Hemingway’s Hack

Recently it seems, a lot has been made about daily rituals.

There’s even a book on it.

Most daily rituals, however, focus on starting the day right

but it’s just as important to end the day right too.

Some of our best ideas come together in the recesses of our minds during sleep.

Here’s a priming hack I read about recently for doing just that:

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Whenever Hemingway was about to start a new writing project,

he would start with a single sentence, often right before bed.

This was his way of priming his unconscious to do its thing during the night.

He would wake the next morning,

re-read what he wrote, and

have a new clarity of mission.

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I use this technique not just for writing projects,

but any big project worth breaking down.

I’ll outline the next action the night before.

If it still makes sense in the morning,

it becomes my one thing to push forward that day.

Note:

It’s important to NOT try and solve the problem,

just start the work,

or you might have a hard time sleeping at all.