Unless you are one of those legendary litigators who focuses on court and leaves all of their writing to someone else, lawyers spend a lot of time writing. It would be wonderful if legal and professional writing escaped the demons of creative writing, but in my experience, the demons of procrastination and self-doubt and the lure of online shopping can only be overcome by the looming dread of a deadline or the personal guilt of a missed deadline. It’s impossible for one book to banish a writer’s demons, but this summer a pair of complementary books brought me tiny slivers of hope and practical guidance: Daily Rituals by Mason Currey and When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink. Together, the two books helped me believe in a better routine: one where writing would be a part of a daily routine that optimizes my most productive times.
If you are one of the horoscope-cynics who believe that each horoscope is purposefully generically written so that almost any reader can find a part to relate to, then Daily Rituals may be a sort of creator’s horoscope. The book is a compilation of short descriptions of the daily routines of famous creators: Beethoven, Mozart, Austen, Tolstoy, Van Gogh, etc. The reader will find some seventy percent of the daily rituals to be unattainable or horrifying: great wealth, overuse of alcohol or drugs, strict adherence to boring or disgusting diets. But while reading the more relatable thirty percent of daily rituals, a beautiful feeling emerges. The reader begins to feel the possibilities of a ritual of creative work. If there are this many different routines which generate brilliant work, then the reader can choose or develop a ritual which will work for them.
Motivation is the soul of the book. It began as a blog, and Mason Currey notes in the introduction that he began the blog during a bout of procrastination as a way to motivate himself. I’m planning on keeping a copy for the days when I just cannot motivate myself to write another word. I will read a few segments and try again. It’s a small ritual, but perhaps enough to jump-start a routine. If that doesn’t work, I’ll follow Daniel Pink’s advice, and take a mid-afternoon nap.
Daniel Pink’s book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing makes a more scientific companion to the narrative themes in Daily Rituals. Pink notes in When that he has read Mason Currey’s book and uses it to illustrate how different creators set their ritual around their chronotype: their internal clock. When gives us the science of timing: the peaks and troughs of happiness within days. Understanding these patterns helps me to see the routines from Daily Rituals in a new light: some of the most eccentric routines may have been attempts to mold the day to the creator, rather than force the creator to accede to society’s plan for a day. While the modern workplace doesn’t accommodate much reorganization of time, it is still possible to take breaks strategically in order to maximize energy and motivation. I particularly appreciate how Pink ends each chapter with a section called the Time-Hacker’s Handbook, with practical advice for using the scientific principles from the chapter in a modern life.
So Currey gives us hope that any routine can be productive and Pink gives us logical ways to make a routine that’s more likely to work. I read these books in the summer but I think they’re really perfect for the crisp beginning-energy people feel at the start of a new school year. Together, the two books are the Saturday morning latte, horoscope, and daily planner you need to jump-start your writing routine.
The post Reading for Writers: Daily Rituals by Mason Currey and When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink appeared first on Slaw.