The Ritual: The Rhythm That Saves Everything
This is part three of a three-part series on the elements that make or break your creative process. We've covered THE SETUP (your physical foundation) and THE TOOLS (what you use to create). Today we're exploring the rhythms that hold everything together.
I've mentioned before my love for a book that sits on my nightstand, Daily Rituals: How Artists Work. I'm infatuated with "the process"—how others do what they do, specifically creatives.
In my third installment of this introductory series, I want to explore the rituals, or rhythms as we call them in our home, of creative professionals and what impact that has not only on their productivity, but their creativity as well.
Why "Rhythms" Instead of "Rituals"
Words matter.
In our home, we don't talk about rituals or routines—we talk about rhythms. And that shift in language changes everything.
Rhythms have flexibility to change. Ours change with the seasons—with new obligations, expectations, responsibilities, and influences. It helps us stay grounded in a routine while maintaining the flexibility to adapt and evolve.
When I think about rhythms instead of rigid routines, my approach feels less forced and more like a musical accompaniment to the work I'm trying to do.
You can't create while holding your breath. Creative work, by its nature, must have the ability to ebb and flow, to inhale and exhale. Rhythms allow for that. Rigid routines don't.
The Fascination with How Artists Work
Every artist and creative is so different, just like every human is. What fascinates me is learning what it took for them to get something done.
I feel like all creatives struggle with this—the gap between vision and completion. And it's my life's ambition to help creatives see their vision to completion.
When I read Daily Rituals, two things surprised me most:
First, how many artists took naps throughout the day. We've built this mythology around the tortured artist burning the midnight oil, but many of the most prolific creatives were strategic about rest and energy management.
Second, the stark differences between morning people and evening people. There's no "right" way to structure your creative day. Some creators are up at 5 AM writing. Others don't even start until the world goes to sleep. What matters is finding your rhythm, not copying someone else's.
My Non-Negotiable Morning Rhythm
If I skip my morning rhythm, everything falls apart.
Here's what it looks like:
Coffee (obviously)
Bible reading
Morning pages journaling
Reading from a book
Walking with my wife
This rhythm is non-negotiable because it sets the tone for everything else. When I'm consistent here, I spend less mental energy trying to rev myself up into "creative mode." By the time I'm ready to create, I'm already primed to do so.
My Workday Startup Rhythm
After my morning rhythm, I transition into work with these steps:
Check all communication channels for new incoming client messages (email and Slack)
Review the day's BIG 3 goals
Update my Harvest time tracker
Send an inspiring note to our team or a client
Pray for my business
This might seem like a lot, but it takes maybe 15 minutes. And what it does is create a bridge between personal preparation and professional execution.
I'm not just opening my laptop and diving in. I'm intentionally stepping into the work with clarity and purpose.
The Musical Nature of Different Rhythms
Not all rhythms look the same, and they shouldn't.
Some of my rhythms are heads-down-do-not-disturb. Others are more fluid and relational.
If I'm creating, it's usually heads down with DND mode activated. If I'm collaborating or coaching, it's flexible and relationally driven.
The rhythm adapts to the work, not the other way around.
This is why thinking about them as rhythms instead of routines matters so much. A routine says "do this every time, exactly this way." A rhythm says "this is the pattern, but feel free to improvise within it."
How Rhythms Protect Your Energy
In Steven Pressfield's The War of Art, he talks about Resistance—that force that wants to rob you of your creative work.
Rhythms are the guardrails against Resistance.
When you have consistent rhythms, you're not negotiating with yourself every morning about whether you'll write, create, or show up. You've already decided. The rhythm carries you forward even when motivation is low.
Consistent rhythms reduce chaos and breed consistency. And with that consistency comes increased capacity to create, along with the clarity that consistency brings with it.
Weekly Rhythms That Keep Me Going
Beyond daily rhythms, I've found that reviewing wins keeps me motivated to push through the times I feel like giving up.
Every week, I look back at what actually got accomplished. Not what didn't happen. Not what's still pending. Just the wins.
This simple rhythm of recognition reminds me that progress is happening, even when it feels slow.
The Elephant-Eating Strategy
Consistency always breeds success.
My rhythms are a consistent approach to eating the elephants in front of me—one bite at a time.
Every big creative project feels overwhelming when you look at it as a whole. But when you break it down into daily rhythms, weekly rhythms, project-based rhythms, you make it manageable.
You're not trying to eat the elephant in one sitting. You're just showing up for today's bite. And then tomorrow's. And the next day's.
Starting From Zero
If you have zero intentional rhythms right now, where should you start?
Mornings. Or more accurately, whenever you wake up.
If the first acts of your day begin with intentionality, the rest of the day will follow those intentions easier.
You don't need to adopt my entire morning rhythm. Start with one thing:
Coffee and five minutes of silence
A single page of journaling
A short walk before checking your phone
Reading one page of something that matters
Just one intentional act that signals to yourself: "I'm choosing how this day begins."
From there, you can build.
Rhythms as Guides, Not Masters
Here's what I want you to understand: my rhythms are a guide, not a prison.
It's like goals. Without any goals, I would achieve less. But with goals, even if I only achieve 80% of them, I still achieved 80% more than I would have without them.
Rhythms have the same cause and effect.
They're not about perfection. They're not about never missing a day. They're about having a pattern to return to when life gets chaotic—because it will.
The rhythm is there waiting for you. You can step back into it whenever you're ready.
How It All Works Together
Over these three posts, we've explored the Setup, the Tools, and the Rituals that make creative work possible.
Here's the truth: they're all cyclically supportive in nature.
Without the right setup, your rhythm gets thrown off due to disorganization, thus making your tools useless.
Without the right tools, you just stare at a blank page or screen, attempting to will brilliance into existence.
Without the right rhythms, you stand on the instability of inconsistency, making it difficult to use the right setup and the right tools.
They need each other. When one is off, the whole system suffers. When all three are aligned, creative work flows with far less friction.
The Common Thread of Success
What I've learned from studying how artists work—from Daily Rituals to conversations with creative professionals I've coached—is that these three categories are what all successful creatives and artists have in common.
They have an intentional setup that supports their work.
They use tools that extend their creativity rather than distract from it.
And they have rhythms that create the conditions for both productivity and creativity to flourish.
We can, and should, always be learning from each other and from the artists who came before us. There's no single "right way" to do this. But there are patterns. There are principles.
And the more intentional we become about our setup, our tools, and our rhythms, the more space we create for our best work to emerge.
Moving Forward
Going forward, I'm going to continue exploring these three categories in my writing—breaking down specific elements of setup, tools, and rhythms that help creatives do their best work.
Because here's what I believe: enhancing your creative process is approachable. It's not intimidating or complicated.
You don't need a perfect studio or the latest productivity app or a morning routine that starts at 4 AM.
You just need to be intentional about creating the conditions where your creativity can thrive.
And it starts with understanding that your setup matters, your tools should serve you, and your rhythms protect your energy.
The rest? That's just showing up and doing the work.
Thank you for following along with this three-part series. I'd love to hear which of these three elements—Setup, Tools, or Rituals—resonates most with you. Hit reply and let me know what you're working on.