Quote of the day for work, with a new pick every morning

Monday: focus

Quotes about choosing what matters and starting it, for the week's first post or planning call.

1. 1

   Lay hold of today’s task, and you will not need to depend so much upon tomorrow’s. While we are postponing, life speeds by.

   Seneca, Roman philosopher, translated by Richard M. GummereAsk: What is one task you could finish today instead of moving it to tomorrow?
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2. 2

   Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus.

   Alexander Graham Bell, telephone inventorAsk: What will you mute or close for one hour this morning?
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3. 3

   The time is always right to do what's right.

   Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights leaderAsk: What is one right thing you have been waiting for a better time to do?
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4. 4

   Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.

   Stephen Covey, 7 Habits authorAsk: Are we climbing the right ladder this week? What would you take off our list?
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5. 5

   Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.

   William James, psychologist and philosopherAsk: Which unfinished task has been hanging over you the longest? Can you close it today?
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6. 6

   Ideas are cheap. It's only what you do with them that counts.

   Isaac Asimov, science writerAsk: Which idea from last month deserves a first small step this week?
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7. 7

   How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.

   Annie Dillard, essayist and authorAsk: If this week were the template for the whole year, what would you change?
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8. 8

   In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.

   Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French author and aviator, translated by Lewis GalantièreAsk: What could we take out of this week's plan without losing anything?
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9. 9

   Simplify, simplify.

   Henry David Thoreau, writer and naturalistAsk: What is one step in your work that nobody would miss if it disappeared?
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10. 10

    You're better off not giving the small things more time than they deserve.

    Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor, translated by Gregory HaysAsk: What small thing took more of your time last week than it deserved?
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Tuesday: teamwork

Quotes about trust, help and the people you work with. Each question asks about someone on the team.

11. 11

    Example is the best lesson there is.

    Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady and diplomatAsk: Who on this team showed you how to do something by doing it first?
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12. 12

    There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.

    Fred Rogers, children's TV hostAsk: Which past coworker still shapes how you work, and what did they do?
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13. 13

    Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.

    Jane Goodall, primatologist and authorAsk: Whose work this week would we notice only if it stopped?
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14. 14

    I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles.

    Nelson Mandela, former South African presidentAsk: Who disagrees with you in a way that makes your work better?
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15. 15

    I think I have learned that the best way to lift one's self up is to help someone else.

    Booker T. Washington, educator and authorAsk: Who could use an hour of your help this week, and what would you offer?
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16. 16

    You can make more friends in two months by being interested in them, than in two years by making them interested in you.

    Dale Carnegie, author and teacherAsk: What is one thing you would like to learn about a teammate's work?
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17. 17

    A man should never be appointed into a managerial position if his vision focuses on people's weaknesses rather than on their strengths.

    Peter Drucker, management writerAsk: What is one strength of a teammate that we are not using enough yet?
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18. 18

    True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.

    Arthur Ashe, tennis championAsk: Who on this team does the unglamorous work so the rest of us can succeed?
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19. 19

    One of the most time-consuming things is to have an enemy.

    E. B. White, author of Charlotte's WebAsk: Is there a disagreement on this team that is costing more time than it is worth?
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20. 20

    Of all the means which wisdom acquires to ensure happiness throughout the whole of life, by far the most important is friendship.

    Epicurus, Greek philosopher, translated by Robert Drew HicksAsk: Who here made work more fun this month? Tell them.
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Wednesday: persistence

An inspirational quote of the day for work in the middle of the week, when the project is half done and the finish line is not in sight yet.

21. 21

    Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.

    Helen Keller, author and activistAsk: What is something you are avoiding that would be easier to face now?
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22. 22

    If you can't fly, run; if you can't run, walk; if you can't walk, crawl; but by all means keep moving.

    Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights leaderAsk: Which project is moving slowly but still moving? What is its next small step?
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23. 23

    You just can't beat the person who never gives up.

    Babe Ruth, baseball playerAsk: What is one thing you kept at long enough to see it pay off?
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24. 24

    I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.

    Rosa Parks, civil rights activistAsk: What decision, once you make it, would take the worry out of your week?
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25. 25

    Risks, I like to say, always pay off. You learn what to do, or what not to do.

    Jonas Salk, polio vaccine developerAsk: What did your last risk teach you, whether or not it worked?
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26. 26

    Constancy does not begin, but is that which perseveres.

    Leonardo da Vinci, artist and inventor, translatedAsk: What habit have you kept up for a month? What helped you stick with it?
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27. 27

    You cannot force ideas. Successful ideas are the result of slow growth.

    Alexander Graham Bell, telephone inventorAsk: Which of our ideas needs more time rather than more pushing?
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28. 28

    No one should be discouraged, Theaetetus, who can make constant progress, even though it be slow.

    Plato, Greek philosopher, translated by Benjamin JowettAsk: What progress have you made this quarter that felt too slow to notice?
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29. 29

    The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.

