This is perhaps less a ritual, and more a Pavlovian trigger, but I love assembling a music playlist that I listen to while working on projects. After a few work sessions, that music becomes a trigger that immediately puts me in the headspace for work.
Late to the game here. I used to have a daily ritual, which I very much preferred. Life has not allowed me for the last few years to have that high-level of consistency. Now I have a somewhat weekly ritual. I'm grateful for any structure that helps me stay afloat amidst all that life currently requires of me. If anything, this "new" way of life has allowed me to grow more patient and flexible, so I won't complain since growth has occurred.
I've been through that as well. It's refreshing in some ways, but certainly brings a new dimension of anxiety into the routine that can be frustrating.
What did your daily ritual look like? And how has it changed?
Depending on what season of life I was in, the daily structure evolved according to what was required of me. The changing of the seasons didn't matter, as a consistent structure remaining in place was such a comfort. Now, the biggest pain points are that no two days look the same, and I've had to flip when certain things occur (if at all).
I’m not sure how much I agree with Flaubert that one should be ‘settled in your life and as ordinary as the bourgeois, in order to be fierce and original in your work’. The Englishman in me rebels slightly against the rather embarrassingly passionate use of the word ‘fierce’. But it is certainly true that I am at once blithely unconcerned about some things and a creature of habit and ritual, probably to a fault, in other respects. I can eat exactly the same meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner three or four days in a row and not care at all. I haven’t cared remotely about clothes or hairstyle since I was in my late teens or early 20s. And yet I have very strict rules around the method for making coffee, buttering toast, rolling cigarettes, packing shopping at the grocery store and so on and so on. In all cases, I think what is going on here is a sort of attempt at ‘bandwidth conservation’. If I do mundane things in a prescribed manner every single time, the habit makes the task one of ‘auto-pilot’. Perversely, of course, it also means that the need to do it ‘automatically’ collides with the desire to do it ‘right’ and one ends up becoming marginally disappointed or frustrated at any failure to stick to the required method and so any net gain is negligible.
That's exactly it - bandwidth conservation. By focusing intently on a thing and its process to the point of automation, you free your mind to focus on more creative endeavors.
I'll admit I also chafe at the term "fierce" but there's a sort of refinement in creative work that happens when you're not also worried about getting your coffee made correctly or your food the way you like it (or even your workspace as tidy as you prefer).
Though you definitely hit the nail on the head with the perverse underside to ritual - if it's NOT completed correctly or according to spec, it can quickly and effectively ruin any chance at getting anything done. I suppose the takeaway then is "find a ritual ... but be ready to abandon it if necessary."
The funny thing is that, while I recoil at the word ‘fierce’ I enjoy the use of the word ‘work’, which appeals to me much more than words like ‘art’ or ‘creativity’. I shudder at the prospect of referring to myself as a ‘creator’. I consider myself to be a provider of amusement and diversion, if I’m lucky. As such, I have no rituals associated with the production of text beyond the purely practical; that, because I’m not allowed to smoke in the house, I have to write in my little shed. Coffee is a ‘nice to have’, but if I’m on a roll I’ll throw half a dozen untouched cups down the sink in a day. Can one have a ritual based on a lack of action? If so, perhaps that counts.
Ahhh rituals. Can I first talk about tea, then game rituals? I drink tea rather than coffee. I love the rituals of selecting one, of brewing it, selecting the perfect mug balanced perfectly in my hand, deciding if it needs creamer or not, and taking a deep breath of the aroma before the first sip. 😊 now onto games-the rituals I have before I run a game…I always look to see if I can add some homebrew stuff to a module. I study the module and tweak it for my PCs. I review my notes a few days before the session. I review the morning of the session. Then I always do a recap of the last session for my PCs. That seems to be the extent of my rituals. Great article! 😊
This is perhaps less a ritual, and more a Pavlovian trigger, but I love assembling a music playlist that I listen to while working on projects. After a few work sessions, that music becomes a trigger that immediately puts me in the headspace for work.
I think the line between Pavlovian and ritual is very thin, to be fair. 😂
Late to the game here. I used to have a daily ritual, which I very much preferred. Life has not allowed me for the last few years to have that high-level of consistency. Now I have a somewhat weekly ritual. I'm grateful for any structure that helps me stay afloat amidst all that life currently requires of me. If anything, this "new" way of life has allowed me to grow more patient and flexible, so I won't complain since growth has occurred.
I've been through that as well. It's refreshing in some ways, but certainly brings a new dimension of anxiety into the routine that can be frustrating.
What did your daily ritual look like? And how has it changed?
Depending on what season of life I was in, the daily structure evolved according to what was required of me. The changing of the seasons didn't matter, as a consistent structure remaining in place was such a comfort. Now, the biggest pain points are that no two days look the same, and I've had to flip when certain things occur (if at all).
Ugh, that sounds... not ideal. You have my sympathies.
I’m not sure how much I agree with Flaubert that one should be ‘settled in your life and as ordinary as the bourgeois, in order to be fierce and original in your work’. The Englishman in me rebels slightly against the rather embarrassingly passionate use of the word ‘fierce’. But it is certainly true that I am at once blithely unconcerned about some things and a creature of habit and ritual, probably to a fault, in other respects. I can eat exactly the same meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner three or four days in a row and not care at all. I haven’t cared remotely about clothes or hairstyle since I was in my late teens or early 20s. And yet I have very strict rules around the method for making coffee, buttering toast, rolling cigarettes, packing shopping at the grocery store and so on and so on. In all cases, I think what is going on here is a sort of attempt at ‘bandwidth conservation’. If I do mundane things in a prescribed manner every single time, the habit makes the task one of ‘auto-pilot’. Perversely, of course, it also means that the need to do it ‘automatically’ collides with the desire to do it ‘right’ and one ends up becoming marginally disappointed or frustrated at any failure to stick to the required method and so any net gain is negligible.
That's exactly it - bandwidth conservation. By focusing intently on a thing and its process to the point of automation, you free your mind to focus on more creative endeavors.
I'll admit I also chafe at the term "fierce" but there's a sort of refinement in creative work that happens when you're not also worried about getting your coffee made correctly or your food the way you like it (or even your workspace as tidy as you prefer).
Though you definitely hit the nail on the head with the perverse underside to ritual - if it's NOT completed correctly or according to spec, it can quickly and effectively ruin any chance at getting anything done. I suppose the takeaway then is "find a ritual ... but be ready to abandon it if necessary."
At least temporarily!
The funny thing is that, while I recoil at the word ‘fierce’ I enjoy the use of the word ‘work’, which appeals to me much more than words like ‘art’ or ‘creativity’. I shudder at the prospect of referring to myself as a ‘creator’. I consider myself to be a provider of amusement and diversion, if I’m lucky. As such, I have no rituals associated with the production of text beyond the purely practical; that, because I’m not allowed to smoke in the house, I have to write in my little shed. Coffee is a ‘nice to have’, but if I’m on a roll I’ll throw half a dozen untouched cups down the sink in a day. Can one have a ritual based on a lack of action? If so, perhaps that counts.
Ahhh rituals. Can I first talk about tea, then game rituals? I drink tea rather than coffee. I love the rituals of selecting one, of brewing it, selecting the perfect mug balanced perfectly in my hand, deciding if it needs creamer or not, and taking a deep breath of the aroma before the first sip. 😊 now onto games-the rituals I have before I run a game…I always look to see if I can add some homebrew stuff to a module. I study the module and tweak it for my PCs. I review my notes a few days before the session. I review the morning of the session. Then I always do a recap of the last session for my PCs. That seems to be the extent of my rituals. Great article! 😊