Charles Darwin's Daily Routine

Charles Darwin set out the theory of evolution by natural selection in On the Origin of Species in 1859. He did it on about three hours of real work a day, at a country house where chronic illness shaped every hour.

Mason Currey's Daily Rituals reprints his son Francis's account, first posted on Currey's blog. Darwin walked at 7:00 AM, worked from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM, his best time, read the post, then worked until noon. Then came the Sandwalk with a dog, lunch at 12:30 PM, letters and a 3:00 PM rest while Emma read a novel aloud. After another walk and backgammon at 8:00 PM, he went to bed at 10:00 PM and slept badly.

Take this one if your health or energy won't give you a long working day but you want to make something big. You get two focused sittings, three walks, a nap and an evening of small pleasures. The chart moves his bedtime from 10:30 PM to 10:00 PM and draws two hours of solving problems in bed before sleep at midnight.