What's your strategy for focusing on the tasks in front of you?

You might have a to-do-list, calendar, or bullet journal to keep your tasks organized, but checking off your tasks is easier said than done. Getting started is half the battle.

Some people find their focus by shutting off notifications, avoiding distractions, taking a quick walk, or listening to a meditation. When our productivity is lacking, sometimes all we need is something to kickstart our productivity.

Whether you need a motivational boost to start your day or you're stuck in a midweek slump, these productivity quotes will inspire you to refocus and tackle your goals.

Inspirational Quotes About Productivity

1. "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." — Walt Disney

2. "Perfection is the death of all good things, perfection is the death of pleasure, it's the death of productivity, it's the death of efficiency, it's the death of joy." — Elizabeth Gilbert

3. "The secret of getting ahead is getting started." — Mark Twain

4. "You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through." — Rosalynn Carter

5. "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new" — Albert Einstein

6. "If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done." — Bruce Lee

Productivity Quotes for Employees

7. "Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves." — Dale Carnegie

8. "Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it." — Oprah Winfrey

9. "If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins." — Benjamin Franklin

10. "I really try to ask myself the question of nine. Will this matter in nine minutes, nine hours, nine days, nine weeks, nine months or nine years? If it will truly matter for all of those, pay attention to it." — Whitney Wolfe

11. "One, I have to realize that I'm not in control of everything, but I am in control of some things, and I am in control of my reactions. I am in control to my responses to pressure." — Janelle Monae

Productivity Quotes for Work

12. "I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but should get you pretty near." — Margaret Thatcher

13. "Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks." — Warren Buffet

14. "It's good to push yourself and do what you don't necessarily want to do, that if you're not automatically good at it, you should try it. Trying is so important." — Meryl Streep

15. "Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value." — Albert Einstein

16. "I build in 15-minute breaks so that I can take some quiet time and close on one meeting before I go to the next. I'm a big believer in taking time to pause and reflect, particularly when you're working on some of the big challenges in the world." — Melinda Gates

17. "I don't listen to anything while I work — I prefer silence in order to be most productive, but I do occasionally steal away for a few minutes to meditate and get refocused." — Katia Beauchamp

18. "Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." — Earl Nightingale

19. "The individual who says it is not possible should move out of the way of those doing it." — Tricia Cunningham

Famous Productivity Quotes

20. "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." — Wayne Gretzky

21. "Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." — Francis of Assissi

22. "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it." — Steve Jobs

23. "He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life." — Muhammad Ali

24. "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." — Henry Ford

25. "You can't be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute ... You have to let people see what you wrote. It will never be perfect, but perfect is overrated." — Tina Fey

Once you tick the first box off of your checklist, you'll be ready to take on whatever the rest of your day has in store. Check out these productivity tips for even more inspiration.

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