--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can never understand why I should eat…" description: "\"I can never understand why I should eat at one or sleep at eleven, if it is, as it often is, my one and my eleven and nobody else's. For, as between th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/zona-gale-47807_clock_i-can-never-understand-why-i-should-eat_2553149.jpg" --- # I can never understand why I should eat at one or sleep at… ![“I can never understand why I should eat at one or sleep at eleven, if it is, as it often is, my one and my eleven and nobody else's. For, as between the clock and me alone, one and eleven and all other o'clocks are mine and I am not theirs. But I have known men and women living in hotels who would…” quote by Zona Gale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/zona-gale-47807_clock_i-can-never-understand-why-i-should-eat_2553149.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/zona-gale-47807_clock_i-can-never-understand-why-i-should-eat_2553149.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/zona-gale-47807_clock_i-can-never-understand-why-i-should-eat_2553149.jpg) > “I can never understand why I should eat at one or sleep at eleven, if it is, as it often is, my one and my eleven and nobody else's. For, as between the clock and me alone, one and eleven and all other o'clocks are mine and I am not theirs. But I have known men and women living in hotels who would interrupt a sunset to go to dine, or wave away the stars in their courses to go to sleep, merely because the hour had struck.” [Zona Gale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zona-gale/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker rejects rigid schedules, emphasizing personal ownership of time over societal norms. **In simple terms:** Time belongs to you, not to clocks. Key Takeaway Own your schedule. Themes individualism time societal expectations Mood reflective defiant Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - travel - night shifts - creative work - personal rituals Key Concepts subjective time perception personal autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How does your personal rhythm affect productivity? - What would happen if you followed the clock? A Different Perspective May ignore practical constraints like work or health. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Going to sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-to-sleep/) [Hotel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hotel/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Sunset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunset/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Understand, when you eat meat, that something did die. You have an obligation to value it - not just the sirloin but also all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/understand-when-you-eat-meat-that-something-did-die-you-have-an/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [“A friend's mother ate nothing but clams for six months. Morning, noon, and night, nothing but clams. 'I don't know what it is -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-thomas/a-friend-s-mother-ate-nothing-but-clams-for-six-months-morning-noon/) [Abigail Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-thomas/) > [Eaters must understand, how we eat determines how the world is used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/eaters-must-understand-how-we-eat-determines-how-the-world-is-used/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“People eat and sleep in the shadow of what we do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/people-eat-and-sleep-in-the-shadow-of-what-we-do/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Eat,sleep,rave. REPEATE ^\_^](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hellwidflava/eat-sleep-rave-repeate/) [Hellwidflava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hellwidflava/) > [“If you don't eat well and sleep well, you can't function well. You can't love well, not communicate well. Worst of all You will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-yadav/if-you-don-t-eat-well-and-sleep-well-you-can-t-function-well-you-can/) [Nikhil Yadav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-yadav/) > [You will eat this and go to sleep, so your pronouns get their antecedents back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/you-will-eat-this-and-go-to-sleep-so-your-pronouns-get-their/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [“We don’t sleep to sleep, dammit, any more than we eat to eat . We sleep to dream. We’re amphibians. We live in two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-clarke/we-don-t-sleep-to-sleep-dammit-any-more-than-we-eat-to-eat-we-sleep/) Lindsay Clarke > [Eat well and sleep well. That will feed your nervous system and your psyche. As you get older, you look how you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-annis/eat-well-and-sleep-well-that-will-feed-your-nervous-system-and-your/) [Francesca Annis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-annis/) > [“...but I wasn't really very happy in that place, for these reasons, that I hadn't come all this way just to eat, sleep and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabio-geda/but-i-wasn-t-really-very-happy-in-that-place-for-these-reasons-that-i/) [Fabio Geda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabio-geda/) > [All I do is play football, eat, sleep, play with my kids, play football.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-f-cahill/all-i-do-is-play-football-eat-sleep-play-with-my-kids-play-football/) [Timothy F. Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-f-cahill/) > [Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep, really to sleep. Try as much as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/try-to-learn-to-breathe-deeply-really-to-taste-food-when-you-eat-and/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [After a two-hour session in the gym, you can't then go out and be up for looking for trouble, you just want to eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-jr/after-a-two-hour-session-in-the-gym-you-can-t-then-go-out-and-be-up/) [Chris Eubank Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-jr/) > [As soon as I reach my destination I have a cup of tea, something to eat and then sleep for about 13 hours. