Quotes: Michael Kimmelman

"Contrary to the myth that artists are eccentrics, leaping from one peak of inspiration to another, [Philip] Pearlstein exemplifies the greater truth that most artists live as they work: incrementally, day by day, in the same way that they build up a canvas or chisel a sculpture. They are creatures of habit. The dancer Twyla Tharp wakes up every morning at five-thirty and takes a cab to the gym –– a trite ritual, but as she has written, "a lot of habitually creative people have preparation rituals linked to the setting in which they choose to start their day. By putting themselves into that environment, they begin their creative day." ... Novelty in creative endeavours usually arises from routine –– you have to be familiar with something before you know what is  novel." 

–– Michael Kimmelman (b. 1958), American critic and journalist 

Source: Michael Kimmelman. The Accidental Masterpiece: On the Art of Life and Vice Versa. New York: Penguin Press, 2005; p. 150-151.

via Commonplace Book 2006-2009, 2007, p. 116. 

Quotes: Darren Hardy

"You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine."

–– Darren Hardy (b. 1971), American author and publisher 

Quotes: Paulo Coelho

"If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine; it is lethal."

–– Paulo Coelho (b. 1947), Brazilian writer 

Quotes: Louise Penny

"His life had never had a rhythm. Each day had been unpredictable and he seemed to thrive on that. He'd thought that was part of his nature. He'd never known routine. Until now. 

"Gamache had to admit to a small fear that what was now a comforting routine would crumble into the banal, would become boring. But instead, it had gone in the other direction. 

"He seemed to thrive on the repetition. The stronger he got, the more he valued the structure. Far from being limiting, imprisoning, he found his daily rituals liberating."

–– Louise Penny (b. 1958), Canadian author 

Source: Louise Penny. The Long Way Home. New York: Minotaur Books, 2014; p. 4. 

via: Commonplace Book, 2013-2014, 2014, p. 173.

Quotes: Leo Tolstoy

"I must write each day without fail, not so much for the success of the work, as in order not to get out of my routine." 

–– Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), Russian writer 

via: Commonplace Book 2013-2014, 2014, p. 112. 

Quotes: Lance Letscher

""My work is really slow and repetitive. ... You have to go through almost excruciating boredom to be spontaneous and creative, to get to a place where the work really flows." For eight hours a day he combines experience and improvisation, As he described the process to an interviewer in 2004, "It is mysterious in a mundane way.""

–– Lance Letscher (b. 1962), American collage artist and Charles Dee Mitchell

Source: Lance Letscher Collage. Introduction by Charles Dee Mitchell. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 2009, p. 6.

via: Day In & Day Out Notebook, 2019, p. 36. 

Quotes: Joan Didion

"I work every day. Sometimes I don't accomplish anything ... but if I don't work every day, I get depressed and get afraid to start again. So I do something every day."

–– Joan Didion (1934-2021), American writer  

Source: Nitch.com, 2020

via: Day In & Day Out Notebook, 2019, p. 37. 

Quotes: Gretchen Rubin

"What we do every day matters more than what we do once in a while." 

–– Gretchen Rubin (b. 1965), American author and speaker 

Source: Outer Order, Inner Calm. New York: Harmony Books, 2019, p. 155.

via: Day In & Day Out Notebook, 2019, p. 37. 

Quotes: David Usher

"Developing a routine and a ritual is the key to keeping your creativity alive." 

–– David Usher (b. 1966), British-born Canadian musician, author, and public speaker 

Source: David Usher. Let the Elephants Run., p. 73. 

via: Striped notebook, 2016, p. 3.

Quotes: W.H. Auden

"Routine, in an intelligent man, is a sign of ambition."

–– W.H. Auden (1907-1973), British-born American poet 

via: Art Alternatives Knapsack Sketchbook 2019 g, 2019, p. 14.