It’s six a.m. and the alarm is going off.

By 6:15 the coffee will be on.

And, by 6:30 I am sitting down to write…something. Work – especially creative work – knows no vacations, no holidays, and no excuses. It doesn’t matter if it is Wednesday or Saturday, the routine goes on just like this.

When I work every day there is to pressure or deadlines, the work is always being done. There is no writers block or hesitation, the momentum remains with me from day to day. And, there is no doubt that I can or will be able to complete a given task, because I have done it – every day – before.

Waiting for inspiration to strike is a lost cause.

When you work regularly, inspiration strikes regularly. – Gretchin Rubin

Regardless of what you want to do or achieve, most important thing we can do is to get in the habit of working every day.

E.B. White said that; “A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.”

This advice applies to any undertaking, not just writing. If you have ever found yourself in a holding pattern waiting for the right time to change jobs, fall in love, or take a chance it’s likely that, if you continue on this way, you’ll end up with more regrets than results.

The importance of habit, a routine, or a ritual, as it pertains to for showing up and getting the work done, cannot be over-stated.

Benjamin Franklin was productivity maniac and lived according to a rigorous daily routine.

Hemingway is known to have commenced writing at the break of dawn; writing until he was “out of juice,” longing for the next morning when he could return to work again.

Author Steve Pressfield begins his writing routine by reciting a passage from the Odyssey. It’s a trigger that tells him it is time to get to work.

It doesn’t matter what your trigger is, so long as you make create one, commit to showing up, and get in the habit of doing the work every day.

“Inspiration is for amateurs — the rest of us just show up and get to work.” – Chuck Close