Tom DeMarco Quotes

Are you aware that rushing toward a goal is a sublimated death wish? It's no coincidence we call them 'deadlines.'

I've learned to relax more. Everybody feels pressure in what they do, maybe mine is just a little different because there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish what I want to.

It seems that we have it backward in our society. We tend to look up to people who are under a great deal of stress, who can handle loads of stress, and those who are under a great deal of pressure.

We need to distinguish between stress and stimulation. Having deadlines, setting goals, and pushing yourself to perform at capacity are stimulating. Stress is when you're anxious, upset, or frustrated, which dramatically reduce your ability to perform.

People think, 'Jack, you do too much.'

If you're successful and stressed out, you're succeeding in spite of your stress, not because of it.

I'm working myself to death.

I don't get ulcers. I give 'em.

My productivity is overwhelming!

You can always take on more projects; it just makes your life worse and worse.

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

Long hours don't necessarily mean success.

I never feel like I should have any time free.

Stress is part of life. It is something we all experience from time to time. Sometimes it reflects our own busy lifestyles or key moments such as exams, moving house, organising an event, or coping with a bereavement. Often it is associated with work: meeting a deadline, dealing with difficult people, or meeting stretching targets.

Italian work is excellent but it takes them six months to do what we do in a week.

Working ten hour days allows you to fall behind twice as fast as you could working five hour days.

My schedule is always tight. But I like to have the pressure of having to finish doing something; it gives me an added edge.

To be honest with you, I'd rather not be working. When you work, there are all sorts of deadlines and pressures. I like to do one thing and take my time to do the other one.

I envy people who can think, 'No, I'm not going to work today' when they have a huge pile of deadlines stacking up.

My father put it right when he said: 'I don't get ulcers. I give ulcers.'

When you are overworked and exhausted, there is a sense of kind of delirium and that's why I think architects do all-nighters and they kind of do those deadlines. For four days I remember doing four nights in one row with no sleep. I mean nobody, unless you are crazy, would do that, but you are totally focused on the project.

I'm quite concerned that if I spend time in the office, someone will always find something for you to do. There's always a crisis that needs your urgent attention.

I push every day against forces that say you have to go faster, be more effective, be more productive, you have to constantly outdo yourself, you have to constantly outdo your neighbor - all of the stuff that creates an incredibly productive society, but also a very neurotic one.

When I work fourteen hours a day, seven days a week, I get lucky.

Our obsession with speed, with cramming more and more into every minute, means that we race through life instead of actually living it. Our health, diet and relationships suffer. We make mistakes at work. We struggle to relax, to enjoy the moment, even to get a decent night's sleep.