Daily Routines

Even creative work needs scheduling. The greatest writers and artists didn’t wait for inspiration. They kept a strict daily schedule for creating their art. A routine triggers inspiration because your mind and body learn that ideas emerge at that time. The world’s greatest achievements were squeezed into existence by deadlines.

Routines are “time buckets” in your schedule, into which you put Actions. They are like the cook’s empty “nine-pans,” a mise-en-place for time. Routines are recurring. You may adjust them week to week, but ideally, your Routines should be just that: routine. Routines can fall into any one of the following categories.

Before writing this book, I called Mason Currey, author of Daily Rituals, which profiles the rituals of 161 creatives like Franz Kafka and Pablo Picasso.