Thoughts on Daily Routines
5 Nov 2013
It’s a red letter day when I get a book from the library that I’ve been wanting to read for a long time. This one proved more inspiring than I’d anticipated, and it was great fun besides. The book is a compilation of the creative and working habits of all kinds of creative people: writers, artists, architects, composers, musicians, and more. Each person gets a little vignette, and you walk away from the book feeling like you’ve had tea with the greatest minds of the last two centuries, and beyond. There are lots of little gems peppered throughout, like this one: Beethoven ground his own coffee every morning, and he counted out exactly 60 beans each time, having calculated it as a perfect dose of caffeine. No wonder he was so brilliant.
The general trends were perhaps not surprising: about 40% got up early and worked all morning and into the early afternoon. About 40% slept all day and worked all night. About 10% said they had to wait for inspiration (and, interestingly enough, others said it was imperative not to wait for inspiration). About 10% said that each major project had its own rhythm.
I had been thinking a lot about routine already; perhaps we crave routine most when our lives are in the greatest state of upheaval (thankfully, my life is not; my house, however, still is). Of the two main types, I am not yet either. I haven’t stayed up all night since my all-in-one-go reading of The Grapes of Wrath in high school (timing the ending of it with sunrise, however, was a really special experience). I aspire to be the first type, and I have been in that camp at various points in my life. I am my happiest when I’m in a solid work routine. Grad school is not great at giving you one–either your class and teaching schedule changes every semester, or you are out floating in the ether with your dissertation, your time a vast ocean pressing upon you as you try to separate individual waves and influence the tides. I actively aspire to get up earlier–I love those early morning hours. I love how magic it is to be stirring when no one else is, and I love looking up at the clock and realizing that I’ve still got a healthy chunk of morning left, even though I’ve been up for hours. I don’t aspire to get less sleep (that seems to do bad things to me), so I am on a great getting-to-bed-earlier mission (tonight is, uh, not a stellar beginning).
Why have a routine in the first place? Well, the over-arching sentiment shared by all of the people interviewed was this: creative work is just really hard, and it is agonizingly difficult to begin each day, even if you’ve been at it for decades. William James, who struggled with this all of his life, thought that by automating our daily actions, we could take some of the sting out of that blank canvas or blank page. Sitting down to write would become as innocuous as brushing our teeth–it would just be something we did, as opposed to something that was a choice, something that we’d have to talk ourselves into. I love the idea of that, since starting has always been the hardest part for me.
Rituals, I think, are another matter entirely, even though they do appear in the title of the book. I love every single one of mine and will write about them soon. For now, though, I want to ask you: how do you work? What’s your daily routine? Are you a morning person or a night owl? Or have you been one and then successfully transformed into the other? (If so, details please!!) I can use all the wisdom you can toss my way.

Nov 05, 2013 @ 05:55:57
Very interesting post. I am definitely NOT a night owl. I can do it when necessary but it comes at a huge cost. So morning is my prime time. I love the quiet time in the house and having a few things checked off my list before my morning shower and getting dressed. I am all about working in my jammies.
I don’t have routines. Not sure if that is good or bad- it just is. The one thing I do benefit from is a list and cell phone reminders. I can get lost in a project and lose track of time. So an alarm or reminder is a very good thing in my world.
I used to do Morning Pages ala The Artist’s Way. I wish I had not stopped and am considering returning to the practice. I miss the feel of a pen in my hand.
I am interested to see what routines you have.
Nov 07, 2013 @ 12:52:38
I am sure that not having a routine is the best routine for you! I am definitely not a night owl either, and my body is so annoyingly sensitive to minor changes in my sleep pattern. I used to work in my jammies too! And I am a major list maker! But sometimes I have too many lists and get lost in projects too–I need a master list! Now I try to get dressed right away (I shower at night), but then I spend an hour or so drinking coffee, waking up, and checking on my favorite blogs. I work until lunch and then try to work a bit more after. In the afternoon I run errands usually, since that’s my most tired and least focused time of day. In the late afternoon I make tea and then gear up for dinner. I write blog posts at night and then read before bed. It’s a good life! I used to do morning pages too, and I loved it. I write sometimes in the afternoons now, but I think I’d like to develop a more intentional start to the day: more focused, more peaceful. I think that morning pages could be a good start! We should be morning page buddies if we start again!
Nov 05, 2013 @ 06:09:21
I have resisted the idea of routines for much of my life but have come now to appreciate them. I think some structure provides some certainty in this uncertain world. And though one might want to write or paint and do nothing else all day, the garbage still has to be taken out, I think, and routines help us take care of the boring stuff. Flexible routines; I praise you.
Nov 07, 2013 @ 12:55:36
I think routines are most important for things that are hard to start or that are boring. You know, making phone calls, doing the dishes. Snooze fest. But flexibility is key! When I come to your town for creative camp, we shall do whatever we wish all the livelong day! In a nutshell: I agree with you on all counts, you lovely genius!
Nov 05, 2013 @ 06:33:49
The professor is so crazy that each day is quite different!
Nov 07, 2013 @ 12:57:36
Haha! That happens to me too…
Nov 05, 2013 @ 13:50:45
Sounds like a book I should head over to the library to ck it out – maybe I can at least work like an artist.
Nov 07, 2013 @ 12:58:42
Indeed! Lots of interesting tidbits in there! It had a long waitlist, but I finally got my hands on it!
Nov 05, 2013 @ 16:57:35
Well I certainly don’t count out my beans but you know I do have a carefully measured out formula for my daily grind of coffee. And I find I am the most productive and creative early in the morning when I try to do most of my writing.
Nov 07, 2013 @ 13:03:54
Me too! I am my father’s daughter, and very proud to be! I love you! Thank you for introducing me to the wonders of coffee! 🙂
Nov 05, 2013 @ 22:28:29
I love this post!
I, for one, am all about routines. Does that mean I am able to stick to them though…? No. Haha.
I think you’ve mentioned this book before (either on here or on Instagram?) and I wanted to read it. It just went on my Christmas wish list! 🙂
Thanks for sharing.
Nov 07, 2013 @ 13:05:15
Oh, thank you! Yes, I did put a picture of this on Instagram. I hope you enjoy it! I found it really inspiring! And, no worries, I am not the greatest about sticking to routines either!
Nov 08, 2013 @ 22:48:01
I actually found this book on my library site! I’ve put a hold on it so hopefully it will be there soon for me to pick up! 🙂
Nov 19, 2013 @ 14:01:58
Oh, awesome! Let me know what you think! Hope you enjoy it!
Nov 21, 2013 @ 20:34:53
Besides creativity, rituals also play an important role in managing one’s energy. Actually, both involve freeing up one’s mind to think about more interesting things, in that way they are related.
The book “The Power of Full Engagement” is now something of a classic for its emphasis of energy management (vs. time management) and the importance of rituals to productivity.
http://bit.ly/PFEkindle [Amazon]
Dec 05, 2013 @ 16:53:00
Thanks for your thoughtful comment and recommendation!