Be organized, like Robert Caro. Every inch of his office is governed by rules.

Adopt a strict structure for your working life, like Charles Darwin did.

“Ignore inspiration.” Mason Currey

“[Great creative minds] think like artists but work like accountants.” David Brooks

“Build rituals of the same level of strictness and idiosyncrasy as the important thinkers mentioned previously” Cal Newport

Rituals minimize friction in the transition to depth.

There is no one correct deep work ritual.

General questions any effective ritual must address:

• Where you'll work and for how long.
  • Ex.: Quiet library.
• How you'll work once you start to work.
  • Ex.: Ban on Internet use.
• How you'll support your work.
  • Ex.: Start with a cup of coffee, integrate walking, organize materials.

“Finding a ritual that sticks might require experimentation.” Cal Newport

"It is only ideas gained from walking that have any worth." Friedrich Nietzsche.

Steve Jobs was right about walking. A 2014 study out of Stanford University confirms what Darwin, Nietzsche, Dickens, Beethoven and the co-founder of Apple already knew: Going for walks improves creative thinking.

https://www.therowlinglibrary.com/2016/06/01/the-balmoral-hotel-where-j-k-rowling-finished-harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows/