Maya Angelou's strange writing routine
Notes on giants - Number 39
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🏷️ Categories: Habits, Procrastination.
Maya Angelou was born in Missouri and had a childhood marked by adversity.
Even so, she transformed all of it into one of the most powerful voices of the 20th century. She is cited as one of the most influential authors in contemporary literature. She wrote books, essays, and poetry collections that are now read in universities across half the world. She recited a poem at Bill Clinton’s inauguration. She received all kinds of honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Meanwhile, for decades, she kept writing nonstop between classes, lectures, and travels (Angelou, 1970).
Simply put: Maya Angelou was incredibly prolific.
The question is: how did she do it?
The Power of Ritual
In numerous interviews and conversations collected over the years, Maya Angelou explained one of the secrets behind her creative consistency.
Her unusual ritual.
Every morning she did the same thing: she left her house and went to a hotel room.
She didn’t write at home, nor did she wait to feel inspired. In an interview for The Paris Review, Angelou explained it this way: “I have kept a hotel room in every city I’ve lived in. I rent a hotel room for a few months. I take a dictionary, a Bible, a deck of cards, and a legal pad” (Plimpton, 1990).
That space was functional. Neutral. Free of distractions.
She described how she worked there: “I go to the room every morning about six-thirty and work until twelve-thirty or one. I don’t allow myself any more time” (Plimpton, 1990).
She would sit on the hotel bed and work for hours. Without stopping.
Every single day.
The ritual of going to the hotel was the central piece. It may seem small, but that’s exactly where its power lies. She knew it. At home, everyday life distracted her. Repeating the ritual of going to the hotel turned writing into a habit. Automatic and easy to begin. With less room to negotiate excuses or waste time.
Once there, alone in front of her notebook, everything flowed.
And that, when it comes to achieving any goal, is gold.
The Inertia of Habits
There’s a pattern that repeats itself.
If you struggle to maintain good habits or easily fall into bad ones, it’s easy to think you just need more motivation—or that you simply lack the willpower others seem to have.
But here’s the surprising thing about motivation.
It often appears after you start a behavior, not before.
You’ve probably noticed it: going for a run feels like a drag in your head… until you start moving. Once you’re jogging, your body finds its rhythm and your mind follows along. Finishing feels easier than starting. The same thing happens to me sometimes with writing: once I’ve written a paragraph, I keep going. But staring at a blank page? That’s hard.
Interestingly, this relates to physics.
The law of inertia states that objects in motion stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force. This means objects resist changes in their state. Something similar happens to us with habits. Starting is hard—but keeping the momentum is easy. The ritual is that external force.
And this is where Maya Angelou’s ritual proves why it’s brilliant.
Rituals Are Habit Triggers
A ritual helps you move into action without overthinking it.
That’s why they work: they reduce the friction of starting.
The idea is well studied in psychology. Experts call it an action trigger. A small gesture can act as a “cue” for a longer sequence. Like leaving a book on your pillow and, when you go to bed, reading “just one page”… and without even realizing it, once you’re already reading, you continue for ten more minutes. Reading requires attention, yes—but the entry into the habit becomes almost automatic.
Angelou did exactly that.
Her ritual of going to the hotel removed emotion, inspiration, or laziness from the equation.
It wasn’t “Do I feel like writing today?”
It was “It’s time to go to the hotel alone.” Period.
The key to a good ritual is that it saves you from three draining questions:
What do I do first? → You’ve already defined it with your ritual.
When do I do it? → You’ve set the time.
How do I do it? → You’ve defined the process.
Many people get stuck there: there’s so much friction that they lose the desire altogether.
The ritual solves that problem.
How to Apply It to Your Life
Some simple (and very effective) examples of triggers:
To read more: After lunch, leave your phone charging in another room, sit in your chair, and open your book at the bookmark. Set a 10-minute timer and begin. Keeping the same time makes starting automatic.
To exercise: The night before, lay out your workout clothes and roll out your mat. In the morning, get dressed, eat breakfast, and go straight into movement.
To sleep better: At 10:00 p.m., leave your phone outside the bedroom, dim the lights, stretch for five minutes, and read two pages of an easy book. It’s a clear closing signal that gradually slows you down.
I’ve become a big fan of this idea. I design rituals for everything I do regularly. That way, much of the day flows without friction: I don’t decide, I don’t negotiate with myself—I simply step into what corresponds to that moment and place. Once the system is designed, you just have to follow it. And that changes everything.
The key is that the ritual is yours—and that you can stick to it even on a bad day.
It doesn’t have to be perfect. It has to be repeatable.
Start first. Improve later.
Want to dive deeper? Here are 3 related ideas:
Activation energy: How to start any habit (even when you’re tired)
Two Harvard scientists reveal why we procrastinate (and how to avoid it)
✍️ Your turn: What “hotel room” could you create for yourself—a space, a time, or a gesture that takes you straight into action without distractions?
💭 Quote of the day: “Do the things you love to do and do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.” — Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
See you next time! 👋
References 📚
Angelou, M. (1970). I Know why the Caged Bird Sings.
Plimpton, G. (1990). Maya Angelou, The Art of Fiction. The Paris Review. URL
Thank you for this addition to the many puzzle pieces you've written about to success in forming successful habits.