The Morning Routine of 12 Successful People
In a previous blog post, I shared with you the 7 top habits that successful people all have in common. 80% of those habits are performed during the morning time, so we could easily say that all highly successful people follow a morning routine.
There are always many conflicts when it comes down to morning routines: some idolize it, while others cannot function properly before noon.
Whether you stand at the edge of these two scenarios, or you’re somewhere in the middle, I believe that: you do you. You do what works best for you.
Some might think having a proper morning routine is what made these people successful, while others might only suggest that their morning routines helped them on the way to success. And others might believe that there’s no link between the two.
Still, I thought it would have been interesting to share the morning routine of the most highly successful people – since it looks like they all follow one…
Today, I want to share with you the morning routine of 12 of the most successful people in the world. I divided them into 3 categories:
- Entrepreneurs
- Hosts
- Authors
Are you ready? Then, let’s get started!
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ENTREPRENEURS
Arianna Huffington (Co-founder of The Huffington Post & CEO of Thrive Global)
The first thing Arianna does is something I love: she doesn’t wake up with an alarm clock. (And no, that doesn’t mean that she sleeps in until lunchtime!)
She wakes up around 7 AM, after getting 8 hours of rest.
Another great rule of hers – that we should all follow, yet it’s so hard to stick to – is not using the phone first thing as she opens her eyes.
She likes to wake up gently: she either meditates or, in rare cases, writes down her dreams.
The following is one habit of hers that I don’t approve of. In an interview, she declared she usually skips breakfast. Or – actually – her breakfast consists of drinking a “bulletproof coffee”, made of coffee with organic butter.
In my opinion, it means starting the day without giving your body the proper energy to make it through. It’s like starting a car ride on an empty tank.
So yeah, my take on this is that I wouldn’t advise you to skip your breakfast but – as I said before – it’s her morning, so her rules. The same goes for you.
Some days, Arianna exercises for 30 minutes – riding her stationary bike – while also checking on her emails.
She finishes her workout routine with 5-10 minutes of yoga stretches to cool down.
PERSONAL NOTE
I have a love-hate relationship with Arianna’s routine.
I think that there are some good habits that you should adopt – such as not scrolling through your phone first thing in the morning, or getting a proper amount of sleep and exercise.
On the contrary, her morning eating habits are not in line with my lifestyle and eating habits. I believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and – not to mention – it is also my favorite meal of the day!
Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft)
Satya usually wakes up at 7 AM, making sure he has at least 8 hours of good sleep.
Surprisingly, the busy CEO doesn’t start working as soon as he opens his eyes. The first thing he does is a little bit of personal reflection.
He admitted that a good habit – that he had learned from Michael Gervais – of his is 15 minutes of self-reflection every day. During those 15 minutes, he expresses his gratitude and feels thankful for his blessings.
Not surprisingly, the next thing he does is exercise: that gives him an extra boost of energy to face the busy day ahead.
It is about a 30-minute workout and, usually, it’s just running.
Then, around 8 AM, he has some breakfast and a cup of coffee before he heads to work.
PERSONAL NOTE
I love Satya’s routine! It’s simple but effective.
First thing in the morning he makes sure to spend time on his non-negotiables: mindfulness and fitness. He trains first the mind, then the body.
I would recommend this type of routine to those who don’t have a lot of time in the morning and want to keep things simple – still getting all the benefits.
If you have even less than 1 hour, you could opt for doing self-reflection for about 5-10 minutes and exercising for 15-20.
Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon)
“I go to bed early; I get up early”. This summarises Jeff’s philosophy.
After waking up, Bezos enjoys a “slow morning”: he brews some coffee, reads the latest news, and makes breakfast for his kids.
Shocking fact: he doesn’t start working until 10 AM, which is when he finally drives to Amazon HQ.
PERSONAL NOTE
What’s my take on this morning routine? I love it! You can easily tell that these are all activities that Jeff loves doing.
He doesn’t force himself into doing anything, he simply enjoys a slow and intentional morning.
I think there’s no better way to start the day than being present and doing what you love.
So far, we’ve seen that some of the successful entrepreneurs do wake up early in the morning; but, as strange as it sounds, none of them uses it to work.
They wake up early to have more time for themselves, to spend it with their loved ones, or to do what they like. So, if you feel like you never have time for yourself…this might be your solution! (Just sayin’)
HOSTS
Tony Robbins
The alarm rings anywhere from 7 to 9 AM for Robbins.
