A short NPR segment with Oliver Burkeman from The Guardian, talking about some of the highlight points found in Mason Currey’s new book, Daily Rituals. (Via my sister.)
Things like time management, focus, the tyranny of the urgent, ego depletion, etc., seem to endlessly fascinate me. I haven’t read Currey’s book yet — I just learned of it this morning — but I’ve added it to my Kindle queue.
But you’ve got to wonder about some of these habits, right? I mean most of these studies and conversations are about the habits, rituals, and “tricks of the trade” of creative guys who never had the internet in their pocket. Hemingway never had a Twitter account.
Not to imply that being a morning person is no longer the secret to creative genius. Nor that you shouldn’t have a set time to do your work regardless of if you feel inspired or not. Nor that you shouldn’t take breaks during the day to let your mind and body wander away from your creative work. In fact, I’m personally quite an advocate of these very same habits.
However, I can’t help but wonder what these types of studies and conversations will look like 50 years from now. When the most creative artists of our generation are studied. Surely there’ll be something in there about how they didn’t check their email or Twitter accounts and how they used an AeroPress.