My Writing Ritual: The Coffee, the Music, and the “Mondays Are for Bosses” Mindset

Every writer has a ritual whether they admit it or not. Some people light candles. Some people write in silence. Some people disappear into coffee shops with headphones on and stare dramatically out the window like they are in an indie film nobody asked for. Me? I need coffee, music, and a mindset that reminds me I still have work to do even when life feels heavier than usual.

Writing has never been a neat or romantic process for me. Most of the time I am balancing deadlines, caregiving, business responsibilities, bills, editing, social media, and whatever chaos the universe decided to drop on my doorstep that week. The ritual is not about pretending life is peaceful. It is about creating a moment of focus inside the noise.

The coffee comes first. Always.

There is something grounding about making that first cup in the morning. It signals the shift between surviving the day and actually stepping into it. I do not even think it is about caffeine anymore. I think my brain just recognizes the routine. Coffee means it is time to sit down. Time to think. Time to stop doom-scrolling and start building.

Then comes the music.

Music changes everything for me when I write. It helps me find emotional rhythm before I ever touch the keyboard. Some days it is jazz. Some days it is old-school R&B. Some days it is anime soundtracks that make me feel like I am about to walk into the final battle of a twenty-six-episode arc. The playlist usually depends on what I am writing and what emotional space I need to enter.

If I am writing horror or dark fantasy, I need atmosphere. If I am writing something emotional, I need vulnerability in the music. If I am editing one of my Philadelphia stories, I need grit. I need something that sounds honest.

I think people underestimate how much writing is emotional positioning. You are not just putting words on a page. You are trying to enter a specific state of mind and stay there long enough to create something meaningful.

That is where the “Mondays are for Bosses” mindset comes in.

Mondays have a terrible reputation. Everybody complains about them. Everybody posts memes about exhaustion and wanting the weekend back. I understand it, but I also realized something a long time ago. If I spend every Monday dragging myself into the week already defeated, then I am teaching myself to approach my goals with dread.

I cannot afford that mentally.

Mondays are the reset button for me. They are the day I remind myself that I am still building something. Even when things are difficult. Even when I am tired. Even when the numbers are not where I want them to be yet. Monday is the day I sit back down at the table and continue the work.

Not performative hustle culture work either. I am not talking about pretending to be productive online while avoiding the actual task in front of you. I mean real work. Writing the article. Editing the chapter. Sending the email. Planning the rollout. Posting the content. Continuing anyway.

Some weeks the ritual works beautifully. Other weeks I spend twenty minutes staring at a blinking cursor while my coffee gets cold beside me. That is real too.

I think one of the biggest lies writers are sold is the idea that creativity always arrives gracefully. Sometimes creativity arrives exhausted. Sometimes it arrives anxious. Sometimes it arrives late carrying trauma, stress, and self-doubt in a duffel bag. The important thing is that it arrives at all.

That is why ritual matters.

The older I get, the more I realize motivation is unreliable. Ritual is dependable. Ritual carries you on the days inspiration decides not to show up. It gives your creativity somewhere to land.

Mine just happens to smell like coffee, sound like music, and begin every week with the reminder that Mondays are still for bosses.

—Julia Press Simmons