There's a lot to be said for creative habit. Spending a few minutes on a side project each day—as long as it's done religiously—can add up to more output at the end of a year than the occasional all-nighter.

Here, four offbeat efforts shed light on the details of day-to-day life. From food, happiness and transportation to aging, they're proof that you can produce something powerful with only a few minutes a day.

TRAVIS RUSE: express train
www.travisruse.com
Like many registered Democrats, Travis Ruse found himself completely frustrated after the last presidential election. But rather than spend four years stewing about the news headlines, he decided to put down the paper and start taking a closer look at the world around him. It didn't take long for the Inc. magazine photo editor to settle on a more defined goal: He launched a photoblog and decided to document his daily commute between Park Slope, Brooklyn, and midtown Manhattan.

The project started in November 2004, and Ruse has been taking pictures five days a week ever since. "I felt like I could use this photoblog to reach out to people across the world." he says. "There are the people in New York City. We're working-class people, and we look just like everyone else." It's an effort to forge connections and paint a clearer picture of average New Yorkers—who Ruse says often feel like targets. He posts an image each weekday, capturing people of every age and ethnicity through engaging compositions.

Before this effort, Ruse, a former freelance photographer, had largely given up on shooting. Now technology allows him to squeeze these personal images into the snippets of time left between work and fatherhood. There's none of the expense involved with film photography, and the web lets him access an audience without beating on the doors of galleries or book publishers. He simply makes the pictures he wants and shares them with the folks who stop by his site—typically 4,000 a day.

Much of the project's strength lies with breadth and repetition. While many of the images are quite stunning, Ruse isn't trying to rival iconic subway photography. He's simply creating a visual journal of one commuter's personal experience. "I have my camera with me every day," he says. "Sometimes I say, 'I don't feel like taking a picture.' As an artist, it's a challenge. How can I make this picture different? How can I tell a story? If you stick with a subject, hopefully you'll get past the obvious pictures."