The Power of Rituals and Routines for Creators
Creative work is a demanding lover.
You could even say she is “high-maintenance”.
She likes to be intentionally cared and prepared for, especially if we hope to access her full potential.
As creators, routines and rituals are not about just being more productive for productivity’s sake. It’s definitely not just about getting more done – it’s about way more.
Habitual preparation and daily routines enable us to:
experience more flow states
be more focused
more creative
more motivated
more mental clarity
be able to do more meaningful work on daily basis
Beyond that, especially as creative people, we need to take care of our mental, emotional and physical health.
In this article, I curated a list of great resources for you to dive deeper into the topic.
The Why
In this short video, Tim Ferriss points out, why having a daily routine is so important:
Takeaways:
No one just simply masters their day.
Habits and routines are safety nets.
Build habits around your strengths.
There is freedom in constraints.
Discipline = freedom.
I see my routines and rituals as part of my creator’s existence and as part of my work. They belong together like Yin and Yang. They make me a better creator and above all, a better human.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle
What is the Difference Between Rituals and Routines?
They are three different words that are often used interchangeably, but they are definitely not the same.
Habits, Routines, Rituals by Anne-Laure Le Cunff (Article)
Takeaways:
The main difference is in the intention we bring to an action
Habits happen with little to no conscious thought (eg. taking a nap in the afternoon)
You can turn a routine into a habit, but it will take a while (eg. meditation)
When you apply mindfulness to a routine, it can become a ritual (eg. journaling or lighting a candle before you start writing)
Rituals are meaningful practices
“The difference between a routine and a ritual is the attitude behind the action. While routines can be actions that just need to be done—such as making your bed or taking a shower—rituals are viewed as more meaningful practices which have a real sense of purpose.”
The Art of Rituals and Routines
Daily Rituals: Women at Work by Mason Currey (Book)
This book explores the daily obstacles and rituals of women who are artists – painters, composers, sculptors, scientists, filmmakers, and performers. In his first book on daily rituals, he mainly focused on male creators, which is why he decided to dedicate this one purely to women such as Frida Kahlo, Virginia Woolf, Coco Chanel, Josephine Baker, Carole King, Emily Dickinson and many more.
I love reading about other creator’s lives and routines, it helps me feel connected to the creative energy that is all around us.
Takeaways:
Routines and rituals are very individual. There is no one-size-fits-all approach.
Relentless dedication and commitment to their art is prevalent.
To be an artist means to be deeply in love with your art.
Many talented creators have terrible daily routines, sleeping patterns and diets (!)
Quote:
“When the ego is in charge, that’s when the work is coming from you,” she wrote. “You may still be doing good work but the ego allows doubt to creep in.” By contrast, “when the thing you’re creating comes through you, you know it, and it’s much better than good enough.” (Carole King)
Deep Work by Cal Newport (Book)
Our brains are pretty fried considering how we are challenged by distractions in the 21st century. We are more and more getting used to shallow work and our attention spans are decreasing.
What can we do to counteract that? How can we cultivate more deep work and access the flow state?
Takeaways:
Four rules: Work deeply, embrace boredom, quit social media and drain the shallows
Four main approaches to integrating deep work into our lives (monastic, bimodal, rhythmic and journalistic)
The goal is to make deep work a staple in our lives.
We need regular and substantial downtime, as systematic idleness is required to do deep work.
Quotes:
“…getting the most out of your deep work habit requires training, and as clarified previously, this training must address two goals: improving your ability to concentrate intensely and overcoming your desire for distraction.”
“The key to developing a deep work habit is to move beyond good intentions and add routines and rituals to your working life designed to minimize the amount of your limited willpower necessary to transition into and maintain a state of unbroken concentration.”
“To build your working life around the experience of flow produced by deep work is a proven path to deep satisfaction.”
