Agendolo

Sigmund Freud's Daily Routine

For people whose days belong to other people. Sigmund Freud's daily routine saved his own writing for after 10:30 PM.

By Colin PaceUpdated

Overview

Sigmund Freud founded psychoanalysis and wrote The Interpretation of Dreams. His daily routine gave nearly all its hours to patients, so his own writing waited until the end of the day.

He saw patients from 8:00 AM until noon, ate his main meal in concentrated silence, then walked the Ringstrasse at terrific speed, buying cigars on the way. More patients followed until late evening. After supper and cards he went to his study at 10:30 PM to read, write and edit the psychoanalytic journals until 1:00 AM, as Meaning Ring's notes on the book retell it.

It's for anyone whose days belong to clients or an employer and whose own work lives at the edges. It also suits people who feel their real work never gets a turn.

You get a hard stop for a fast walk in the middle of the day and a protected late block for your own work. Try 1 hour, not 2.5, and take real holidays, as he took 3 months every summer. The chart leaves the summer holidays out.

Who's it for

At a glance

  • 6 hr sleep per night
  • 87.5 hr work per week
  • 3 meals per day
  • 16 hr eating window
  • 7 hr movement per week
  • 7 hr play per week

Schedule

7:00 AM
8:00 AM
12:00 PM
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
3:00 PM
9:00 PM
10:30 PM
1:00 AM
7:00 AMnext day

Similar frameworks

Hayao Miyazaki's Daily Routine

Decide your start time once and never again. Hayao Miyazaki's daily routine in 2013: at the studio at 11:00 AM sharp, six days a week.

Colin PaceUpdated

Steve Jobs's Daily Routine

Anchor a long week on a few fixed meetings. Steve Jobs's daily routine at Apple: an executive meeting at 9:00 AM every Monday.

Colin PaceUpdated

Gustave Flaubert's Daily Routine

Keep life orderly so the work can be bold. Gustave Flaubert woke at 10:00 AM and wrote at a round table, afternoon and night.

Colin PaceUpdated

Nikola Tesla's Daily Routine

For long working days that need one fixed point. Nikola Tesla dined at 8:00 PM sharp in 1896, with a stack of 18 napkins.

Colin PaceUpdated

Kazuo Ishiguro's Daily Routine

Finish a first draft by clearing a month. Kazuo Ishiguro wrote most of The Remains of the Day in a 4-week sprint called the Crash.

Colin PaceUpdated

Paul Graham's Daily Routine

Group your meetings and give the making one long stretch. Paul Graham's 2009 essay on the maker's schedule came from a day split at dinner.

Colin PaceUpdated

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Daily Routine

Make room for your own work at both ends of a job. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed before teaching and again at night, often until 1:00 AM.

Colin PaceUpdated

Honoré de Balzac's Daily Routine

Write in the quiet while everyone else sleeps. Honoré de Balzac's writing routine began at 1:00 AM and produced some 90 novels, stories and essays.

Colin PaceUpdated