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Eating the same meal every day can increase creativity, psychotherapist says
Meta billionaire Mark Zuckerberg famously wears the same clothes every day. At least he used to. Ditto Steve Jobs, who its hard to imagine wearing anything other than jeans and a black turtleneck. The logic is that eliminating one set of decisions from your daily routine frees up your decision-making mind for the things that matter.
Similarly, filmmaker David Lynch has talked about maximizing his creative flow by meditating twice a day, wearing the same clothes, and eating a single piece of bread with mayonnaise and chicken for lunch and dinner. You might also have heard him talk about eating tomatoes, tuna fish, feta cheese, and olive oil. For dinner? Chicken, broccoli, and soy sauce. You gotta have a setup, he says. The Focus spoke to a psychotherapist who specializes in daily routines to find out if theres science behind the soy sauce.
Why does David Lynch eat the same meal every day while hes working?
When theres some sort of order there, he once told Charlie Rose, then youre free to mentally go off any place. Youve got a safe sort of foundation and a place to spring off from.
In 1997, he told Marie Claire hed get into phases where hed have the same thing every day.
Lately I’ve been having feta cheese, olive oil and vinegar, tomatoes, and some tuna fish mixed together. Thats what he told Charlie Rose during their interview.
Before that, I was having tuna fish on lettuce and cottage cheese, but I got tired of that in about three months. Three months! I once had the same thing for lunch every day for seven years a Bob’s Big Boy chocolate shake and coffee at 2:30 every afternoon.
Interestingly, he once considered psychoanalysis because I thought I might talk to somebody about these cycles of things like lunches. But, ironically, concern that it might affect his creative process dissuaded him.
Consistency in simple habits like meals can foster clarity and focus
We caught up with Kristie Tse, founder of New York-based wellness service Uncover Mental Health Counselling, to understand more about the potential of having regular habits and rigid routines to soothe and provide clarity.
Her experience working as a therapist and counselor has shown her the profound impact that consistency in simple habits, like meals, can have on fostering clarity and focus.
I have clients who have adopted consistent breakfast habits, she says, and reported feeling less overwhelmed by morning choices, enabling them to start their day on a more positive note.
Having a structured routine by eating the same meal every day can indeed provide mental clarity and increase creativity. It can help streamline your thoughts, she adds, and preserve mental energy for more complex challenges throughout the day.
In other words, eliminating minor decision-making frees up cognitive resources for deeper, more meaningful pursuits.
She puts it down to the notion that the simplicity of repetition acts as mental scaffolding, enabling us to support more significant creative or analytical work that requires concentration.
What about nighttime routines and regular evening meals?
Routines dont only confer advantages if they happen before noon. They can also be beneficial throughout the day, Kristie adds.
The simple fact of structure can provide stability and control, which can be instrumental when managing anxiety and stress.
When we incorporate structured breaks and regular times for meals and physical activity, it can enhance productivity and reduce feelings of overwhelm.
Good news for anyone feeling untethered or swamped.
Beyond the culinary realm, too, having a nightly routine that involves reading, relaxation exercises, meditation, or simply limiting screen time can also help signal to your body that its time to wind down.
Kristie Tse is the founder of Uncover Mental Health Counselling. She uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques to help clients manage their mental health by identifying and challenging unhelpful thoughts and behaviors and developing practical skills to improve their emotional well-being.
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