Daily Routines: a blog about the habits of interesting people
The brief at the Daily Routines blog is to collect stories of "How writers, artists, and other interesting people organize their days." I'm a total creature of habit, even when I'm on the road, a 5AM-rising daily writer; the last thing I do before bed is all the breakfast prep for a huge, elaborate three-course breakfast for the family so that I can bang it all out in ten minutes after getting to inbox0 from the night's email and getting through all the morning's blogposts, hot and ready by 7AM. I get a nap, half an hour's reading and half and hour's yoga every afternoon, get in two pages of the novel, two pages of the short story, and about 3 to 5 times a week, I write a column. Every Monday is podcast day. Monday and Wednesday night, I leave the office ten minutes early, get the kid from day care and make sure she's bathed, fed and in bed by 7 when the sitter comes by so Alice and I can go to a proper 1.5h yoga class around the corner. Sunday mornings we have breakfast out, and I walk the kid to the PO Box, stop and play in the park on the way back, drop off all the stuff from the box at my office, then come home and put the kid to bed while Alice kills zombies on the Xbox. I love my routine.
Despite all this activity Churchill's daily routine changed little during these years. He awoke about 7:30 a.m. and remained in bed for a substantial breakfast and reading of mail and all the national newspapers. For the next couple of hours, still in bed, he worked, dictating to his secretaries.Daily Routines (via Kottke)At 11:00 a.m., he arose, bathed, and perhaps took a walk around the garden, and took a weak whisky and soda to his study.
At 1:00 p.m. he joined guests and family for a three-course lunch. Clementine drank claret, Winston champagne, preferably Pol Roger served at a specific temperature, port brandy and cigars. When lunch ended, about 3:30 p.m. he returned to his study to work, or supervised work on his estate, or played cards or backgammon with Clementine.
At 5:00 p.m., after another weak whisky and soda, he went to bed for an hour and a half. He said this siesta, a habit gained in Cuba, allowed him to work 1 1/2 days in every 24 hours. At 6:30 p.m. he awoke, bathed again, and dressed for dinner at 8:00 p.m.
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Wait til the kid gets a little older - you may find that your lovely routine is no more!
My favorite story is about the couple and their little boy who came to visit Churchill. While they were in the sitting room waiting occupied with tea the little boy did what little boys do. Churchill had the habit of working at his typewriter in the buff. The little boy opened a door and there he was in all his glory. The boy said, "Are you Winston Churchill?" "Yes." he growled, "Now buzz off!"
Cory, you left out an important part of your routine: How much sleep do you get?
Here's my routine:
Never use an alarm, it throws me off. Get up around 10:30am, sometimes accidentally sleep until noon. Brew a full pot of coffee, and sit down at the computer to read some blogs and take care of a little business before getting down to the real work. Six hours later I realize the day is gone, and I better just call it quits until the morrow. Eat dinner, put on a movie, and drink a six pack of beer. I've recently started to worry I may get evicted.
An interesting place to visit in CA is Glen Ellen. It was the site of Jack London's ranch and is now a state park. He lived in a typical country house with a screened back porch. Wolf House was destroyed by fire before it was completed so the old house was his only dwelling at the ranch. On that porch he turned out 1000 words every day. No matter where he was he turned out a 1000 words. I took that as a challenge. My first novel "Alex the Parrot-guin" was created by writing at least 1000 words a day. I was going to cap it at 10 chapters but my characters were strong enough that it went to 20. My thanks to Jack.
This is really cool shit.
Interesting site that evokes many interesting impressions and suggests a similar amount of interesting questions about who is interesting, if one can be organized without having a fixed routine or what happens to letting oneself drift with the flow that is the present when one does everything to control its circumstances?
Any reference to Cory's productivity usually exhausts me. His account here sent me back to bed for a couple of hours.
I don't care how you do it, just keep the posts coming.
For the record, my days are full of adventure.
I've got this site bookmarked, but - unfortunately - it hasn't been updated since February 24.
Not to say there aren't great resources there, but...
Must be nice to not live like "normal" people...
Lets hope Cory-stalkers aren't into yoga.
I'd be curious how many highly productive people regularly nap. Since I started snoozing for an hour every afternoon I've been amazed at how much more energy I have.
BCSizemo, I think you mean "common people".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKbt3wRsZYw
Cory,
What kind of yoga do you practice? I'm looking into the discipline and have found that many of the folks who talk -- A LOT! -- about their yoga are damn-near basket cases and so I wondered what flavor of yoga well-adjusted and productive folks do.
Thanks,
-- MrJM
I do a lot of podcasts from yogadownload.com, and attend a couple of Mysore classes a week. I prefer Ashtanga, but there's none of that offered at a convenient time around here. Hate Iyengar.
MRJM @15:
I'd like to think I'm a well-adjusted, busy and (sometimes) productive person.
I'd say +1 to Ashtanga being a good one. I find Iyengar and Hatha a bit too slow and not as physical as I like.
I'm looking into the discipline and have found that many of the folks who talk -- A LOT! -- about their yoga are damn-near basket cases
In contrast to people who talk a lot about their jobs, their religious beliefs, their adorable children, their new hairdo...?
Churchill's day was centered on...food. Eating. Or getting ready to eat.
Amazing.
I know people (me for instance) whose great goal each day is NOT to think of food and to so immerse themselves in their my work that they forget about lunch.
Hearing about Cory's routine and lifestyle makes me wonder if my complete lack of ambition is a really, really bad thing.
If only I could convert anxiety into something more than drug lust and general distraction.