This Graphic Details the Daily Routines of Famous Creative People

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This Graphic Details the Daily Routines of Famous Creative People

If you'd like a little inspiration, or you're curious what the daily routine of the creative people you admire was like, this guide can show you. From Beethoven and Mozart to Angelou and Murakami, the list features over two dozen well-known artists, authors, and musicians.

The image version of the guide is embedded below, but the interactive version is over at Podio's site. If you're not familiar with someone, just over over the info icon next to their name to read a little more about them. One thing is common across all of them—they all made sure to get a decent amount of sleep, even if many had vastly differing sleep schedules. You can even hover over each part of their day to see notes about them—for example Immanuel Kant took his main meal of the day at lunchtime, meat and wine at the pub.

Check out the full guide here, or click the link below to see it at Podio.

The Daily Routines of Famous Creative People | Podio

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Alan Henry’s Discussions

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Dr_GerbzAlan Henry

Thursday 6:30am

'De Balzac'...

I'll never understand how he / his family got that surname.

6 Reply

BumfAlan Henry

Thursday 5:39am

Considering he born only a few miles from where I live, I seem to share much of the same routine as Charles Darwin. Must be something in the water round here! Although he probably did more scientific work and less time mucking around playing Civ5 than me.

2 Reply

Alan Henry, HostBumf

Thursday 5:43am

Then again, I imagine Darwin is probably the kind of person who, if he had Civ5, he'd spend a lot of time playing it. :)

1 Reply

TaltyAlan Henry

Thursday 5:52am

So what I get from this is that creative people don't work.

7 Reply

Alan Henry, HostTalty

Thursday 5:54am

Would you tell any of the people named above that they didn't work for a living?

1 Reply

TaltyAlan Henry

Thursday 5:57am

Wasn't trying to diminish their accomplishments or talent. I was just taken back a little to see that many of them didn't hold a job. I was under the impression that some of these artists struggled and assumed they needed to fit creative time around a regular job.

3 Reply

Alan Henry, HostTalty

Thursday 6:00am

Maybe at some points in their careers. I suppose history always asks people what their routines were like *after* they've already been successful, and not necessarily when they were struggling to make their passion or their art into something they could live from. I agree, maybe that phase would be more instructive to read.

ThePigeonAlan Henry

Thursday 5:53am

Would've been fun to see Buckminster Fuller included. He apparently took 2 hour naps throughout the day in order to work through the night.

Alan Henry, HostThePigeon

Thursday 5:55am

I think Winston Churchill was like that too, according to a story I heard - he used to love his mid-day naps, and then he'd stay up working until 3 or 4am, just to take another one, just longer.

1 Reply

cardcheatAlan Henry

Thursday 6:15am

Yep. He picked up the siesta idea from the Spanish army as a young war correspondent covering their fight in Cuba and later used it during both World Wars to remain productive throughout the night.

EvilAbdyAlan Henry

Thursday 6:47am

i find it interesting that Mozart worked at night. Sometimes when I make music in my spare time ( hobby that I'd love to be a job some day) working at night seems to have a different feel to allow for clearer thoughts as long as I can stay awake. Pretty cool.

3 Reply

Alan Henry, HostEvilAbdy

Thursday 7:06am

I agree - I'm one of those people who used to get his best work, whether it was writing or music, done at night. I kind of miss it actually. :)

EvilAbdyAlan Henry

Thursday 7:43am

I do too. Don't nearly have as much time to do it now as I used to. One of my friends used to say that she felt there was more creative energy at night because of the number of people sleeping and dreaming. Neat thought, and was a good source of inspiration to think that something you are writing is being powered by other people dreaming.

1 Reply

MichaelWAlan Henry

Thursday 12:42pm

According to the chart, Benjamin Franklin dedicated no time to "day job/admin." Does this mean to suggest that during all of his various positions such as postmaster, statesman, publisher, printer, foreign ambassador, newspaper editor, and Governor of PA that he never had to work at his day job?

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