--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm drowning in papers." description: "\"I'm drowning in papers.\" — Wislawa Szymborska" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/wislawa-szymborska-4464_drowning_i-m-drowning-in-papers-369836_369836.png" --- # I'm drowning in papers. ![“I'm drowning in papers.” quote by Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/wislawa-szymborska-4464_drowning_i-m-drowning-in-papers-369836_369836.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/wislawa-szymborska-4464_drowning_i-m-drowning-in-papers-369836_369836.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/wislawa-szymborska-4464_drowning_i-m-drowning-in-papers-369836_369836.png) > “I'm drowning in papers.” [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feeling overwhelmed by tasks can feel like suffocating, but recognizing the pressure is the first step to managing it. **In simple terms:** Too many tasks feel overwhelming. Key Takeaway Prioritize and break tasks into manageable pieces. Themes overwhelm work mental health Mood anxious determined Type motivational reflective When to use this quote - office work - academic research - daily chores - project deadlines Key Concepts existentialism productivity Questions to Reflect On - What can you delegate or postpone? - How does acknowledging overwhelm change your approach? A Different Perspective Even with organization, stress may persist if expectations are unrealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drowning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drowning/) [Drowning Papers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drowning-papers-3375609/) [Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paper/) [Papers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/papers/) ## Related quotes > [“Our world will not die as a result of the bomb, as the papers say, it will die of laughter, of banality, of making a joke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/our-world-will-not-die-as-a-result-of-the-bomb-as-the-papers-say-it/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [English humor is hard to appreciate, though, unless you are trained to it. The English papers, in reporting my speeches, always put 'laughter' in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/english-humor-is-hard-to-appreciate-though-unless-you-are-trained-to/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The HoLee model was the first term structure model. I remember reading their paper soon after it was published and as it was fairly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hull/the-holee-model-was-the-first-term-structure-model-i-remember-reading/) [John Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hull/) > [The sea answers all questions, and always in the same way; for when you read in the papers the interminable discussions and the bickering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-sea-answers-all-questions-and-always-in-the-same-way-for-when-you/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware there was anything wrong about it. No-one arraigned it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-to-slavery-i-was-not-aware/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A tall blonde entered the room, wearing a yellow sash that marked her as advocate. Two men followed her, carrying papers. She was lean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/a-tall-blonde-entered-the-room-wearing-a-yellow-sash-that-marked-her/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [In her final months Princess Diana was being shat upon by the tabloids -- basically for sleeping with an Arab. When she died, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/in-her-final-months-princess-diana-was-being-shat-upon-by-the/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [My real first job was delivering newspapers with I was 15. I would ride my bike around and chuck papers at people's houses. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/my-real-first-job-was-delivering-newspapers-with-i-was-15-i-would/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Others may question your credentials, your papers, your degrees. Others may look for all kinds of ways to diminish your worth. But what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gardner/others-may-question-your-credentials-your-papers-your-degrees-others/) [Chris Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gardner/) > [See you in the funny papers," he said. Jaunty, he reminded himself; always jaunty. In my panache is their hope for salvation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/see-you-in-the-funny-papers-he-said-jaunty-he-reminded-himself-always/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [To me, I read good reviews in lots of papers and bad reviews in lots of papers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-nevins/to-me-i-read-good-reviews-in-lots-of-papers-and-bad-reviews-in-lots/) [Sheila Nevins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-nevins/) > [Don't you understand anything? Isn't it absolutely essential to keep a fierce Left and a fierce Right, both on their toes and each terrified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/don-t-you-understand-anything-isn-t-it-absolutely-essential-to-keep-a/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Sunday afternoon is for papers and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/sunday-afternoon-is-for-papers-and-writing/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [Authors of published papers and editors of scientific journals can, unfortunately, be slow to come to terms with criticism, and it's good that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-gelman/authors-of-published-papers-and-editors-of-scientific-journals-can/) [Andrew Gelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-gelman/) > [I get into plenty of trouble. It just doesn't seem to get picked up by the papers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-cullum/i-get-into-plenty-of-trouble-it-just-doesn-t-seem-to-get-picked-up-by/) [Jamie Cullum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-cullum/) ## More by Wislawa Szymborska > [I usually write for the individual reader -though I would like to have many such readers. There are some poets who write for people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/i-usually-write-for-the-individual-reader-though-i-would-like-to-have/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [Out of every hundred people, those who always know better: fifty-two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/out-of-every-hundred-people-those-who-always-know-better-fifty-two/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [I don't know the role I'm playing. I only know it's mine, non-convertible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/i-don-t-know-the-role-i-m-playing-i-only-know-it-s-mine-non/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [This terrifying world is not devoid of charms, of the mornings that make waking up worthwhile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/this-terrifying-world-is-not-devoid-of-charms-of-the-mornings-that/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [Poetic talent doesn't operate in a vacuum. There is a spirit of Polish poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/poetic-talent-doesn-t-operate-in-a-vacuum-there-is-a-spirit-of-polish/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [“Every beginning, after all, is nothing but a sequel, and the book of events is always open in the middle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/every-beginning-after-all-is-nothing-but-a-sequel-and-the-book-of/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [All the best have something in common, a regard for reality, an agreement to its primacy over the imagination. Even the richest, most surprising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/all-the-best-have-something-in-common-a-regard-for-reality-an/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [Is a decision made in advance really any kind of choice?