James Taylor Quotes

I spent two months on the first draft, working 8 hours a day, five days a week.

I can do a book in three months if I spend all day, seven days a week at it and, in fact, I work better that way.

If you give yourself to your task at once, you won't have to do it twice.

I just think there are enough hours in the day. If you just focus and dedicate yourself and approach each task as it presents itself, you can accomplish a lot.

I can handle a lot of work. I've always been able to. I'm a very focused individual. I come to my studio at about 7:30 in the morning and exit almost 5:00 P.M. In that time, those eight or nine hours, it's kind of laser focus on whatever I'm working on. There aren't really any distractions or anything.

When I was bringing up a child, I taught myself to write in very short, concentrated bursts. If I had a weekend, or a week, I'd do unbelievable amounts of work.

I think it takes a lot of desire because I think a lot of people who've never written books don't know quite how hard it is to stick with, to put in the amount of time and just make the commitment to just sit there every day and do it while everybody else is out having fun.

If you want to make good use of your time, you've got to know what's most important and then give it all you've got.

When it is time to get to work, I go away completely and don't do anything except the work. And that can be 16 hours a day.

I think when you focus on the work, it becomes a simpler pursuit.

I take breaks now and then. But when I work, I get things done at a fast pace.

I start getting bored and misbehaving if I don't work hard. It's fine when you're younger - you go out a lot and muck around with your mates and drink and stuff - but I'm a bit over that now.

Every day I'm not working or writing is a wasted day to me.

In college, my idea of a productive day was to start writing at 7 A.M. and not leave my chair until dinnertime.

I don't think I would deliver the best work if I would do several projects at the same time. So it's one at a time, but I work a lot. I work nonstop actually, but that's what I like.

There are so many distractions you can face as a woman, either with relationships or worrying about, Should I go to this party? or, Should I be doing this to help me get ahead? All [success] is, is doing your work and staying focused. It's boring advice, but boring good advice is what you can get from me!

I hear people say they're going to write. I ask, when? They give me vague statements. Indefinite plans get dubious results. When we're concrete about our writing time, it alleviates that thin constant feeling of anxiety that writers have - we're barbecuing hot dogs, riding a bike, sailing out in the bay, shopping for shoes, even helping a sick friend, but somewhere nervously at the periphery of our perception we know we belong somewhere else - at our desk!

All successful individuals have become such by hard work; by improving moments before they pass into hours, and hours that other people may occupy in the pursuit of pleasure.

One of the problems we have as writers is we don't take ourselves seriously while writing; being serious is setting aside a time and saying if it comes, good; if it doesn't come, good, I'll just sit here.

The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work.

No matter what your work today, if it is worth while at all - time to plan it out, time to do it well, and time to finish it, is your day's greatest gift and your greatest job.

Devote each day to the object then in time and every evening will find something done.

I like to work all the time and really immerse myself in the project.

I just have work to do; I just do it.

The one ironclad rule is that I have to try. I have to walk into my writing room and pick up my pen every weekday morning.