From Latin maxims to modern song lyrics, writers across centuries have marveled at how swiftly days slip by. These quotes distill that universal feeling—whether you’re looking for a contemplative card line, a motivational reminder, or a playful social-media caption. Browse the sections, choose your favorites, and let history’s voices remind you to make every second count.
Classic Literary “Time Flies” Quotes
- “Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind.” — Nathaniel Hawthorne
- “Tempus fugit.” (“Time flies.”) — Ancient Latin proverb
- “Time flies, death urges, knells call, Heaven invites.” — Edward Young
- “Time and tide wait for no man.” — Geoffrey Chaucer
- “The years teach much which the days never know.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Time, the subtle thief of youth.” — John Milton
- “We are time’s subjects, and time bids be gone.” — William Shakespeare
- “The future comes slowly, the present flies, and the past stands still forever.” — Friedrich Schiller
- “Time glide[s] away with no noise.” — Leonardo da Vinci
- “Time moves in one direction, memory in another.” — William Gibson
- “Lost time is never found again.” — Benjamin Franklin
- “Time ripens all things; no man is born wise.” — Miguel de Cervantes
- “How did it get so late so soon?” — Dr. Seuss
- “Time, which sees all things, has found you out.” — Sophocles
- “The swiftest hours, as they flew.” — William Cowper
- “Time’s ruins build eternity’s mansions.” — James Joyce
- “Time flies like an arrow.” — Anthony G. Oettinger (paraphrasing the proverb)
- “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” — Heraclitus
- “In a minute there is time for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.” — T.S. Eliot
- “The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected.” — Robert Frost
Philosophical “Time Flies” Quotes
- “The bad news is time flies; the good news is you’re the pilot.” — Michael Altshuler
- “Time and memory are true artists; they remold reality nearer to the heart’s desire.” — John Dewey
- “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.” — Often attributed to Groucho Marx
- “Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them.” — Dion Bouciault
- “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” — Andy Warhol
- “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” — William Penn
- “The key is in not spending time, but in investing it.” — Stephen R. Covey
- “Time flies, but we are the navigators.” — Unknown
- “Time passes too fast. Like a hummingbird, flitting seconds stretch into years before we see the pattern.” — Unknown
- “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” — Steve Jobs
- “The trouble is you think you have time.” — Misattributed to Buddha
- “Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have.” — Eckhart Tolle
- “Time flies because it has no tailwind slowing it down.” — Japanese Proverb
- “We feast on time as if it were endless, forgetting each bite cannot be chewed twice.” — Unknown
- “Time is a brisk wind, for each hour it brings something new.” — Paracelsus
- “Time flies faster than a weaver’s shuttle.” — Ancient Proverb
- “Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” — Theophrastus
- “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” — Leo Tolstoy
- “Time is the school in which we learn, time is the fire in which we burn.” — Delmore Schwartz
- “Time flies. It’s up to you to be the navigator.” — Robert Orben
Inspirational & Motivational “Time Flies” Quotes
- “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does—keep going.” — Sam Levenson
- “Time flies, whether you’re wasting it or not.” — Crystal Woods
- “Make each day your masterpiece.” — John Wooden
- “The future starts today, not tomorrow.” — Pope John Paul II
- “Time flies over us but leaves its shadow behind; let that shadow be your legacy.” — Adapted from Hawthorne
- “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” — Mother Teresa
- “Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it.” — Harvey Mackay
- “Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” — James Dean
- “Time flies—chase it, or it will chase you.” — Unknown
- “Do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.” — Benjamin Franklin
- “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.” — Chinese Proverb
- “Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have.” — Carl Sandburg
- “You may delay, but time will not.” — Benjamin Franklin
- “Time, the devourer of all things, spares no dream delayed.” — Unknown
- “Lost time equals lost opportunity. Seize the moment before it vanishes.” — Unknown
- “Time is a created thing. Saying ‘I don’t have time’ is like saying ‘I don’t want to.’” — Lao Tzu
- “Time flies—fuel your journey with purpose.” — Unknown
- “Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it.” — Leonardo da Vinci
- “What you do today is important, because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.” — Unknown
- “Seconds slip, minutes sprint, but determination turns them into milestones.” — Unknown
Poetic & Lyric “Time Flies” Quotes
- “Time is the longest distance between two places.” — Tennessee Williams
- “Time flies and draws us with it; the moment in which I am speaking is already far from me.” — Nicolas Boileau
- “Time, like a swift stream, carries all before it.” — Thomas More
- “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” — The Beatles
- “Time is like the wind; it lifts the light and leaves the heavy.” — Doménico Cieri
- “The fleeting hours of life’s fleeting year.” — John Keats
- “We are always getting ready to live but never living.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Minute follows minute, hand over hand; and the last one takes forever.” — Christina Rossetti
- “Summer flies, and August dies, the world grows dark and mean.” — Jethro Tull
- “Time, the subtle thief of youth.” — John Milton (reprise)
- “O, how shall summer’s honey breath hold out / Against the wrackful siege of battering days?” — William Shakespeare
- “Time flies so fast when you’re having fun, yet each second slows when the music’s done.” — Unknown Lyric
- “Clocks slay time… time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels.” — William Faulkner
- “Yesterday is but today’s memory, and tomorrow is today’s dream.” — Kahlil Gibran
- “Time is a brisk wind that lifts the light and leaves the heavy behind.” — George Chapman
- “The hours flow on, but the pain remains.” — Alfred Lord Tennyson
- “Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore, so do our minutes hasten to their end.” — Shakespeare
- “Time’s the king of men; he’s both their parent and he is their grave, and gives them what he will, not what they crave.” — William Shakespeare
- “Moments, when lost, cannot be found again.” — L. P. Hartley
- “And time waits for no one, and it won’t wait for me.” — Rolling Stones
Witty “Time Flies” Quotes
- “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.” — Often attributed to Groucho Marx
- “Time flies when you’re having fun… or when you’re on deadline.” — Unknown
- “The future is shaped by your dreams, so stop wasting time and go to sleep.” — Unknown
- “Time flies—it’s up to you to be the navigator and the flight attendant.” — Unknown
- “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” — Douglas Adams
- “Time sure flies when you don’t know what you’re doing.” — Unknown
- “Time flies, but life is a poor pilot; it seldom makes good landings.” — Unknown
- “Just when we had all the answers, time changed the questions.” — Unknown
- “Time is a great healer, but a terrible beautician.” — Lucille S. Harper
- “Middle age is when work is a lot less fun and fun is a lot more work—and time still flies.” — Unknown
- “Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a pear, too.” — Variation on Marx
- “Time may be a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils.” — Hector Louis Berlioz
- “We all have time machines—those that take us back are memories, and those that take us forward are deadlines.” — Steven Wright
- “Time flies so fast we can’t see its wings, but we sure feel the breeze.” — Unknown
- “I finally figured out why time flies. It’s because we don’t have a leash on it.” — Unknown
- “Photons may move at the speed of light, but weekdays before payday move faster.” — Unknown
- “Time flies… investors would love to buy stock in it.” — Unknown
- “If time flies when you’re having fun, it hits the afterburners at family reunions.” — Unknown
- “Time flies, but the good news is you’re the co-pilot—and the bad news is, well, same thing.” — Unknown
- “Time flies when you’re procrastinating: one minute it’s noon, the next it’s next year.” — Unknown
Simple Ways to Use These Quotes
- Daily Reminders: Pick a favorite quote, set it as your phone’s lock-screen image, and glance at it whenever you need a nudge to use time wisely.
- Gift Tags & Cards: Pair a classic or poetic line with a birthday or graduation gift to add depth—and maybe a smile—to your wishes for the recipient’s future.
- Journal Prompts: Copy a reflective quote into your journal and spend five minutes writing how it applies to your life right now.
- Meeting Openers: Start a team meeting with a witty “time flies” quote to lighten the mood and underscore time’s value.
- Social-Media Captions: Combine an inspirational line with a sunset photo or a progress milestone to share perspective on fleeting moments.
Final Thoughts
Whether you choose timeless wisdom from Shakespeare or a tongue-in-cheek quip from Douglas Adams, these quotes remind us all that minutes are priceless and irretrievable. Share them, ponder them, and—most importantly—let them inspire you to make the very best of the time that’s flying by.