Daily Rituals by Mason Currey

How Great Minds Work

At the moment I’m exploring and experimenting with habits. So when I found Mason Currey’s book called ‘Daily Rituals: How Great Minds Make Time, Find Inspiration and Get to Work’ I just had to grab it and devour it. It includes short, sharp snapshots of the working routines of over 160 greats in the fields of painters, writers, composers and philosophers.

Which creative genius are you? Take the test here.

It turns out that I have the habits of Pablo Picasso! LOL! And of course this is true. He is one of my heroes…

THE Answer

When I started reading this book I realized I was looking for THE answer. Yep, THE answer to the perfect set of daily rituals that would cause me to produce great work with the greatest amount of ease and pleasure. If my hero Pablo Picasso worked like that then that must be how you get things done! In other words I was looking for another short cut to success. Not a bad idea and it can also be a distraction from simply doing the work.

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The Daily Rituals

As much as I expected a clear pattern of how the greats created their immortal works through their daily rituals, there appears to be just as many contrasting approaches. For instance…

Some worked in the morning, some at night.
Some stuck to strict timetables, others in patches.
Some worked ten hours a day, some 2-3 hours a day and others 5-7 hours spread out through the day.
Some had servants or partners to relieve the day-to-day household chores, others didn’t.
Some ate regular meals; some ate one big meal a day and others barely ate at all.
Many cranked up the coffee; some dulled their senses with alcohol or supercharged them with drugs. Others abstained altogether.
Some had jobs and needed to earn money from non-art producing activities, whilst others were able to devote their total lives to their chosen field.
Some thought their jobs helped their creativity; others saw it as a distraction.
Some barely exercised, others walked long miles each day.
Some engaged with lots of social events, whilst others lived almost in isolation.

[Tweet “Find out how the greats created their masterpieces Great book by @masoncurrey #DailyRituals “]

The REAL Answer

Mason Currey’s Daily Ritual book clearly points to the multiple roads one can take to make great work happen. And the real answer to creating work is that almost any path will guide you there as long as you devote the time to make it happen.