-want-to-know-how-many-hours-of-the/) [Fredric Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredric-brown/) > [I find it's only when something is trying to come through I really practice. And then, I don't know how many hours. It's all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-coltrane/i-find-it-s-only-when-something-is-trying-to-come-through-i-really/) [John Coltrane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-coltrane/) > [Most of our shows are about two and a half hours long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-hanson/most-of-our-shows-are-about-two-and-a-half-hours-long/) [Isaac Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-hanson/) > [“Aye me sad hours seem long”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/aye-me-sad-hours-seem-long/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“The more he studied, the more vistas he caught of fields of knowledge yet unexplored, and the regret that days were only twenty-four hours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/the-more-he-studied-the-more-vistas-he-caught-of-fields-of-knowledge/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > ['Nicholas Nickleby' is 800 pages long. At one time, the theater production was 15 hours long. So it's an interesting process, about what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-rees/nicholas-nickleby-is-800-pages-long-at-one-time-the-theater/) [Roger Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-rees/) > [Cable news is 24 hours long, so you have to fill it up with something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bobin/cable-news-is-24-hours-long-so-you-have-to-fill-it-up-with-something-2/) [James Bobin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bobin/) > [For a romantic comedy to be three hours long, that's longer than most marriages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fincher/for-a-romantic-comedy-to-be-three-hours-long-that-s-longer-than-most/) [David Fincher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fincher/) > [You noticed from last night, we only did two from the 80s. And our set's two hours long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-wilson/you-noticed-from-last-night-we-only-did-two-from-the-80s-and-our-set/) [Ann Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-wilson/) > [“What's making you sad and your hours so long? - Not having the thing that makes them short.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/what-s-making-you-sad-and-your-hours-so-long-not-having-the-thing/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Sergio Leone's 'Once Upon a Time in America' is a brilliant movie. It's about four hours long, but it's so well done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-estrada/sergio-leone-s-once-upon-a-time-in-america-is-a-brilliant-movie-it-s/) [Erik Estrada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-estrada/) ## More by Samuel Beckett > [“It was December, I had never felt so cold, the eel soup lay heavy on my stomach, I was afraid I'd die, I turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/it-was-december-i-had-never-felt-so-cold-the-eel-soup-lay-heavy-on-my/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“To be always what I am - and so changed from what I was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/to-be-always-what-i-am-and-so-changed-from-what-i-was/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [To what will love not stoop!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/to-what-will-love-not-stoop/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [With all this darkness round me I feel less alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/with-all-this-darkness-round-me-i-feel-less-alone/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“You may say it is all in my head, and indeed sometimes it seems to me I am in a head and that these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/you-may-say-it-is-all-in-my-head-and-indeed-sometimes-it-seems-to-me/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“Here he stood. Here he sat. Here he knelt. Here he lay. Here he moved, to and fro, from the door to the window,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/here-he-stood-here-he-sat-here-he-knelt-here-he-lay-here-he-moved-to/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/what-are-we-doing-here-that-is-the-question-and-we-are-blessed-in/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [I shall state silences more competently than ever a better man spangled the butterflies of vertigo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-shall-state-silences-more-competently-than-ever-a-better-man/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [It is useless not to seek, not to want, for when you cease to seek you start to find, and when you cease to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/it-is-useless-not-to-seek-not-to-want-for-when-you-cease-to-seek-you/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [We are not saints, but we have kept our appointment. How many people can boast as much?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/we-are-not-saints-but-we-have-kept-our-appointment-how-many-people/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [The new light above my table is a great improvement. With all this darkness around me I feel less alone. (Pause.) In a way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/the-new-light-above-my-table-is-a-great-improvement-with-all-this/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [I lay down across her with my face in her breasts and my hand on her. We lay there without moving. But under us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-lay-down-across-her-with-my-face-in-her-breasts-and-my-hand-on-her/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Women are all the bloody sameyou can't love for five minutes without wanting it abolished in brats and house bloody