Get back on track with these 95 productivity quotes
Georgina Guthrie
December 18, 2024
Productivity is a word so overused in business that it’s become a bit of a meme. Bosses want more of it, workers give as much as they can, and somewhere in between, it’s lost all meaning. But at its simplest, productivity is about working smart, staying focused on the most important tasks, and achieving quality results (not just filling up your day). And who doesn’t want that?
So if the word sounds hollow to you right now, here’s a brief introduction to the buzzword of the century, followed by 95 quotes to redefine it and inspire you.
What do we mean by ‘productivity’?
We’ve all heard the phrase, “work smarter, not harder.” Well, that’s productivity to a T. Being productive doesn’t just mean breathlessly running from one task to the next — it means using your time and energy in a smart way to accomplish your goals by a set time.
What productivity isn’t
Lots confuse being busy with being productive. But they aren’t the same.
Productivity isn’t about working long hours without stopping or feeling overwhelmed by a never-ending to-do list. And it’s not about neglecting your physical and mental well-being.
In fact, one of the top signs of burnout is being endlessly busy but getting less done. It is a bit like someone cycling in a low gear — their legs are spinning around, they sure look busy, and they’re getting tired — but progress is slow and getting slower. Are they busy? Yes. Productive? No.
Being productive also doesn’t mean doing everything solo. Sometimes it’s knowing when to ask for help or delegate tasks. In other words, it’s not about how much you personally do but how effectively manage resources to hit your goals.
What does productivity look like in the workplace?
In the workplace, productivity looks much the same as it does out in the wild.
Focusing on the right tasks, keeping the quality high, and hitting deadlines without feeling frazzled are the hallmarks of working smarter.
It also involves good collaboration. When workers are productive, they’re using their skills and resources to get high-quality results. This could mean staying organized, setting clear goals, minimizing distractions, communicating well, and regularly checking progress to stay on track.
In some cases, it also includes using tools and tech. Project management software helps you automate repetitive work, track tasks, and generally improve collaboration in the team, helping you get things done in the most streamlined way possible.
So now we know what productivity is, let’s dive into the quotes!
95 productivity quotes to ignite your inspiration
Now we know what productivity is (and isn’t )— here are 95 quotes about focus, persistence, productivity, and efficiency to help you find your motivation.
- “I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the unsuccessful ones is pure perseverance.” — Steve Jobs
- “We think, mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of time we put in at work, instead of the quality of time we put in.” — Arianna Huffington
- “Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.” — Jim Rohn
- “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution.” — William A. Foster
- “Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” — Paul J. Meyer
- “One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done.” — Marie Curie
- “Focus on being productive instead of busy.” — Tim Ferriss
- “Don’t lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations.” — Ralph Marston
- “The combination of hard work and smart work is efficient work.” — Robert Half
- “If you want to achieve things in life, it’s about aiming for daily progress.” — Darius Foroux
- “Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night.” — Michael Jordan
- “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” — Martin Luther King
- “Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment.” — Thomas Edison
- “Don’t sit down and wait for opportunities to come. Get up and make them.” — Madam C.J. Walker
- “Focus on one thing at a time. If you want to catch one rabbit, focus on one.” — Jack Ma
- “I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity.” — Oprah Winfrey
- “Don’t confuse the urgent with the important.” — Preston Ni
- “It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” — Earl Nightingale
- “You can only do so much. Pick the three projects that matter most, and focus on those.” — Sheryl Sandberg
- “Productivity is the deliberate, strategic investment of your time, talent, intelligence, energy, and resources.” — Unknown
- “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” — Helen Keller
- “Time is at once the most valuable and the most perishable of all our possessions.” — John Randolph
- “Done is better than perfect.” — Sheryl Sandberg
- “Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” — Henry Ford
- “The 90/90/1 rule: Spend the first 90 minutes of your day on your most important task.” — Robin Sharma
- “Sometimes the best way to get ahead is to stop and think.” — Unknown
- “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston Churchill
- “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” — Sam Levenson
- “If you don’t pay appropriate attention to what has your attention, it will take more of your attention than it deserves.” — David Allen
- “Arrange whatever pieces come your way.” — Virginia Woolf
- “Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” — Napoleon Hill
- “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” — Zig Ziglar