    Albert Camus, novelist and philosopher, translatedAsk: Which hard part of your job do you secretly enjoy?
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30. 30

    Everything comes in time to him who knows how to wait.

    Leo Tolstoy, Russian novelist, translatedAsk: What are you waiting on, and is there anything useful to do in the meantime?
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Thursday: learning

Thursday quotes of the day about practice, curiosity and changing your mind.

31. 31

    No one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.

    Julia Child, chef and authorAsk: What is something you learned by doing it badly the first time?
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32. 32

    Humans are allergic to change. They love to say, "We've always done it this way." I try to fight that.

    Grace Hopper, computer scientistAsk: Which of our habits exists only because we have always done it this way?
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33. 33

    One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.

    Malala Yousafzai, education activistAsk: What is one small thing that changed how you work?
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34. 34

    I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.

    Richard Feynman, Nobel physicistAsk: Which term do we all use at work that you could not explain well?
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35. 35

    Give thyself time to learn something new and good, and cease to be whirled around.

    Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor, translated by George LongAsk: What would you like to learn if you had one free hour a week for it?
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36. 36

    I believe that we learn by practice.

    Martha Graham, dancer and choreographerAsk: What skill are you practicing right now, even a little?
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37. 37

    If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true is really true, there would be little hope of advance.

    Orville Wright, aviation pioneerAsk: Which accepted rule in our work would you like to test?
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38. 38

    When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.

    Confucius, Chinese philosopher, translated by James LeggeAsk: What is one habit you have dropped that made your work better?
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39. 39

    For the things we have to learn before we can do, we learn by doing.

    Aristotle, Greek philosopher, translatedAsk: What is something you only understood after you tried it?
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40. 40

    The teachers are everywhere. What is wanted is a learner.

    Wendell Berry, writer and farmerAsk: Who taught you something at work without meaning to?
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Friday: gratitude and rest

Quotes for looking back at the week, thanking someone and logging off on time.

41. 41

    One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done.

    Marie Curie, physicist and chemist, translatedAsk: What did we get done this week that nobody stopped to notice?
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42. 42

    Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

    Lou Gehrig, baseball playerAsk: What are you grateful for at work this week?
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43. 43

    Human Felicity is produc'd not so much by great Pieces of good Fortune that seldom happen, as by little Advantages that occur every Day.

    Benjamin Franklin, inventor and statesmanAsk: What small good thing happened this week that is worth repeating?
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44. 44

    An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.

    Henry David Thoreau, writer and naturalistAsk: How will you spend the first hour of your weekend?
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45. 45

    I am a lucky man. I have had a dream and it has come true, and that is not a thing that happens often to men.

    Edmund Hillary, Everest mountaineerAsk: What part of your job are you proudest of this year?
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46. 46

    What’s the use of doing all this work if we don't get some fun out of this?

    Rosalind Franklin, DNA chemistAsk: What was the most fun moment of your week?
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47. 47

    One can never pay in gratitude; one can only pay "in kind" somewhere else in life.

    Anne Morrow Lindbergh, author and aviatorAsk: Who helped you this week, and how could you pass it on?
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48. 48

    I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.

    G. K. Chesterton, writer and criticAsk: Who deserves a thank-you before the weekend starts?
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49. 49

    We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.

    Thornton Wilder, playwright and novelistAsk: What is one thing at work you would hate to lose?
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50. 50

    As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.

    John F. Kennedy, 35th U.S. presidentAsk: What is one way to show thanks this week besides saying it?
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A post in Slack or Teams

Pick a channel people already read, or start a small one just for quotes. Both Slack and Teams let you schedule a message, so you can write a week of posts on Monday morning and let them go out at 9:00. Put the question in the post and the replies in a thread.

Thursday quote: “No one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.” (Julia Child) Question for the thread: what is something you learned by doing it badly the first time?

A meeting opener

Read the quote aloud at the top of a standup or weekly meeting, ask its question and give everyone the option to pass. Two or three answers is plenty. Stop at five minutes, even if the conversation is good.

Today's quote is from Marie Curie: “One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done.” So let's notice. What did we get done this week that nobody stopped to celebrate?

An all-hands slide

Put one quote on the first slide while people join, with the name underneath and nothing else. Then tie it to the first agenda item in one sentence, so it reads as a theme and not as decoration.

Slide: “For the things we have to learn before we can do, we learn by doing.” Aristotle. Then say: “This quarter we tried three things we had never done before. Here is what doing them taught us.”

A break-room whiteboard

Write the quote at the top of a whiteboard or cork board and the question underneath, and leave markers or cards nearby. Change it every Monday rather than daily; a board that changes daily gets ignored, and people need a few days to add answers.

Board: “The teachers are everywhere. What is wanted is a learner.” (Wendell Berry) Underneath: Who taught you something at work without meaning to? Add a name.