wifery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/women-are-all-the-bloody-sameyou-can-t-love-for-five-minutes-without/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“ESTRAGON: Do you think God sees me? VLADIMIR: You must close your eyes. Estragon closes his eyes, staggers worse. ESTRAGON: (stopping, brandishing his fists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/estragon-do-you-think-god-sees-me-vladimir-you-must-close-your-eyes/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Deplorable mania, when something happens, to inquire what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/deplorable-mania-when-something-happens-to-inquire-what/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) [Explore all 609 Samuel Beckett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) ## More First sight quotes > [ONE stone enough to break a glass,,, ONE sentence is enough to break a heart,,, FIRST sight is enough to fall in love,,, ONE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-stone-enough-to-break-a-glass-one-sentence-is-enough-to-break-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never believed that they was such thing as love at first sight but I think I'm having that feeliing @sarahlovemoody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mishack/i-never-believed-that-they-was-such-thing-as-love-at-first-sight-but/) Mishack > [I do believe in love at first sight. I believe in a lot of thing. I truly believe everything happens for a reason, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-believe-in-love-at-first-sight-i-believe-in-a-lot-of-thing-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I had the love for the game at first sight. Growing up, I'd play anywhere, in any weather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-wan-bissaka/i-had-the-love-for-the-game-at-first-sight-growing-up-i-d-play/) [Aaron Wan-Bissaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-wan-bissaka/) > [I don't BeliEvE in lOvE at FirST SiGht ? because I BelIeVe in LoVe at EverY sIGHt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-believe-in-love-at-first-sight-because-i-believe-in-love-at/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometime when u meet somone u just click i don't believe in love at first sight, but I sure believe in the click](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiz/sometime-when-u-meet-somone-u-just-click-i-don-t-believe-in-love-at/) [Kiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiz/) > [It was love at first sight. Then I took a second look!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/it-was-love-at-first-sight-then-i-took-a-second-look/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [“Aah, man. Forty-one was far too fucking old for love at first sight. He might as well throw himself at her feet and be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-scott/aah-man-forty-one-was-far-too-fucking-old-for-love-at-first-sight-he/) [Kylie Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-scott/) > [ p.61 He \[Roark\] was usually disliked, from the first sight of his face, anywhere he went. His face was closed like the door of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/p-61-he-roark-was-usually-disliked-from-the-first-sight-of-his-face/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [It was love at first sight. Until reality struck like lightning and burnt up everything leaving me with nothing but scars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-love-at-first-sight-until-reality-struck-like-lightning-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind, Two of us will help you, whichever you would find, One among us seven will let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/danger-lies-before-you-while-safety-lies-behind-two-of-us-will-help/) [J.K. 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Especially after it's happened to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/i-now-believe-in-love-at-first-sight-especially-after-it-s-happened/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I don't really believe in love at first sight because your judging the person by their looks and usually the person is rude.I fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/destiny/i-don-t-really-believe-in-love-at-first-sight-because-your-judging/) [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/destiny/) [Browse all 594 First sight quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-sight/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“All I know is that the hours are long... and constrain us to beguile them with proceedings which ... may at first sight seem reasonable, until they become a habit.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Beckett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/all-i-know-is-that-the-hours-are-long-and-constrain-us-to-beguile/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "First sight" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/all-i-know-is-that-the-hours-are-long-and-constrain-us-to-beguile/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/samuel-beckett-365_first-sight_all-i-know-is-that-the-hours-are-long-an_676443.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/samuel-beckett-365_first-sight_all-i-know-is-that-the-hours-are-long-an_676443.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/samuel-beckett-365_first-sight_all-i-know-is-that-the-hours-are-long-an_676443.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All I know is that the hours are long... and constrain us to beguile them with proceedings which ... may at…” — Samuel Beckett", "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": "Samuel Beckett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“All I know is that the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/all-i-know-is-that-the-hours-are-long-and-constrain-us-to-beguile/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/all-i-know-is-that-the-hours-are-long-and-constrain-us-to-beguile/#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 } } ] } ```