Writing is work. You wouldn’t show up to the office in your pajamas, right? (Well, maybe you would.)

For some writers, keeping a separate office and even a separate demeanor and outfit from their home routine helps keep them in a mental space that’s good for writing. Think of it as putting on your uniform before going to work.

Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson biographer Robert Caro keeps it businesslike, even when there’s nobody around to know the difference, and for good reason:

It’s very easy to fool yourself that you’re working, you know, when you’re really not working very hard. I mean, I’m very lazy. So for me, I would always have an excuse, you know, to go – quit early, go to a museum, you know. So I do everything I can to make myself remember this is a job. I keep a schedule. People laugh at me for wearing, you know, a coat and tie to work…