For more practical applications, read this epic post: The Complete Guide to Deep Work
Further Reading: Routines and Ritual of Well-Known Writers and Creatives:
The Daily Routines of Great Writers by Brainpickings
The Daily Routines of 12 Famous Writers by James Clear
These are the Daily Routines of History’s Most Famous Creative People
6 Writing and Productivity Rituals From the Copyblogger Creative Team
A Minimalist Approach to Healthy Habits + Self Care (this is a video about my own most important daily routines)
The Power of Morning Routines
The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod (Book)
The Miracle Morning is a 6-step routine, which uses the concept of habit stacking. Having a morning routine has literally changed my whole life as a creator (and as a human).
Takeaways:
Habit stacking = you pick a few habits that you want to practice, make a sequence out of them and then make the sequence itself a new habit.
The 6 steps: Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading and Scribing (writing/journaling).
While Hal suggests practicing all habits for about 10 minutes each, thus creating an hour-long morning routine, this habit stack can be adjusted for any schedule.
“Every time you hit the snooze button, you’re in a state of resistance to your day, to your life, and to waking up and creating the life you say you want”.
“How you wake up each day and your morning routine (or lack thereof) dramatically affects your levels of success in every single area of your life”.
“Every day you and I wake up, we face the same universal challenge: to overcome mediocrity and live to our full potential”.
A simplified morning routine by Leo Babauta (Article)
In true minimalist fashion, Leo keeps it very simple for his morning routine: Sit, read, write.
Takeaway:
Morning routines don’t have to be crazy elaborate and take several hours.
The simpler the routine, the higher the chances you will stick to it.
Here are more of Leo’s ideas for a calming all-day routine.
Quote:
“Because of this routine, I now start my days slowly, in peace, doing the things I love, mindfully.
It’s hard to start a day better than that.”
Inspiring Morning Routines for a More Productive and Enjoyable Day by My Morning Routine (Website)
Here you will find 343 morning routine interviews with bestselling authors, successful entrepreneurs and inspiring creatives.
My favorites are the ones that include a dedicated mindfulness practice – you can explore them here.
This is a video about my own morning routine:
On Consistency
Writing 100 Articles in 100 Days by Anne-Laure Le Cunff (Article)
This ex-Googler dedicated two hours every day for 100 days to write and publish 900-word articles around mindful productivity and neuroscience, which led to a massive growth of her platforms and lots of other success down the line.
Takeaways:
She blocked the same time every day from Monday to Friday, but took the weekends off to decompress and keep it sustainable
Without overthinking it, she wrote her heart out providing massive value on subjects she was interested in rather than focusing on keyword research
Consistency beats strategy.
“Writing has (also) had a positive impact on my mental health as an entrepreneur. Having these two hours blocked every morning to create, reflect, explore, learn—to cultivate my curiosity—feels akin to going for a long run. It may be hard to start sometimes, but when you’re done you feel a kind of exhilaration which is difficult to reproduce through other means.”
How Consistency Can Drive Creative Output by Khe Hy at RadReads (Article)
Khe was a writing late-bloomer but due to his commitment to consistent creation, he was able to build a successful blog and community and attract a lot of opportunities into his life.
Takeaways:
The compounding effect: small actions taken consistently can lead to big results over time.
Good enough over and over again makes you great (Brad Stulberg)
When you publish a lot consistently, your feedback loops are quicker and you know faster what works and what doesn’t
Daily writing leads to clarity in thinking
The desire for consistency can lead to overwhelm and burnout
“I’m often asked to distill my post-Wall Street career transformation into some simple advice. And when I think about my business today – the speaking engagements, consulting, coaching, and press there’s one thing that sticks out: a consistent writing practice.”
“One of my personal philosophies is to “compound small wins over the long-term.”I’ve used it in investing, fitness, career development, and now as a solopreneur. It’s a patient approach that is about putting one foot in front of the other versus hitting home runs.”
Further reading – Books:
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss
Own the Day, Own Your Life by Aubrey Marcus
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday
What are your most important routines and rituals as a creator? Do you have any other great resources to share?
Pop them in the comments!
Keep creating,
Conni.