How we work

What is "How we work"?
We're interested in the habits, rituals and small (and occasionally big) methods people and teams use to get their work done. And in the specific anecdotes and the way people describe their own relationship to their own work. Here's a list of some stories and habits. Not sure it is actually useful for anything. Do any patterns emerge across stories, other than the obvious stories of super-focus, super-dedication?
These examples are mostly "names" because the list so far is mostly from published sources, but everyone's stories and habits are interesting.

1. Ben Ainslie, sailor
2. Apelles, artist
3. Fred Astaire, entertainer
4. Frank Auerbach, artist
5. Autechre, musicians
6. Francis Bacon, artist
7. Francis Bacon, Elizabethan polymath
8. J.G. Ballard, author
9. Walter Benjamin, writer
10. David Blunkett, politician
11. Edward de Bono, psychologist
12. Ray Bradbury, author
13. Rodney Brooks, robotics researcher
14. Anthony Burgess, author
15. Jensen Button and Fernando Alonso, Formula 1 drivers
16. Truman Capote, author
17. John Cage, composer, artist
18. Santiago Calatrava, architect
19. Ethan Canin, author
20. Pablo Casals, cellist
21. Paul Cezanne, artist
22. David Chase, scriptwriter
23. Bruce Chatwin, author
24. Tracy Chevalier, author
25. Christo and Jeanne-Claude, artists
26. Chuang-tzu, artist
27. Joel and Ethan Coen, directors
28. Don DeLillo, author
29. Cory Doctorow, author
30. Arthur Conan Doyle, author
31. Jean-Baptiste Corot, artist
32. Umberto Eco, academic/author
33. Viatcheslav Ekimov, professional cyclist
34. Warren Ellis, comic writer
35. Ralph Ellison, author
36. James Ellroy, author
37. Tracey Emin, artist
38. Brian Eno, musician/artist
39. Jeffrey Eugenides, author
40. Michel Faber, author
41. Mohamed al-Fayed, retailer
42. Bobby Fischer, chess player
43. Jonathan Safran Foer, author
44. Gustave Flaubert, author
45. Lucian Freud, artist
46. Stephen Fry, actor/writer
47. Neil Gaiman, author
48. Ricky Gervais, broadcaster/entertainer
49. Malcolm Gladwell, writer
50. William Gibson, author
51. Giotto, artist
52. Phil Gyford, designer
53. Paul H, lawyer
54. Dashiell Hammett, author
55. Gustav Hasford, author
56. Hergé, artist
57. Al Hirschfeld, cartoonist
58. Damien Hirst, artist
59. Howard Hodgkin, artist
60. John Irving, author
61. Henry James, author
62. Mark Kostabi, artist
63. Anthony Lane, critic
64. Fernand Léger, artist
65. Elmore Leonard, author
66. Sven Lindqvist, author/historian
67. Franz Liszt, composer/pianist
68. Thomas Mahon, bespoke tailor
69. Felipe Massa, Formula 1 driver
70. Scott McNealy, entrepreneur
71. David Mitchell, author
72. Joseph Mitchell, writer
73. Grant Morrison, comic writer
74. Haruki Murakami, author
75. Walter Murch, sound designer/film editor
76. Bill Murray, actor
77. Oscar Niemeyer, architect
78. Nick Nolte, actor
79. Pierre Omidyar, entrepreneur
80. Eduardo Paolozzi, artist
81. Pablo Picasso, artist
82. Camille Pissarro, artist
83. Jackson Pollock, artist
84. Philip Pullman, author
85. Ian Rankin, author
86. Steve Reich, composer
87. Arthur Rimbaud, poet
88. Clifford Ross, photographer
89. Philip Roth, author
90. Raymond Roussel, author
91. Jack Schulze, designer
92. Will Self, author
93. Robert Schumann, composer
94. Martin Scorsese, director
95. Ricardo Semler and Semco, entrepreneur
96. Georges Seurat, artist
97. Robert Louis Stevenson, author
98. David Thomson, author/critic
99. Anthony Trollope, author
100. Jorn Utzon, architect
101. Paul Valéry, poet
102. Various: writing standing up, in bed
103. Karl Weschke, artist
104. Billy Wilder, director
105. Virginia Woolf, author
106. Benjamin Zander, conductor

Yes, and there's more to come... So far these are about individuals, but there is much to add on other companies and groups. And there are other sites that offer more useful information and applicable tips, such as Daily Routines (new! and good!), Lifehacks, 43 Folders, Michael McDonough and Milton Glaser, or even Trade Tricks. 

Newly added or updated in 2008:
Pullman, Massa, Utzon. You can look ahead at what's coming up on our "howwework" list on delicious.