--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Working on a new idea is kind of like…" description: "\"Working on a new idea is kind of like getting married. Then a new idea comes along and you think, 'Man, I'd really like to go out with her.' But you ca..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d9/stephen-king-13_getting-married_working-on-a-new-idea-is-kind-of-like-ge_1378898.jpg" --- # Working on a new idea is kind of like getting married… ![“Working on a new idea is kind of like getting married. Then a new idea comes along and you think, 'Man, I'd really like to go out with her.' But you can't. At least not until the old idea is finished.” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d9/stephen-king-13_getting-married_working-on-a-new-idea-is-kind-of-like-ge_1378898.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d9/stephen-king-13_getting-married_working-on-a-new-idea-is-kind-of-like-ge_1378898.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d9/stephen-king-13_getting-married_working-on-a-new-idea-is-kind-of-like-ge_1378898.jpg) > “Working on a new idea is kind of like getting married. Then a new idea comes along and you think, 'Man, I'd really like to go out with her.' But you can't. At least not until the old idea is finished.” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Developing a new idea feels like a marriage; you can’t pursue a new one until the current is completed. **In simple terms:** New ideas compete for attention like relationships. Key Takeaway Finish one before starting another. Themes creativity commitment focus Mood determined thoughtful Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - writing - research - product development - personal projects Key Concepts project management psychology Questions to Reflect On - Can you allocate time for both? - How to prioritize without abandoning? A Different Perspective Balancing multiple ideas can spark burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Getting married](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-married/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [New idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-idea/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [When you stop thinking about something, the idea comes to you. It seems to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rash/when-you-stop-thinking-about-something-the-idea-comes-to-you-it-seems/) [Jim Rash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rash/) > [You know, an idea is just an idea. There seems to... the kind of epiphanies that you have, like the little sudden bursts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/you-know-an-idea-is-just-an-idea-there-seems-to-the-kind-of/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [I liked the idea of being the kind of woman who'd go to the Gobi desert pregnant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/i-liked-the-idea-of-being-the-kind-of-woman-who-d-go-to-the-gobi/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [What kind of idea are you? Are you the kind that compromises, does deals, accomodates itself to society, aims to find a niche, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/what-kind-of-idea-are-you-are-you-the-kind-that-compromises-does/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm a very idea-first kind of person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-torres/i-m-a-very-idea-first-kind-of-person/) [Julio Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-torres/) > [If first of all you have a wrong idea, then it's kind of wasting time. No matter how hard that you try with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chow/if-first-of-all-you-have-a-wrong-idea-then-it-s-kind-of-wasting-time/) [Stephen Chow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chow/) > [My poems often start with an idea, some kind of inspiration. I don't expect anything. Every now and then something like "The One Truth"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schultz/my-poems-often-start-with-an-idea-some-kind-of-inspiration-i-don-t/) [Philip Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schultz/) > [Every new idea in any field needs protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-catmull/every-new-idea-in-any-field-needs-protection/) [Edwin Catmull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-catmull/) > ['The X Factor' seems to be more about building up personalities and people in tears. And it's not a new idea. The pre-Beatles pop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jools-holland/the-x-factor-seems-to-be-more-about-building-up-personalities-and/) [Jools Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jools-holland/) > [A great scientist is more open to a new idea than almost anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/a-great-scientist-is-more-open-to-a-new-idea-than-almost-anybody/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [When the idea comes, I often can't remember where it came from. I remember very little about writing the first series of Hitchhiker's. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/when-the-idea-comes-i-often-can-t-remember-where-it-came-from-i/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [I get lots of ideas when the lights go out at night and it gets very quiet. Sometimes they come when I first lie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/i-get-lots-of-ideas-when-the-lights-go-out-at-night-and-it-gets-very/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [“if the idea comes to you that”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-redfield/if-the-idea-comes-to-you-that/) [James Redfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-redfield/) > [So when a good idea comes, you know, part of my job is to move it around, just see what different people think, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/so-when-a-good-idea-comes-you-know-part-of-my-job-is-to-move-it/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [When a new idea comes our way, we must put it on our mental scales and weigh it carefully before deciding its value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/when-a-new-idea-comes-our-way-we-must-put-it-on-our-mental-scales-and/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? 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No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More Getting married quotes > [“He’d parted reluctantly from Amily, thinking again with envy of Lena and Bear. One thing that they hadn’t been forced to deal with during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-lackey/he-d-parted-reluctantly-from-amily-thinking-again-with-envy-of-lena/) [Mercedes Lackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-lackey/) > [Phil is of a generation that probably would have been happier never getting married. 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"That was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/you-just-asked-me-to-marry-you-he-said-still-waiting-for-me-to-admit/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) > [“The girl, indeed, is rare who does not, on getting married, attempt to remodel her husband according to her own ideas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyubov-dostoyevskaya/the-girl-indeed-is-rare-who-does-not-on-getting-married-attempt-to/) [Lyubov Dostoyevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyubov-dostoyevskaya/) > [We loved getting married on the east coast of Mexico.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cooper/we-loved-getting-married-on-the-east-coast-of-mexico/) [Alex Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cooper/) > [You know what getting married is? It's agreeing to taking this person who right now is at the top of his form, full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/you-know-what-getting-married-is-it-s-agreeing-to-taking-this-person/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“What is it?” I asked, pasting a magazine photo of a football--found in an old Seventeen magazine spread--on my beloved’s collage. “Well, a bunch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/what-is-it-i-asked-pasting-a-magazine-photo-of-a-football-found-in-an/) [Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/) > [I feel like I'm the kind of guy that would have kids before getting married. 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