The Artist’s Day
Humans are creative beings.
We create. We build. We make stuff.
The highest form of human creation is art. For some, their words are their art. For others, it’s their code, designs, drawings, videos, or data visualizations.
When you create art, something magical happens. You experience “flow,” where your vision narrows, time slows, and all that exists in the world is you and the thing you’re working on.
Being in “flow” feels amazing. It’s a spiritual experience. But it’s also fickle and unreliable. Finding flow is becoming harder and harder in our hyper-novel, modern world, constantly bombarding us with distractions.
Less “flow” not only limits our artistic potential, but also denies the world of the utility our art offers, both the practical usefulness and cathartic value.
So how do we resist this trend and maximize our innate creativity?
In this essay, I’ll share how a few changes to how I structure my day has led to:
More creativity
Better quality ideas
More presence
Feeling more fulfilled
I’m creating more and it feels fantastic.
The Artist’s Day
Van Gogh didn’t start painting until 27, and then at 36, he painted one of his most famous works, Starry Night, over the course of a weekend.
He got so good in only 9 years because he was incredibly consistent, averaging a new piece of art every 36 hours over his short career as a painter (he died at 37).
How we spend our time each day defines us, so it pays to use each day wisely.
Some people need structure and do well following a rigid, minute-by-minute routine. Others prefer something looser with rough guardrails. And for some, any mention of a routine makes them nauseous and uninspired.
There’s no “right” way.
But to create awesome stuff, I’ve found that there are three categories of activities necessary to feed the creative spirit each day:
Creation
Consumption
Contemplation
1. Creation
When you create, you produce some sort of output.
I think of that output in two categories:
Creative output (e.g. writing, coding, painting, strategizing, etc.)
Non-creative output (e.g. admin tasks, errands, email, etc.)
Creative output
Creative output is the most valuable form of output, so I structure my day to maximize it.
First, my creative energy is highest during the first ~6 hours of the day, so I guard this time vigilantly. If I allow too many inputs into my awareness (e.g. emails, messages, meetings, etc.), my creative energy takes a hit, so I block them all out during this time.
Second, your environment matters when you create.
Just like routines, there’s no “right” environment, but there are wrong ones.
Distraction free from the external world is a given.
But it’s also important to make it difficult to distract yourself.
Creating is hard.
And when you get stuck (e.g. a programming problem or writer’s block), your brain wants to avoid that pain and reach for some dopamine in the form of distraction.
For me, it’s YouTube, Twitter, or my phone, so I do two things while I’m creating:
I put my phone in the other room
I use Freedom app to block YouTube and Twitter on my computer
Once I feel my creative energy fading, somewhere around the 4-6 hour mark, I stop.
Quality begins declining after a certain point so continuing to try to create can actually be counterproductive.
I've found it’s best to swap to a different type of output once the creativity cup is drained.
Non-creative output
Not all output is creative.
We all have tasks like responding to emails or running errands — the things required to be a functioning human.
Some of these tasks we need to do. Others, we want to do. But some, we feel we “should” do.
When I use the word “should,” I pay close attention.
It usually means I don’t want or need to do a task.
So why do I think I “should” then?
Most of the time, it’s because of some arbitrary expectation I’ve adopted, which isn’t even my own, often stemming from influences like culture, society, family, etc.
When I catch myself using the word “should,” I test replacing it with two alternative words:
Want
Need
Most of the time when I replace “should” with “want,” I realize the statement isn’t true.
I don’t actually “want“ to do that thing I think I “should” do.
Then I replace “should” with “need.”
Sometimes I don’t “want” to do something, but I “need” to do it
Fine.
But if I don’t “want” to do it and I don’t “need” to do it, I immediately let that task go. There’s nothing I “should” do because there are too many things I either “want” or “need” to do.
For the non-creative tasks that I want or need to do, I schedule them in the afternoon once I’ve exhausted my creative energy for the day.
2. Consumption
In the age of social media and short form video, consumption has a negative connotation.
It’s associated with mindless scrolling and TikTok brain.
Consumption of this kind is algorithmically driven. An algorithm literally decides what you consume, feeding you content that tugs at lower-level aspects of your biology making it impossible to look away.
But there’s also a positive form of consumption.
It’s consumption that’s intentional, aimed at fueling your own creative energy.
Without consumption, our creativity would suffer — all great works stand on the shoulders of giants after all.
So how do you choose what to intentionally consume?
Here’s what I do:
First, I look within.
Each morning, I go on a long walk. No headphones. No distractions. Just me, my environment, and my thoughts.
When I get back from the walk, I journal for ~30 minutes.
Daily journaling has been the most effective practice I’ve found for keeping me consistently pointed in the direction of my true curiosities. During this journaling session, I’ll ask myself, “What are you interested in? What are you excited about?” I’ll pay attention to what fills me with energy and excitement.
