10 things you can learn from the work routines of the world's greatest minds
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We hear a lot about how eccentric some of the most famous writers and artists were in their productivity routines. But many, if not most, of their productivity secrets were pretty down to earth and common sense. We sometimes forget that even those we regard as most talented and most productive, those that we almost idolize for their creativity, are human beings just like you and me. What makes them stand out, and what we often refuse to see because it’s less glamorous to acknowledge, is that they work hard and have an unwavering work ethic. So let’s take a look at some of the world’s greatest minds, and what productivity secrets helped them produce their best work.
Transcript of 10 things you can learn from the work routines of the world's greatest minds
WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT THE ECCENTRIC ROUTINES OF THE MOST FAMOUS
WRITERS AND ARTISTS
FOR EXAMPLE, BEETHOVEN COUNTED EACH ONE OF THE 60 COFFEE BEANS
FOR HIS MORNING COFFEE
BALZAC DRANK AS MANY AS 50 CUPS OF BLACK COFFEE EVERY DAY
AND STRAVINSKY STOOD ON HIS HEAD WHENEVER HE FELT UNINSPIRED
BUT MOST OF THEIR PRODUCTIVITY SECRETS ARE COMMON SENSE…
… AND APPLICABLE IN YOUR EVERY DAY LIFE
1. BREAK DOWN YOUR TASKS LIKE ANTHONY TROLLOPE
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Anthony Trollope wrote 3000 words every day from 5:30 am, before heading to his day job
at the post office
He broke the 3000 words into chunks of 250 words each 15
minutes.
He meticulously counted every word as he wrote. He kept the routine up for 33 years, and
wrote 47 novels.
“When I have commenced a new book, I have always prepared a diary, divided into weeks, and carried it on for the period which I have allowed myself for the completion of the work. In this I have entered, day by day, the number of pages I have written, so that if at any time I have slipped
into idleness for a day or two, the record of that idleness has been there, staring me in the face, and demanding of me increased labour, so that
the deficiency might be supplied.”
Anthony Trollope – An Autobiography
2. DELVE IN MENIAL TASKS LIKE GEORGE BALANCHINE AND WOODY ALLEN
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“When I’m ironing, that’s when I do most of my work.”
George Balanchine
“In the shower, with the hot water coming down, you’ve left the real world behind, and very frequently things open
up for you.”
Woody Allen
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3. BE COMFORTABLE IN YOUR ENVIRONMENT LIKE GEORGE GERSHWIN
George Gershwin worked at his piano all day long in his pajamas, bathrobe and slippers. He would start in late morning and went on until
midnight.
So much for that office dress code, hm?
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4. TAKE TIME TO REFLECT ON YOUR DAY’S WORK LIKE JOAN DIDION
“I need an hour before dinner, with a drink, to go over what I’ve done that day. I can’t do it late in the afternoon because I’m too close to it. Also, the drink helps. It removes me from the pages. So I spend this
hour taking things out and putting other things in.” Joan Didion
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5. STICK TO A RIGOROUS ROUTINE LIKE HARUKI MURAKAMI
“When I’m in writing mode for a novel, I get up at 4:00 am and work for five to six hours. In the afternoon, I run for 10 km or swim for 1500 m (or do both), then I read a bit and listen to some music. I go to bed at 9:00 pm.
I keep to this routine every day without variation. The repetition itself becomes the important thing; it’s a form of mesmerism.
I mesmerize myself to reach a deeper state of mind.”
Haruki Murakami
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6. ADMIT WHEN SOMETHING DOESN’T WORK LIKE
MAYA ANGELOU AND ERNEST HEMINGWAY
“And more often than not, if I’ve done nine pages I may be able to save two and a half or three. That’s the cruelest time, you know, to
really admit that it doesn’t work.”Maya Angelou
“I write one page of masterpiece to ninety-one pages of shit. I try to put the shit in the wastebasket.”
Ernest Hemingway
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7. BE ACCOUNTABLE TO OTHERS LIKE ISAAC ASIMOV
“It is a point of pride with me that though I have an alarm
clock, I never set it, but get up at 6 am anyway. I am still
showing my father I am not a folyack.”
Isaac Asimov
As a boy, Isaac Asimov used to get up at 6 am to deliver
papers, then rushed to his dad’s candy store after school to help
out. If he was even a few minutes late, his father yelled at
him, calling him a folyack (Yiddish for slacker).
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8. WORK LITTLE BY LITTLE LIKE ALICE MUNRO AND GERTRUDE STEIN
Alice Munro learned to write little by little, during her children’s nap times,
in between feedings, and while dinner was cooking.
It took 20 years to put together her first short story collection, but in 2013 Munro received the Nobel
prize for literature.
Gertrude Stein admitted she had never been able to write for more than half
an hour a day.
”If you write a half-hour a day, it makes a lot of writing year by year.”
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9. FIND SOME PRIVACY LIKE IGOR STRAVINSKY
Igor Stravinsky was never able to compose unless he was sure nobody could hear him.
At one point, he even went as far as to work on a piano kept in a lumber storage/chicken coop, where he composed some of his most famous
works.
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10. STICK WITH IT, EVEN WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE IT LIKE TCHAIKOVSKY
“A few days ago I told you I was working every day without any real inspiration. Had I given way to my
disinclination, undoubtedly I should have drifted into a long period of idleness. But my patience and faith did not fail me, and today I felt that inexplicable glow
of inspiration of which I told you.”Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky
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The productivity secrets of the world’s greatest minds
