Victor Hugo's Daily Routine
Try a dawn writing session and a cold plunge before lunch. Victor Hugo wrote until 11:00 AM, then poured icy water over himself on the roof.
By Colin PaceUpdated
Overview
Victor Hugo wrote Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. He finished Les Misérables in exile on Guernsey, writing standing up in a glass lookout on his roof. Each morning there ended with a tub of icy water.
Mason Currey's Daily Rituals has him up at dawn for coffee, a letter from his mistress, Juliette Drouet, and two raw eggs, then writing from 6:30 AM to 11:00 AM. On the roof he poured the night-chilled water over himself. After lunch with guests came two hours of hard exercise, the barber and time with Juliette, as Meaning Ring's notes on the book retell it. Evenings were dinner and cards, at Juliette's or at home.
Adopt this if you want an early, physical day with the hardest thinking done first. You get four and a half hours of writing before lunch, two hours of real exercise and an evening with people in it. The 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM writing block and the 10:00 PM bedtime are estimates.
At a glance
- 8 hr sleep per night
- 45.5 hr work per week
- 2 meals per day
- 7 hr eating window
- 14 hr movement per week
- 28 hr play per week
Sleep
56 hours/week8 hr per night
- Every day10:00 PM → 6:00 AM· 8 hr
No naps.
Work
45.5 hours/week6 hr 30 min a day
- Writing6:30 AM → 11:00 AM· 4 hr 30 min · Every day
- Writing6:00 PM → 8:00 PM· 2 hr · Every day
Eat
10.5 hours/week2 meals17:7 eating window1 hr 30 min eating
- Breakfast6:00 AM → 6:30 AM· 30 min · Every day
- Lunch12:00 PM → 1:00 PM· 1 hr · Every day
Off
Move
14 hours/weekMove 1:00 PM
- Move1:00 PM → 3:00 PM· 2 hr · Every day
Play
28 hours/weekDate night 4:00 PMFriends 8:00 PM
- Every day4:00 PM → 6:00 PM· 2 hr
- Every day8:00 PM → 10:00 PM· 2 hr