This month’s issue of Lapham’s Quarterly focuses on the subject of time, and in this season’s edition of the literary magazine, it features a page on how various famous people in history had/have laid out their days. From observing the daily schedules of a Benedictine monk and John Milton to those of Queen Elizabeth II’ s and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s, we gain a little bit of insight on how their daily activities may have contributed to their respective successes in their fields. This led me to wonder: is my schedule more similar to that of a Benedictine monk? Or is it more like The Rock’s? Does it necessarily have to lean towards one or the other?
For those working (and dare I say living) the startup life, “controlled chaos” more often than not is an inherent trait of your everyday schedules. Things are constantly happening, and despite whatever things you have planned for the day, you’ve learned to expect sudden meetings with clients or a call with an investor – whatever it is, you’ve got some kind of flexible schedule worked out…right? Or maybe you’re all about that #YOLO life and just go with the flow of the day, only scheduling things when you absolutely need to…?
Whatever it is, people in the startup world have some kind of daily routine or schedule by which they abide (strict or loose); otherwise, one literally cannot be minimally competent in whatever role they fulfill. From the graphic below, though, it doesn’t really seem to make a difference how you structure your day. What it conveys is that as long as you set aside a block of time to truly focus on your craft…your idea…your passion, then anything else you do around that – whether it’s sleeping, eating, or walking around the garden – shouldn’t affect your final goals.
My schedule most resembles Mozart’s, by the way (replacing music-related activities with reading & writing-activities, and minus having to get my hair done or visit my wife). Whose schedule do you resemble?
(via Lapham’s Quarterly)