- “Small daily improvements over time lead to stunning results.” — Robin Sharma
- “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” — Robert Collier
- “The future depends on what you do today.” — Mahatma Gandhi
- “You will never plow a field if you only turn it over in your mind.” — Irish Proverb
- “Quality is not an act, it is a habit.” — Aristotle
- “Look at the world from another perspective if you want to get something done differently.” — Angela Merkel
- “The secret to getting ahead is getting started.” — Mark Twain
- “Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise.” — Frank Ocean
- “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” — Nelson Mandela
- “You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” — attributed to Christopher Columbus
- “What we fear of doing most is usually what we most need to do.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently.” — Marie Forleo
- “Time is money.” — Benjamin Franklin
- “You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one.” — Unknown
- “Doing your best means never stop trying.” — Unknown
- “If you want to achieve greatness, stop asking for permission.” — Unknown
- “There is no substitute for hard work.” — Thomas Edison
- “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” — Jim Rohn
- “Don’t lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations.” — Ralph Marston
- “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow is our doubts of today.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt
- “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” — Lao Tzu
- “People often say that motivation doesn’t last long. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” — Zig Ziglar
- “The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.” — Unknown
- “If you want to achieve things in life, it’s about aiming for daily progress.” — Darius Foroux
- “You can only do so much. Pick the three projects that matter most, and focus on those.” — Sheryl Sandberg
- “Focus on one thing at a time. If you want to catch one rabbit, focus on one.” — Jack Ma
- “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” — Steve Jobs
- “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” — Robert Collier
- “Your most valuable asset isn’t your time. It’s your focus.” — Unknown
- “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” — Zig Ziglar
- “Failure is not the opposite of success; it’s part of success.” — Arianna Huffington
- “The more you focus, the more effective you’ll be.” — Unknown
- “An hour of planning can save you 10 hours of doing.” — Dale Carnegie
- “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” — Abraham Lincoln
- “Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” — Jim Rohn
- “Nothing will work unless you do.” — Maya Angelou
- “It’s not about being busy; it’s about being productive.” — Unknown
- “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” — Albert Einstein
- “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” — Peter Drucker
- “One of the most important habits you can build is the habit of focusing.” — Unknown
- “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” — Abraham Lincoln
- “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” — Wayne Gretzky
- “Nothing is less productive than to make more efficient what should not be done at all.” — Peter Drucker
- “Don’t wait for the right opportunity: create it.” — Unknown
- “Productivity is never about doing more; it’s about doing what matters most.” — Unknown
- “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” — Walt Disney
- “The biggest challenge in life is being yourself… in a world trying to make you like everyone else.” — Unknown
- “When you feel like quitting, think about why you started.” — Unknown
- “The hardest thing about being productive is getting started.” — Unknown
- “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery
- “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” — Jim Valvano
- “Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.” — John F. Kennedy
- “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” — African Proverb
- “Good things come to those who hustle.” — Unknown
- “The harder you work for something, the greater you’ll feel when you achieve it.” — Unknown
- “Rarely are opportunities presented to you in a perfect way. In a nice little box with a yellow bow on top. Opportunities — the good ones — are messy, confusing, and hard to recognize. They’re risky. They challenge you.” — Susan Wojcicki
- “Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.” — Don Marquis
- “To think is easy. To do is hard. But the hardest thing is to do nothing.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- “Strive for progress, not perfection.” — Unknown
- “Every day is a new opportunity to do things that matter.” — Unknown
- “Your focus determines your reality.” — George Lucas
- “A year from now, you may wish you had started today.”
Take your productivity sky-high with project management tools
Using project management tools can help you get more done without the stress. With Backlog, our own platform, you can track progress, assign tasks, and automate time-consuming processes, all from one cloud-based platform. By simplifying your workflow and cutting out distractions, it gives you more time and energy to focus on the jobs that really move you forward. Whether you’re tackling projects solo or with a team, the right tools can make your productivity soar. Ready to take it for a spin?