The first thing he does after rolling out of bed is drinking his “adrenal-support cocktail”: a shake of vitamin C, green powers, and antioxidants that give him the right energy to start his day.
Now on to the good stuff: Robbins states he meditates for about 10 minutes. His meditation practice is far different from simply sitting down while closing his eyes. In fact, it looks more like this:
- 1 minute of breathing exercises
- 3 minutes of gratitude
- 3 minutes of body visualization
- 3 minutes of success visualization
Then, he workouts for only 15 minutes a day – but it’s a high-intensity workout in which he really tries to go beyond his limits. After his workout, he proceeds to shock his body with a sauna alternated by a cold plunge.
PERSONAL NOTE
I believe that Tony Robbins is a great source of inspiration for all of us.
He finds balance in his days by training both his mind and his body.
I don’t know about you, but I feel like this morning routine is certainly one of the elements that helps him be one of the most successful hosts in the whole world!
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah claims to wake up at 7.10 AM in the sunny and warm weather of California. She doesn’t jump straight out of bed as some do – but she doesn’t check her phone either (like many do).
She simply stays in bed, doing some self-reflection.
When she decides it’s time, she gets up to take her five dogs out.
Her drink of choice is a mixture of decaffeinated and caffeinated espresso with some milk and a splash of hazelnut creamer.
While she’s waiting for her coffee to be ready, Oprah reads five cards from her “365 Gathered Truths Box” to get some daily inspiration.
Around 8.30 AM, she meditates for about half an hour.
The last step of her morning routine includes working out for about an hour, doing a mixture of low-impact strength exercises, and running.
PERSONAL NOTE
Oprah Winfrey is one of the people that I admire the most.
I love her morning routine because I think it reflects the type of person she is.
So, if you’re looking for a morning routine that’s slow and introspective, you might as well give it a try!
Mel Robbins
Mel wakes up every morning around 6.15 AM and the first thing she does is make her bed.
In that way, within 2 minutes of waking up, she has already accomplished a small achievement for the day.
Next, she puts on her workout clothes – that, of course, she lays down in her bedroom the night before.
After dressing up, she does something peculiar: she turns the simple act of brushing her teeth into a meditative action.
She brushes her teeth using her non-dominant hand – so that she’s forced to pay attention to her hand’s movements – and while brushing she expresses gratitude for the day.
The last thing before leaving the bathroom is giving herself a high 5 through the mirror: what a nice way to get some encouragement for the day ahead!
Finally, she works out at home and has a healthy but nutritious breakfast.
PERSONAL NOTE
What can I say? I love Mel Robbins and I absolutely love her morning routine!
I haven’t mentioned it yet, but she’s known worldwide for the “5-second rule” (that I also mentioned in this blog post “How to Have a Productive Morning Routine”).
Even if she’s one of the most successful people in the world, she likes to keep it real: she’s not afraid to share her morning struggle to get out of bed (some days) on Instagram.
So how does she do it? How does she put herself together every morning?
Well, she uses a technique she created herself. The 5-second rule consists of counting down – either in your head or out loud – 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and then doing the thing you don’t want to do.
That’s her motto: Do the thing you don’t want to do because that’s the only way you’ll grow and change. Love it!
AUTHORS
Elizabeth Gilbert
“Mornings are for stuff I want to do, and the rest of the day is for stuff that I have to do, and that I’m responding to.”
In a recent interview, she mentioned that her morning routine varies a lot depending on whether she’s writing a book or not.
Usually, she’s in the process of actively writing a book every three to four years. In that case, she mentioned that her morning routine is pretty rigid – sort of militaristic style.
She wakes up around 4.30 (and no later than 5) and she writes nonstop until midmorning.
While she acknowledges that it’s a pretty strict routine, she follows religiously to have 4 hours of unbothered writing.
Later in the day, she would follow a more relaxed routine that she typically adopts when she’s not writing any book.
Under these circumstances, her day starts around 6:30 AM, when she gets out of bed and prepares some homemade chai.
It takes a while for it to boil so, in the meantime, she meditates using one of the many meditation apps (spoiler: she confessed that meditation apps are the only thing that worked and made her stick to this daily practice).
After meditating, she would do her morning pages and then dance.
Gilbert dances to one or two songs every morning: that’s her way to get her body energized.
After dancing, she might go running or practice some yoga for half an hour.