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-collins/as-soon-as-i-reach-my-destination-i-have-a-cup-of-tea-something-to/) [Jackie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-collins/) > [The need to eat, sleep and dry out plays havoc with your sense of wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/the-need-to-eat-sleep-and-dry-out-plays-havoc-with-your-sense-of/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) ## More by Zona Gale > [The unexpressed is always of greater value than the expressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zona-gale/the-unexpressed-is-always-of-greater-value-than-the-expressed/) [Zona Gale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zona-gale/) > [Loving, like prayer, is a power as well as a process. It's curative. It is creative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zona-gale/loving-like-prayer-is-a-power-as-well-as-a-process-it-s-curative-it/) [Zona Gale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zona-gale/) > [I don't know a better preparation for life than a love of poetry and a good digestion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zona-gale/i-don-t-know-a-better-preparation-for-life-than-a-love-of-poetry-and/) [Zona Gale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zona-gale/) > [When you look at a corpse you can always sense your own breath better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zona-gale/when-you-look-at-a-corpse-you-can-always-sense-your-own-breath-better/) [Zona Gale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zona-gale/) > [I tell you of all history the most beautiful product is the family tie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zona-gale/i-tell-you-of-all-history-the-most-beautiful-product-is-the-family-tie/) [Zona Gale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zona-gale/) > [“Moments of mystery are rare enough, in all conscience; and when they do arrive all the world misses them by trying to understand them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zona-gale/moments-of-mystery-are-rare-enough-in-all-conscience-and-when-they-do/) [Zona Gale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zona-gale/) > [Always he had wanted to tell somebody about his life, but when he had tried, his confidante had looked at him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zona-gale/always-he-had-wanted-to-tell-somebody-about-his-life-but-when-he-had/) [Zona Gale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zona-gale/) [Explore all 8 Zona Gale quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zona-gale/) ## More Clock quotes > [Even Einstein had to rely for his time on his clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/even-einstein-had-to-rely-for-his-time-on-his-clock/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) > [“Time was never neutral and often felt dangerous. We either think we have all the time in the world or time moves too fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-reay/time-was-never-neutral-and-often-felt-dangerous-we-either-think-we/) [Katherine Reay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-reay/) > [Before a clock was in the tower, Or e'er a watch was worn; I knew of night the passing hour, And prophesied the morn;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-a-clock-was-in-the-tower-or-e-er-a-watch-was-worn-i-knew-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [“Time is, to put it in its most impressive and some might say poncy-sounding form, my domain. I can see things that once happened,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-rayner/time-is-to-put-it-in-its-most-impressive-and-some-might-say-poncy/) [Jacqueline Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-rayner/) > [Time travel offends our sense of cause and effect - but maybe the universe doesn't insist on cause and effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/time-travel-offends-our-sense-of-cause-and-effect-but-maybe-the/) [Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/) > [My only aim is to clock a time that everyone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hima-das/my-only-aim-is-to-clock-a-time-that-everyone-remembers/) [Hima Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hima-das/) > [Time.The greatest creator, and the worst destroyer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-keely/time-the-greatest-creator-and-the-worst-destroyer/) Levi Keely > [Steven Spielberg seems to have wanted to be a director from 13. He put his dog in a certain position and made him eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/steven-spielberg-seems-to-have-wanted-to-be-a-director-from-13-he-put/) [Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/) > [No life goes past so swiftly as an eventless one, no clock spins like a clock whose days are all alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/no-life-goes-past-so-swiftly-as-an-eventless-one-no-clock-spins-like/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Those who stop marketing to save money are like those who stop a clock to save time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/those-who-stop-marketing-to-save-money-are-like-those-who-stop-a/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [Time is the nervous system of narration, whether factual or fictive. If it gets confused some of the minutiae of human nature are certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenway-wescott/time-is-the-nervous-system-of-narration-whether-factual-or-fictive-if/) [Glenway Wescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenway-wescott/) > [I don't know if it's just me or everyone, but the whole vibe with skiing is not so much thriving on competition against others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/picabo-street/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-just-me-or-everyone-but-the-whole-vibe-with/) [Picabo Street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/picabo-street/) > [Time goes on, even when yer not looking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/time-goes-on-even-when-yer-not-looking/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [CLOCK, n. A machine of great moral value to man, allaying his concern for the future by reminding him what a lot of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/clock-n-a-machine-of-great-moral-value-to-man-allaying-his-concern/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) [Browse all 2,738 Clock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can never understand why I should eat at one or sleep at eleven, if it is, as it often is, my one and my eleven and nobody else's. For, as between the clock and me alone, one and eleven and all other o'clocks are mine and I am not theirs. 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