The writing day has to begin somewhere, and for the procrastinators and procrastinator-adjacent, we know that first sentence isn't always step one. There is that little stretch beforehand when the document is open, but your mind is still somewhere else. You may know exactly what you're writing today and still need a minute to arrive. I think of those minutes as part of the job. After all, you wouldn't expect an athlete to walk straight from the parking lot onto the starting line.

Before I begin, I light a candle as if I'm expecting a special visitor. Next, I fill my fierce Darth Vader mug with coffee. Once “The Imperial March” starts playing, I am officially ready to sit down and make up sentences. I realize this is quite a production for someone working in pajamas, but it works.

Athletes have been doing a version of this for ages. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Michael Phelps listened to Eminem's “Till I Collapse” before winning gold in the 400-meter individual medley. Runner Yared Nuguse told People he plays Owl City's “Fireflies” on race days because it helps him stay calm. Apparently the soundtrack can say either “conquer the world” or “everything's fine, dear,” depending on who's competing.

A friend of mine shared how she blasted Eminem on the drive to break up with a cheating partner. Some conversations require the sort of entrance music usually reserved for boxing champions.

You may be tempted to write rituals off as kind of silly, but they aren't at all. There’s a small bit of psychology involved: researchers Phillippa Lally and Benjamin Gardner found that doing the same action in the same place can act as a prompt to get you in the mood. And yes, we're still talking about writing.

So, although the candle is not going to learn how to write my sentences for me, it certainly helps me get to the desk.

Maya Angelou took this idea several steps further by renting a hotel room for writing. She even insisted that pictures be taken off the walls. In an interview with The Paris Review, she described how the empty room helped her suspend her usual beliefs. I love the idea of a hotel room dedicated entirely to getting words down, although I'm sticking with Darth Vader for budgetary reasons.

You can do something similar without booking a room somewhere. A short walk before sitting down can make returning home feel like arriving at work. If mornings are already crowded, try reading the last paragraph you wrote yesterday aloud if possible. Hearing your own voice can bring you back into the piece before you've had time to second-guess the whole project. Some writers might prefer to put on the same song each morning and begin writing before it ends. The ritual only needs to mean something to the person doing it.

The important part is making it easy enough to repeat tomorrow. A useful ritual gives the writing day a recognizable beginning, including on mornings when enthusiasm hasn't quite turned up. By the time my coffee cools, the candle has usually burned down a little. Darth Vader is still staring at me as the first paragraph takes shape. For the price of a candle, that feels like quite a bargain.