Daily Routines

Leonardo da Vinci

In the 1490s, the Italian monk and writer Matteo Bandello observed Leonardo at work on The Last Supper:

He would arrive early, climb up on to the scaffolding, and set to work. Sometimes he stayed there from dawn to sunset, never once laying down his brush, forgetting to eat and drink, painting without pause. At other times he would go for two, three or four days without touching his brush, but spending several hours a day in front of the work, his arms folded, examining and criticizing the figures to himself. I also saw him, driven by some sudden urge, at midday, when the sun was at its height, leaving the Corte Vecchia, where he was working on his marvelous clay horse, to come straight to Santa Maria delle Crazie, without seeking shade, and clamber up on to the scaffolding, pick up a brush, put in one or two strokes, and then go away again.

Read more in Was Leonardo da Vinci a procrastinator?

Joseph Haydn

Haydn’s assistant recorded the composer’s routine in the Vienna suburb of Gumpendorf, where he spent his last decade:

In the summer, he always rose at 6.30 am. His first task was to shave, which he did himself until he was seventy-three. After shaving he completed dressing. If a pupil had arrived, he made him play his piece while the composer dressed. Mistakes were promptly corrected and a new piece for practicing was given to him. Perhaps an hour and a half would be spent in this way. Precisely at 8.0 o’clock, breakfast was taken. Immediately afterwards, he would sit at the piano and improvise, making sketches of compositions until 11.30 am. Then he received visitors or paid calls or went for a walk until 1.30 pm. Between 2.0 and 3.0 pm he dined, after which he either attended to domestic matters or returned to his music. Then he took the sketches he had made in the morning and scored them. In the evening at 8.0 pm he would go out, returning home at 9.0 pm to orchestrate or read a book until 10.0 o’clock. At 10 he had a supper of bread and wine; he made it a rule never to eat an evening meal of anything but bread and wine, except when he was invited out. At half past eleven he went to bed, in old age even later.

Read more in Joseph Haydn could not be idle

Anne Truitt

In Daybook, the American artist describes her daily routine at Yaddo, the storied artists’ colony in Saratoga Springs, New York:

I have settled into the most comfortable routine I have ever known in my working life. I wake very early and, after a quiet period, have my breakfast in my room: cereal, fruit, nuts, the remainder of my luncheon Thermos of milk, and coffee. Then I write in my notebook in bed. By this time, the sun is well up and the pine trees waft delicious smells into my room. My whole body sings with the knowledge that nothing is expected of me except what I expect of myself. I dress, do my few room chores, walk to the mansion to pick up my lunch box (a sandwich, double fruit, double salad—often a whole head of new lettuce) and Thermos of milk, and walk down the winding road to my Stone South studio.

At noon, I stop working, walk up through the meadow to West House, have a reading lunch at my desk, and nap. By 2:30 or so I am back in the studio. Late in the afternoon, I return to my room, have a hot bath and dress for dinner. It is heavenly to work until I am tired, knowing that the evening will be effortless. Dinner is a peaceful pleasure. Afterward I usually return to my solitude, happy to have been in good company, happy to leave it. I read, or write letters, have another hot bath in the semidarkness of my room, and sink quietly to sleep.

Read more in Sculptor Anne Truitt's retreat routine

Roberto Rossellini

The Italian neorealist filmmaker's working days were often chaotic and unpredictable. But his nights were always spent the same way:

I don’t sleep much at night. I read in bed, always a number of books at the same time, often six or seven. I find it tiring to concentrate on a single book, to wait for the end. . . .

While reading, I have the courage to note on the books’ margin the ideas that come to me. Later, before shelving the books, I make up some bibliographic cards. I make signs with different colors so I know what’s most important, less important, what’s complementary, what’s basic, et cetera. And I also write down the thoughts that come to me, impressions absolutely virgin. I reread my notes on the books’ pages and I write them down in notebooks under headings divided by letters A, B, C, D. Then I write ‘human,’ ‘education,’ ‘thievery,’ et cetera. These cards, later on when I need them, will permit me to reconstruct a certain type of person.

Read more in Roberto Rossellini on his "absolutely spontaneous" filmmaking process

Judy Chicago

From a 2009 interview:

So the thing is that I used to work 17 hours a day. And now I don’t have to work that much to accomplish a similar amount. . . . And I’m too old to work 17 hours. I can still do it if I have to, but I don’t like it, and I don’t want it, and it makes me grumpy, and there’s no reason to. So, you know, now my normal day is seven hours. I go to the studio, I work all day, then I exercise. . . . And then Donald [her husband] and I hang out with the kitties at night, watch movies. On the weekends, we do something, go see friends, visit something, you know. Have fun.

Read more in Judy Chicago's system for "psychic privacy"