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

Bach’s line draws a distinction between externally imposed labor and intrinsically motivated activity. When a task aligns with desire, curiosity, or personal meaning, it stops feeling like “work” in the burdensome sense and becomes closer to play, craft, or vocation. The quote also implies that the subjective experience of effort depends less on the task’s difficulty than on one’s relationship to it: autonomy and purpose can transform strain into engagement. In a broader Bach-like ethos—often concerned with freedom, self-direction, and inner calling—the remark suggests that fulfillment comes from choosing aims that energize rather than deplete, making productivity a byproduct of enthusiasm rather than obligation.