Alexander Hamilton's practice was similar but not extreme. From Chernow's Hamilton, this quote reflects on both his work ethic and superb thinking and writing a

Alexander Hamilton's practice was similar but not extreme. From Chernow's Hamilton, this quote reflects on both his work ethic and superb thinking and writing abilities: "When he had a serious object to accomplish, his practice was to reflect on it previously. And when he had gone through this labor, he retired to sleep, without regard to the hour of the night, and, having slept six or seven hours, he rose and having taken strong coffee, seated himself at his table, where he would remain six, seven, or eight hours. And the product of his rapid pen required little correction for the press." Heh, "to reflect on it previously," this sounds like a highly optimized form of hammock-driven development. I admire this focus quite a lot. For the most part it was sustainable, although at times he nearly wore himself out and his in-laws the Schuylers had to drag him outside more to walk and ride horses to rest his mind and restore his body.