Anthony Bourdain’s Way into Writing

The runsheet

1. 1

   

   Jiu-jitsu

   Martial arts

   Bourdain trained BJJ daily at Renzo Gracie from 2014 until his death, usually a private lesson then open mat for around two hours. He wrote it as the one thing that left him feeling competent on the day. Sub any martial art or hard movement for 40+ mins.

   40 min activitySetup 8 min · Reset 11 min · 59 min all-in

   See the recommended Bearmore guide

2. Bearmore’s thoughts on doing martial arts before eating (mindful)

   This can be a good pairing if you rehydrate and let breath settle first, then a slow, balanced meal helps refuel without churning the stomach.

   2

   

   Mindful meal, sat down

   Eating (mindful)

   Bourdain made meals the point of his work, not a chore between tasks. This row borrows that ethic into the day: a slow meal after training, eaten sitting, phone away, the attention he gave food on screen. Use what's actually in the kitchen.

   20 min activitySetup 3 min · Reset 3 min · 26 min all-in

   See the recommended Bearmore guide

3. Bearmore’s thoughts on doing eating (mindful) before reading (mindful)

   This works well because any calm, satisfied state from mindful eating can carry into patient, engaged reading.

   3

   

   Settle with a book

   Reading (mindful)

   Bourdain's writing leans on a wide bench of reading, with Orwell, Conrad and Hunter S. Thompson cited freely across his essays. Thirty minutes with something worth reading before you sit with the page. Fiction, journalism, anything that earns your attention.

   30 min activitySetup 1 min · Reset 1 min · 32 min all-in

   See the recommended Bearmore guide

4. Bearmore’s thoughts on doing reading (mindful) before creative writing

   This is an excellent pairing because reading primes the rhythms and patterns of language, which writing then draws on without needing much warming up.

   4

   

   Tune into creative writing

   Creative writing

   Bourdain wrote Kitchen Confidential while working full days in a New York kitchen, and kept writing on the road through both his shows. By this point in the half-day you've already done something hard, eaten properly, and let a book settle you. Sit with the writing and see what comes out.

   45 min activitySetup 3 min · Reset 3 min · 51 min all-in

   See the recommended Bearmore guide

5. Time well spent.

   2h 48m spent doing something good for yourself.