She stated that, of course, she uses social media as many of us do: when waiting in line, in the bathroom, or before getting out of bed.
Additionally, she admitted that she should probably cut back the amount of time she spends on it…(but hey, “Errare humanum est”).
PERSONAL NOTE
I love Elizabeth Gilbert and – when I read that she dances in the morning – I love her even more!
Isn’t that such an amazing thing to do?! I mean, both for your body and soul!
I think we should all do crazier things – like having a dance party in your living room…I mean, why not?
James Clear
Here is another author I love: James Clear that, with his “Atomic Habits”, completely changed my life.
James usually wakes up without the need for an alarm – in that way, he can allow his body to get as much rest as it needs.
Right after waking up, he takes a shower, gets dressed, and heads to the kitchen.
He confessed that he doesn’t typically eat breakfast because he follows an intermittent fasting routine, so he would only drink a glass of water.
After, he writes down three things for which he is grateful.
Before reading 20 pages of a book, he would sit down in silence and take some deep breaths for about a minute or two.
He then starts working, making sure that he focuses on the most important task first and leaves energy-draining activities, such as checking emails and meetings, for after lunch.
PERSONAL NOTE
James Clear’s routine is simple but effective. It’s Clear (got the joke?): he doesn’t want to waste a moment in his mornings.
Of course, it is not always as smooth as it seems, but James’ philosophy is:
“If I miss one day, I try to get back on track as quickly as possible. My general rule is: never miss twice.”
Brené Brown
The New York Times bestsellers’ morning starts with an early wake-up time: anywhere between 6.30 and 7 AM.
Brené starts her day with a gratitude practice to feel more joy in her life.
This gratitude practice varies from day to day: sometimes she would repeat mantras to herself, and other times she would state out loud the things she’s grateful for.
A peculiar habit of hers is the practice of reclaiming belonging: if she struggles with someone or something, rather than build a wall between her and the other part, she will approach her resistance with curiosity.
Like James Clear, also Brown follows an intermittent fasting routine.
She just drinks water throughout the morning and has her first meal at 11 a.m.
After eating, she likes exercising whether that’s walking, swimming, or strength training.
PERSONAL NOTE
I like this flexible routine.
Although, I must admit that I’m not a big fan of intermittent fasting.
I have tried it and, for sure, you save some time and mess if you don’t have breakfast in the morning. It can even help you perform better during your workout.
But, for me, it leads to a restrictive mindset that I want to step away from.
You do you, though. Always remember that!
Isn’t it inspiring to get a sneak peek into the morning routine of all these highly successful people? To me, that’s fascinating. They all have different habits but, at the same time, the concept is the same: morning routine is about them, not the outside world. It’s not about being the most productive; it’s about pouring in their own cup.
As you can see, successful people typically start their days with a clear structure and focus on themselves as individuals.
Whether that was the key to their success or not, still remains unclear.
However, I hope that reading the morning routine of 12 of the most successful people has inspired you to start your days in a new, better way.
What does your current morning routine look like? I would love to hear from you in the comments below!
Last but not least, I want to leave you with my all-time favorite quotes about morning routines:
“If you win the morning, you win the day”
– Tim Ferris
Ok love this read!!
I didn’t know Jeff Bezos would be the same type of morning person I am. Except I can’t go to bed early, and I don’t need to drive to Amazon hq. But everything else checks out
Hahaha, love this!
Isn’t it nice to know that even Jeff Bezos is more “chill” than we thought? They’re not superhumans, they’re just like us! 🙂
This is an interesting read. I am continuously revising my morning routine. I especially appreciated hearing about Tony Robins…his name keeps popping up for me recently.
Take it as a sign from the Universe then 🙂
And I feel you: I always make some adjustments to my morning routine – that’s also the fun part of having one 🙂
I wish I could learn to be a morning person. I’m much more a night owl. But I do have a good routine once I am up out of bed. So I guess its something.
Yes, it’s definitely something!
In the post “6 Shocking Productivity Myths that hold you back”, I shared that one of the most common mistakes we make is thinking that only people waking up at 5 AM can be successful.
For sure, waking up earlier gives you more time BUT if it doesn’t work for you – just let it go!
Work longer in the nighttime and be proud of yourself for still having a morning routine (no matter if yours starts at 11 AM)! 🙂
Struggling with better morning routine!!
This reminder will now puch to act on at least one thing.
😍🥂
That’s great to hear!
One small change is all you need 🙂