Tony Abbott Quotes

You cannot be in charge of a family and run a big company.

People under pressure don’t work better; they just work faster.

Unfortunately, the manager is always the one who gets under pressure the most.

In the last five years I used to go to Zen practice once a month, but since I assumed the post of prime minister it's been much harder.

I really like the half-hour comedy. I really do. I know people that are in movies all the time and they, you know, they don't see their families as much. And that takes its toll over time.

If you're working 12-hour days, then you come home to do three hours' homework, it's quite a lot on your plate.

I'm working as hard as I can. Yesterday, I had five different debates. I don't get a half an hour a day to talk to my wife. I don't know how much harder I can work.

I work a seventeen hour day, and I'm personally responsible for 108 staff members in the embassy.

Of course having a baby derails the writing process for some time. And I will be the first to say that I have essentially no social life, because there's just nothing left after being a mom, professor, and writer. I used to be big into rock climbing. No more. A lot falls by the wayside.

I can't deal with all her questions and also be President.

Any President who performs his duties diligently has no time for leisure.

It's incredible. Twenty-three minutes on the air, and I've got to shoot for twelve, fifteen hours a day. What the hell's that?

I'm a big believer of work/life balance. You need a little down time to recharge to make sure that when you're here, you're really all here. I still have a child in high school, so I go to her sporting events, even if it means leaving work and working again when I get home. I probably should work out a little more than I do.

When you got something you gotta do in your career, you do it. When you get home, and there's work to be done, you do that. It's all about balance.

It's not easy to have it all. Frankly, you know, you have to give as much to the career that the career requires and, at the same time, you have to give as much to the family as the attention that's required.

My productivity is overwhelming!

When you're running a company, you have employees - lots of them - that can interrupt your schedule. You have customers that can interrupt your schedule. You have a certain obligation to wave the flag because people expect to get out and wave the flag. The number of ways that others can command your time is high.

We are all so busy and constantly trying to save time and balance everything.

I just didn't want a boss. The minute you're a CEO, you have a pile of bosses, and you're working 7/24, and you're on everyone's radar all the time.

I never knew a manager that didn't have pressure.

Pursuing music eats into your life to the point where there is no space left for anything else. You are lucky if you find a partner who is able to understand that, but even then, they will only understand it for a while, and then things get - you know, difficult.

I never feel like I should have any time free.

Being a baseball player is most important, first and foremost. Obviously, there are other obligations that come with everything. You just need to balance it and take it in stride, but at the same time, be mindful of your time and prioritize everything and what is most beneficial.

One thing I didn't want to believe in is that I couldn't have a family and do music at the same time.

It's a lot of stress being a manager - a lot of moving parts.