Sherlock Holmes’ Remarkable Modern-Day Routine
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Sherlock Holmes: The Most Portrayed Character in Film & TV History 

Why is Sherlock Holmes so loved by audiences around the world?

Is it his quirky daily habits?

The fact he solves complex mysteries on a daily basis?

Or is it his relentless pursuit of truth and justice that has made him appealing to audiences since being introduced by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887?

But what else have we learned about Sherlock over the years?

Here’s a quick rundown.

Sherlock Holmes’ Morning Routine

It is hard to pin down a morning routine for Sherlock Holmes because his routine revolves around solving crimes.

Maybe he doesn’t sleep for days because he is on the scent.

Maybe he sleeps for days because he has no intellectually stimulating cases.

But if he does sleep then this is what a “normal” day might look like for Holmes.

Wake Up

• Check health stats. Modern-day Sherlock wears a Fit Bit Sense 2 or Apple Watch and meticulously tracks his stats to see any variance or room for improvement. He may take some notes in his reMarkable tablet journal on how his sleep went or any ideas that came to him in his dreams.

reMarkable Journal → Fitbit Sense 2 →

• Reflect on existence. Although Sherlock wasn’t a Stoic philosopher, his character aligns with much of the Stoic principles. As such, he spends a few minutes each morning reflecting on existence. He likes to focus on facts over feelings.

Cold Plunge, Chess & News

• Sharpen his mind. Sherlock does anything he can to sharpen his mind. Instead of cocaine, modern day Holmes uses a daily cold plunge to get similar benefits: improved recovery from fights, boosted immune system from lack of sleep or nutrition and enhanced mental toughness/resilience.

Cold Plunge Tub →

• Chess puzzles. Holmes frequents Chess.com where his ELO rating is that of strong chess master: 2,340. He loves the chess puzzles but finds it hard to become obsessed with competitive play.

Chess.com →

• Local and international news. Holmes has a quick look at his iPhone news apps and local news Facebook feed to see what has happened in the last 24 hours.

iPhone →

Case Review, Tea, Get Dressed

• Skims latest files. In a modern world Holmes’ would receive all the latest case details in email format. He has mastered technology and automatically filters his emails into precise folders to save time and energy.
• Tea and light breakfast. Sherlock would use a modern smart kettle to get the temperature precisely how he likes it. With his morning tea he likes a single piece of toast with butter and marmalade, a single poached egg and a single slice of cold cut ham. This is likely the only thing he will eat until dinner with Watson.

Breville Kettle →

• Puts suit on. Although Holmes works mainly from home he dresses to a professional standard daily. He prefers the Brooks Brothers brand for their classic designs. He complements his attire with Allbirds casual practical shoes since he’s on his feet a lot.

Allbirds Shoes → Brooks Brothers Clothes →

Deep Casework

• 2-hours of focused work. This is Sherlock’s time to make a dent in his toughest case of the moment. He uses his Macbook Air to assist in his research and deductive reasoning around the case facts. He uses GoogleEarth to examine crime scene locations. He uses YouTube and public forums to gain information and clues.

MacBook Air →  GoogleEarth →

• Note taking. Although Sherlock Holmes has a sharp mind and great memory he has no issues using his iPhone voice recording app to document the most pertinent case information.

Sherlock Holmes’ Daytime Routine

Walk Through London

• Boost mental well-being. Sherlock knows the benefits of walking and spends over an hour walking everyday. He likes to take different routes visiting many parks and streets of London over his daily walks.
• Enhance creativity. Many of his best ideas and “lightbulb moments” come to him while walking with his Air Pod Pros in blocking the city noise.

Air Pods Pro →

Skips Lunch, Meets With Clients, More Casework

• Has tea with prospective clients. Sherlock meets with prospective clients. He drinks tea and may have an apple or other fruit. He is highly selective of the cases he takes. He is quick to turn down clients if he is not interested. However, if one peaks his interest the meeting can last hours as he quizzes his queries.

Breville Kettle →

• Meditates in-between meetings and calls. Modern-day Sherlock Holmes talks to clients not just in person but also on video calling software if they live overseas. He uses his MacBook Air and Air Pods to make the calls. If a meeting ends early he will playing violin to free up his mind or he will practice traditional meditation techniques to free up his creativity.

MacBook Air → Air Pods Pro → Yamaha Violin →

• Returns to earlier thoughts on cases. Some days the meetings end early and Holmes returns to earlier case work to make progress.

Violin & Breathing Exercises To Gain Clarity on Casework

• Mental relaxation. During this time slot Sherlock gets to solving cases within his mind. He plays the violin, thinks about chess problems and as he relaxes his mind, his mind begins to untangle his case mysteries.

Air Pods Pro → Yamaha Violin →

• Creative thinking. Some of Sherlock’s best thinking comes as he glides the bow across the strings. It allows him to enter a space of direct focus where his subconscious works through the problems of his cases. He often arrives at solutions quickly after starting to play.
• Deductive reasoning. Sherlock also does deep breathing exercises to bring his mind into a different state for deep deductive reasoning sessions.

Sherlock Holmes’ Evening Routine

Dines With Watson, Much Chat About Investigations

• Sherlock and Watson dine each evening from 7 – 9 pm discussing everything. Sherlock loves to bounce ideas off Watson as it helps him come to conclusions. Watson may ask Sherlock questions not related to investigations, but Holmes will steer the conversation back to cases.

Review of Day, Debunks Theories on Reddit and YouTube

• After dinner and a drink, modern day Sherlock Holmes may turn to the absurdity of reddit and youtube to quench his thirst for problem solving. He may debunk the topic in the comments or create his own threads on different theories or observations he has. Needless to say, this is fun for Sherlock as he unwinds for the evening.

Journals, Completes Case Documents

• Sherlock logs in to his case document software and completes official documents on record. He also uses this time to use his reMarkable tablet journal. He journal for various reasons including mapping out his thoughts and gaining insights on his deductive reasonsing.

reMarkable Journal →

More Violin and Meditation While Deep in Thought About Cases He Hasn’t Solved

• Sherlock spends a great portion of his day within his own mind working through crime scenes, motives, suspects and more. Even when he his walking the streets of London he is letting his mind wonder to the crime scenes and through the evidence.  There is very little time in the day when he is not directly or indirectly solving cases.

Bedtime Routine

• Brush teeth. Sherlock uses an electric toothbrush because they are more efficient. “Why waste time,” he says. His dentist recommended the Oral-B Pro and to brush for exactly 90 seconds without rinsing his mouth afterwards.

Oral-B Pro Toothbrush →

• Quick shower. Sherlock has a quick shower before bed because he understands going to bed clean means the sheets don’t need to washed as often. And that means less time wasted on washing.
• Noise cancelling ear buds. Holmes is all about efficiency and relaxation so he uses noise cancelling sleep buds to ensure his sleep is the best possible.

Sleepbuds →