Haruki Murakami Quotes

If you want to do something that requires willpower - like going for a run after work - you have to conserve your willpower muscle during the day.

I am a plodder, I make an appointment with my computer everyday and I have no idea where I am going.

If only I had discipline, but alas, it is only an obsessive-compulsive trait and the beauty of habit that causes me to return again and again to my work.

Habits eat good intentions for breakfast.

If I waited to be in the mood to write, I'd barely have a chapbook of material to my name. Who would ever be in the mood to write? Do marathon runners get in the mood to run? Do teachers wake up with the urge to lecture? I don't know, but I doubt it. My guess is that it's the very act that is generative. The doing of the thing that makes possible the desire for it.

The best restriction I learned was getting into the habit of doing something, even if I didn't feel like it, instead of running away from it. Sometimes good work needs to be earned, and when you can overcome yourself, the muse notices and celebrates.

I'm a writer, not a professional runner. It's fun and it helps me write. I need powerful concentration.

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.

I usually take a walk after breakfast, write for three hours, have lunch and read in the afternoon. Demons don’t like fresh air - they prefer it if you stay in bed with cold feet; for a person who is as chaotic as me, who struggles to be in control, it is an absolute necessity to follow these rules and routines. If I let myself go, nothing will get done.

Do something everyday that you don't want to do; this is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain.

I know the most important faculty to develop is one for hard, continuous and varied work and living; but the difference between knowing this and doing anything consistent about it is often abysmal.

Motivation gets you going and habit gets you there. Make motivation a habit and you will get there more quickly and have more fun on the trip.

Getting up at 6 A.M. to run is something that keeps you on the straight and narrow.

I'm terrible with my workout regime and following it strictly. I'm terrible with a healthy diet and following it strictly. I'm terrible on the weekends about getting up at reasonable hours and all of those things. But, when it comes to my work and the discipline it takes to get to work on time - I hate unprofessionalism.

The more you focus, the more that focus becomes a habit.

I'm not always as disciplined as I should be. I don't sit down and write every day, but I should.

The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.

I used to write when I was in the mood or felt inspired. Anymore, I write whether I feel inspired or not. It's a discipline. So that's definitely different. It's part of maturing as a person and as a professional.

Discipline is based on pride, on meticulous attention to details, and on mutual respect and confidence. Discipline must be a habit so ingrained that it is stronger than the excitement of the goal or the fear of failure.

The only routine I have is that I finish everything I start. I wake up early every day - about 6.30 A.M. - but I do not work every day. I could laze for a day or two, but I wouldn't do it for three.

I'm not patient - and I'm getting more impatient as I get older - but I am disciplined about writing, and I want that on my tombstone: 'He wasn't patient, but he was disciplined.'

If I waited to be inspired to go to the gym, I'd never get there. I schedule my exercise time; I schedule my work time. This is especially important if you have a day job as I did while writing my first seven novels.

I'm a time person. It's the one discipline I manage.

If I write a page a day, I feel very good about it.

I just tell myself I gotta get up at 8 A.M. I don't even use an alarm clock.