Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad

by Austin Kleon

A little imprisonment—if it’s of your own making—can set you free. Rather than restricting your freedom, a routine gives you freedom by protecting you from the ups and downs of life and helping you take advantage of your limited time, energy, and talent. A routine establishes good habits that can lead to your best work.

“We got rid of the day as well as we could.” Some days you just have to get rid of as best as you can.

“I must decline, for secret reasons.” —E. B. White

If you want to change your life, change what you pay attention to. “We give things meaning by paying attention to them,” Jessa Crispin writes, “and so moving your attention from one thing to another can absolutely change your future.”