Now that I know what’s pulling me, I’ll look for content related to that interest, always starting with books.
Books are by far the most valuable content to consume. A book can go much deeper on a topic than any other form of content.
If my curiosities are technical in nature (e.g. programming topics, etc.), I usually won’t read books. There either won’t be a book, or the book will be outdated. So instead, I try to find 5-10 leading experts on a topic. Then I look for podcasts they’ve been on or blog posts they’ve written. I’ll also search Twitter, Reddit, and HN for resources.
Beware. There’s a ton of garbage on the internet and it’s hard to separate the signal from the noise.
So how do you distinguish value from junk?
Honestly, I don’t have a great solution for this. I think you just develop an intuition over time. The thing to be aware of is claims that seem too good to be true. For example, “Learn Python in 20 minutes!” or “How to Make Millions With AI.”
Junk. Always junk. So best to avoid.
I like doing my consumption in the afternoons and evenings.
But just like creating, there’s only so much quality consumption you can do before reaching a point of diminishing returns.
Your brain needs time to process the new information, form new connections, and allow everything to settle in.
It needs time to contemplate.
3. Contemplation
Our brains are magic.
When you let your mind wander (i.e. contemplate), new connections form and ideas magically appear from wherever ideas come from.
But most people don’t give their brains enough contemplation time.
They wake up, go to work, and create or consume all day.
Then they get home and the consumption continues via the Netflix or TikTok algorithm.
The only time they are alone with their thoughts is right as they’re trying to fall asleep. The brain is trying to contemplate while they’re trying to sleep. The result? Insomnia.
And worse still, if you consume algorithmic content, the thoughts and ideas bouncing around in your head while you’re trying to sleep will be related to that content. Low-quality garbage.
There are two forms of contemplation I’ve found I need:
Solo contemplation
Contemplation with others
Solo contemplation
Solo contemplation is contemplation time alone.
Walking, showering, journaling, laying around thinking, etc.
If I’m walking, showering, or just laying around, I’m never “trying” to think about anything in particular or come up with ideas.
I just let my brain wander and do whatever it wants to do.
But I watch my thoughts mindfully.
I pay attention and when I see something interesting, I make a mental note of it.
If I’m journaling, I’m digging deeper into whatever thoughts are flying around in my head.
I’ll ask myself questions when I can tell I’m ruminating on something in particular.
Open ended questions work best (e.g. “why,” “what,” and “how” questions).
Contemplation with others
Humans are social animals.
We need to be around other humans.
There’s something amazing that happens when you’re talking to someone and you both really feed off each other’s energy.
New pathways of thinking are created and new ideas appear.
But for this magic to happen, everyone involved needs to be present.
Put down the phones, turn off the TV, and just talk like humans have done around campfires for thousands of years.
It’s not just your ideas that will be better, but you’ll also feel more fulfilled.
What “The Artist’s Day” looks like for me
What’s right for me is probably not right for you.
Humans are so similar and so different, the duality is incredible.
But by sharing how I structure my days for creating, consuming, and contemplating, I’m hoping it gives you some ideas for how you’d like to structure yours.
I enjoy a routine with loose guardrails and long stretches of uninterrupted time.
I try to match what I’m doing to my natural energy patterns.
Here’s a typical day:
7:30am to 9:30am: Wakeup, go for a long walk, stretch, journal, then eat. I get 60 to 90 minutes of solo contemplation here walking and journaling.
9:30am to ~2pm: Create.
2pm to 4pm: Workout and eat. Workouts for me feel like a mix between consumption because I listen to music that fires me up and solo contemplation.
4pm to 7pm: Non-creative output or intentional consumption. I use this time to finish all my non-creative tasks. Any left over time goes to reading (intentional consumption) or some other form of learning.
7pm to 9pm: I’ll eat and then either go on another walk with my wife or sauna/cold plunge with my friends (contemplation with others).
9pm to 11pm: This is leisure time. I’ll hang out with Erin (contemplation with others). I’ll stretch (solo contemplation). I’ll read (intentional consumption). I’ll just do whatever feels enjoyable. No screens.
In total, that’s:
Creation
Creative output: ~4-6 hours
Non-Creative Output: ~2 hours
Consumption:
Intentional consumption: ~2-4 hours
Algorithmic consumption: hopefully 0, but I’m only human.
Contemplation:
Solo
Walking, journaling, stretching, showering: ~2-3 hours
With others:
Family / Friends: ~2-3 hours
90% of my days look like this now, and I love it.
It feels like I’ve found the optimal inputs (at least for me) for the creative output maximization function.
And maximizing creative output feels important.
I still listen to Mac Miller, Nipsey, and Juice.
I still read HST and Bukowski.
I still watch Robin Williams.
Our creations are a sort of afterlife.
A little piece of you, still living when your physical body is gone.
Just like Hustle and Motivate, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and Good Will Hunting.