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/is-a-decision-made-in-advance-really-any-kind-of-choice/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [“Four billion people on this earth but my imagination is still the same. It's bad with large numbers. It's still taken by particularity. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/four-billion-people-on-this-earth-but-my-imagination-is-still-the/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [Most of the earth's inhabitants work to get by. They work because they have to. They didn't pick this or that kind of job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/most-of-the-earth-s-inhabitants-work-to-get-by-they-work-because-they/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [God was finally going to believe in a man both good and strong, but good and strong are still two different men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/god-was-finally-going-to-believe-in-a-man-both-good-and-strong-but/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [Carry on, then, if only for the moment that it takes a tiny galaxy to blink!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/carry-on-then-if-only-for-the-moment-that-it-takes-a-tiny-galaxy-to/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [Keep up the good work, if only for a while, if only for the twinkling of a tiny galaxy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/keep-up-the-good-work-if-only-for-a-while-if-only-for-the-twinkling/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [I'm working on the world, revised, improved edition, featuring fun for fools blues for brooders, combs for bald pates, tricks for old dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/i-m-working-on-the-world-revised-improved-edition-featuring-fun-for/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [Any knowledge that doesn't lead to new questions quickly dies out: it fails to maintain the temperature required for sustaining life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/any-knowledge-that-doesn-t-lead-to-new-questions-quickly-dies-out-it/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) [Explore all 109 Wislawa Szymborska quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) ## More Drowning quotes > [Our world is drowning in a sea of self-centeredness. You can make yourself quite unique right away by leaving this ocean of selfishness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bytheway/our-world-is-drowning-in-a-sea-of-self-centeredness-you-can-make/) [John Bytheway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bytheway/) > [The world around us is an increasingly hostile and sinful place. Occasionally that splashes onto us, and perhaps, in the case of a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-world-around-us-is-an-increasingly-hostile-and-sinful-place/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Beloved, let your eyes half close, and your heart beat Over my heart, and your hair fall over my breast, Drowning love's lonely hour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/beloved-let-your-eyes-half-close-and-your-heart-beat-over-my-heart/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“unsignificantly off the coast there was a splash quite unnoticed this was Icarus drowning”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/unsignificantly-off-the-coast-there-was-a-splash-quite-unnoticed-this/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [Here is the boy, drowning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/here-is-the-boy-drowning/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [You cannot sink someone else's end of the boat and still keep your own afloat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bower/you-cannot-sink-someone-else-s-end-of-the-boat-and-still-keep-your/) [Charles Bower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bower/) > [You can swim in life and seawater, but both are hard to swallow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/you-can-swim-in-life-and-seawater-but-both-are-hard-to-swallow/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [Why all these signs around us that make me doubt language and submerge me in meanings, drowning reality instead of extracting it from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/why-all-these-signs-around-us-that-make-me-doubt-language-and/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [There are many ways to drown, only the most obvious wave their arms as they're going under.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-flynn/there-are-many-ways-to-drown-only-the-most-obvious-wave-their-arms-as/) [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) > [I know that look, Blake. You are a drowning woman, and the only way out is down the aisle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/i-know-that-look-blake-you-are-a-drowning-woman-and-the-only-way-out/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [“Shame isn't a quiet grey cloud, shame is a drowning man who claws his way on top of you, scratching and tearing your skin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsty-eagar/shame-isn-t-a-quiet-grey-cloud-shame-is-a-drowning-man-who-claws-his/) [Kirsty Eagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsty-eagar/) > [You are not drowned when u fall into the water but u are when you stay in there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psalmgreat/you-are-not-drowned-when-u-fall-into-the-water-but-u-are-when-you/) [Psalmgreat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psalmgreat/) > [“Sure, I wouldn’t be in range to do more than dial 911 if she slipped and hit her head and fell into the water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-monroe/sure-i-wouldn-t-be-in-range-to-do-more-than-dial-911-if-she-slipped/) [Max Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-monroe/) > [I'm always looking for sounds that are pleasing at the time. The sound of a helicopter is really annoying until you're drowning, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-always-looking-for-sounds-that-are-pleasing-at-the-time-the-sound/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I got to a point where I had no self-esteem and I just felt like I was drowning, and I had no way out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-anderson/i-got-to-a-point-where-i-had-no-self-esteem-and-i-just-felt-like-i/) [Megan Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-anderson/) [Browse all 868 Drowning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drowning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm drowning in papers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wislawa Szymborska" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/i-m-drowning-in-papers/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Drowning" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/i-m-drowning-in-papers/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/wislawa-szymborska-4464_drowning_i-m-drowning-in-papers-369836_369836.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/wislawa-szymborska-4464_drowning_i-m-drowning-in-papers-369836_369836.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/wislawa-szymborska-4464_drowning_i-m-drowning-in-papers-369836_369836.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm drowning in papers.” — Wislawa Szymborska", "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": "Wislawa Szymborska", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm drowning in papers.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/i-m-drowning-in-papers/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/i-m-drowning-in-papers/#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 } } ] } ```