The Most Important Working Habit Of Hemingway
Stop At The Height of Your Day
Everyone who has achieved some form of success has accomplished it by working. However, work can happen in many different ways.
And almost all people have different working habits and routines. What works for some people might not work for other people.
You see a lot of similarities, but you also see that people have particular habits.
For example, in The Philosophy of Andy Warhol, I read that Warhol would just walk around New York City on rainy Sundays. That was one of his favourite things to do, and that gave him ideas and inspiration.
Warhol was an interesting character. He was unique. But he was also similar to the rest of us in that he had his insecurities. For example, he hired people to write his books.
One person who didn’t have to do that was Ernest Hemingway. Not only is he one of my favourite writers, but he also had a working habit that I’ve seen with other people who did excellent work.
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned from Hemingway is this:
“Always stop while you are doing good, and don’t think about it or worry about it until you start to write the next day. That way, your subconscious will work on it all the time. But if you think about it consciously or worry about it, you will kill it, and your brain will be tired before you start.”
That’s from Hemingway on Writing by Larry W. Phillip. That’s one of my favourite writing books and a good source of inspiration about work regarding its.
Knowing when to stop.
Do you know the feeling?
You have to get work done because you have a deadline, work on it, and keep working on it, and even when you stop working, you keep thinking about it.
But here’s the problem with being immersed in work: It’s counterproductive.
You take your work way too seriously, and that’s why you also take it back home — you let it into your personal life.
That makes you less present at home. Plus, you tire yourself out by constantly thinking about work. And that’s why you never create momentum.
Instead, stop working at the height of your day.
Hemingway said: “Stop when you are going well.”
That’s one of the hardest things I had to learn.
Have you ever watched a movie where you thought, “The movie went on for too long” by the end?
Well, that’s what you do when you work more than you should on any day.
But the art is to stop precisely at the point where you’re thinking:
- I could probably work for another hour.
- I could probably write another 500 words.
- I could probably create one more beat.
- I could probably write one more chapter of this report.
- I could probably code thirty minutes longer.
- I could probably finish one more design.
- I could probably answer 10 more emails.
NO. Don’t do it.
Leave it for tomorrow.
Why? Because you always have something to do in that case. It’s easy to pick up where you left off on the last day.
“But how do you stop thinking about work?”
And in Hemingway on Writing, I found an interesting quote that shows how Hemingway thought about it:
When he’s asked, “How can you learn not to worry?” Hemingway answers:
“By not thinking about it. As soon as you start to think about it, stop it. Think about something else. You have to learn that.”
Yes, Hemingway was a practical man. And to be honest, there’s no magic solution to stop worrying and thinking.
The only way to deal with it is from a practical point of view: You have to learn how to stop thinking when it’s not helpful.
If you want to do that by meditation, saying prayers, reading, or running, go for it. The vehicle you use doesn’t matter.
The goal is always the same: Stop thinking when it’s not helping you.
So, give this Hemingway method a try. It’s easy; you just know it in your gut when you’re at the height of your day — the only thing you have to do is listen to it. And at that point, Stop.
See your life as a movie. Do you really want it to linger on without being interesting? No. A good director knows when to stop. And so should you.
Thank you for reading!