MESSAGE #69 - BEING CREATIVE

Being creative is not a once-in-a-while sort of thing. Being creative is an everyday thing, a job with its own routines. That's why writers, for example, like to establish a routine for themselves. The most productive ones get started early in the morning when the phones aren't ringing and their minds are rested and not yet polluted by other people's words. They might set a goal - 1,500 words or stay at their desk until noon - but the real secret is that they do this every day. They do not waver. After a while it becomes a habit.

This is no different for any creative individual whether it's a painter finding his way to the easel or a medical researcher returning to the laboratory. The routine is as much a part of the creative process as the lightning bolt of inspiration (perhaps more). And it is available to everyone. If creativity is a habit, then the best creativity is a habit, then the best creativity is a result of good work habits. They are the nuts and bolts of dreaming.
-- from The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp with Mark Reiter