“Every morning make some time for: (1) Thankfulness. Express gratitude to someone, some place, or something every day. This includes thinking it, writing it, and sharing it. (2) Insight. Gain insight through reading the paper or a book, or listening to a podcast. (3) Meditation. Spend fifteen minutes alone, breathing, visualizing or with sound. (4) Exercise. We monks did yoga, but you can do some basic stretches or a workout. Thankfulness. Insight. Meditation. Exercise. T.I.M.E. A new way to put time into your morning.”
Jay Shetty, Think Like A Monk (Page 128)
“What you do on your ordinary days determines what you can achieve on your extraordinary days.”
James Clear, Blog
“How much of what you did today was simply due to inertia? Never get so busy that you forget to actively design your life.”
Steph Smith, Twitter | Read Matt’s Blog on this quote ➜
“We can’t opt out of monotony, but we can choose which form it takes.”
Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit (Page 150) (Read Matt’s Blog On This Quote)
13 Intriguing Quotes from Daily Rituals and How Great Creators—Create
Excerpt: How do great creators make time, find inspiration, and produce incredible bodies of work? Read these quotes from Daily Rituals to find out…
Read More »13 Intriguing Quotes from Daily Rituals and How Great Creators—Create
“A solid routine saves you from giving up.”
John Updike, via Daily Rituals (Page 195)
“I keep to [my] 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, via Daily Rituals (Page 60) | Read Matt’s Blog on this quote ➜
Daily Rituals [Book]
Book Overview: How is a novel written? A masterpiece painted? A symphony composed? Benjamin Franklin took daily naked air baths and Toulouse-Lautrec pained in brothels. Edith Sitwell worked in bed, and George Gershwin composed at the piano in pyjamas. Freud worked sixteen hours a day, but Gertrude Stein could never write for more than thirty minutes, and F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in gin-fuelled bursts—he believed alcohol was essential to his creative process. Here are the working routines of more than a hundred and sixty of the greatest philosophers, writers, composers and artists ever to have lived, who, whether by amphetamines or alcohol, headstands or boxing, made time and got to work.
Post(s) Inspired by this Book:
- 13 Intriguing Quotes from Daily Rituals and How Great Creators—Create
- Gerhard Richter Quote on Ideas and How They Won’t Come to You—You Have To Find Them (Beyond the Quote Day 413)
- Henry Miller Quote on Not Draining The Reservoir and Finishing Before You’re Done (Beyond the Quote Day 418)
- Haruki Murakami Quote on Routine and How It’s A Form Of Mesmerism (Beyond the Quote Day 420)
- John Updike Quote on Writing and How Waiting For Inspiration Can Backfire (Beyond the Quote Day 421)
- Willa Cather Quote on Writing and Making It An Adventure Rather Than A Chore (Beyond the Quote Day 423)
Kobe Bryant Quote on Work Ethic and How He Stuck To His Routine Even On The Busiest Days
“My routine was grueling. It involved early mornings and late nights. It involved stretching, lifting, training, hooping, recovery, and film study. It involved putting in a lot of work and hours. It’s—no lie—tiring. For that reason, a lot of players pare down their lifting and training during the season. They try conserving their energy. Not me, though. I found that, yes, this work might be strenuous on the day-to-day, but it left me stronger and more prepared during the dog days of the season and the playoffs.”
Kobe Bryant, Mamba Mentality (Page 42)
Beyond the Quote (217/365)
Not everybody needs to maintain a grueling routine like Kobe did. After all, not all of us are competing in professional sporting events against some of the most intense competition in the world. But, there’s an underlying key mindset here that does apply to us all: Don’t make sacrifices on your routine merely for the sake of conserving energy. Let’s take a closer look.
Read More »Kobe Bryant Quote on Work Ethic and How He Stuck To His Routine Even On The Busiest Days“When we create rituals around powerful tools for performance and awareness, such as the morning and evening rituals, or when we train the fundamentals common to our missions or critical nodes, then we are grooving peak performance behavior into our subconscious. These are good routines that will help unlock creativity and success.”
Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
Bernard Malamud Quote on Writing—There’s No Secret Practice
“There’s no one way [to write] — there’s too much drivel about this subject. You’re who you are, not Fitzgerald or Thomas Wolfe. You write by sitting down and writing. There’s no particular time or place — you suit yourself, your nature. How one works, assuming he’s disciplined, doesn’t matter. If he or she is not disciplined, no sympathetic magic will help. The trick is to make time — not steal it — and produce the fiction. If the stories come, you get them written, you’re on the right track. Eventually everyone learns his or her own best way. The real mystery to crack is you.”
Bernard Malamud, via Daily Rituals
Beyond the Quote (16/365)
If Dwayne Johnson AND Jocko Willink both wake up at 4am to get their workouts done, given how wildly busy and in shape they both are, then that must be the best time to wake up and workout, right? To answer that from personal experience, no. I have tried to build that idea into my routine several times and have failed awfully each and every time. I experienced so much misery and resistance that I felt like even if I mustered together ALL of my willpower from a day, it wouldn’t be enough to get me through one 4am workout—let alone a lifetime of them. So, what gave?
Read More »Bernard Malamud Quote on Writing—There’s No Secret Practice“Rutted routines that develop from doing the same thing the same way every time—often unconsciously, or at best without deliberate decision-making—are those that stifle creativity. However, when we create rituals around powerful tools for performance and awareness, such as the morning and evening rituals, or when we train the fundamentals common to our missions or critical nodes, then we are grooving peak performance behavior into our subconscious. These are good routines that will help unlock creativity and success.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal
Questions—The Ultimate Mind Hack?
Excerpt: Are you looking to take immediate control over a wondering, unfocused mind? Look no further than to… questions? Read on to see why…
Read More »Questions—The Ultimate Mind Hack?
How To Stick to Your Workout Routine — 5 Habits You HAVE To Try
Excerpt: Coming up with a good workout routine isn’t the hard part—sticking to one is. Learn how to stick to your workout routine with these 5 ideas.
Read More »How To Stick to Your Workout Routine — 5 Habits You HAVE To Try