- CEOs are well known for having extreme sleep schedules. You can take this even further by waking up at 3:30am.
- Stress management methods range from intense training to long hours of meditation.
- “That’s what makes me a superhuman,” the CEO said of his morning routine.
Managing a company is a stressful job. Especially if you’re running one of the world’s largest companies.
That high stress can lead to intense and unconventional daily habits. Here are some of the CEO’s most unusual routines.
1. Wake up time Start your 90 minute workout at 3:30am
CEOs are known for being early risers. Tim Cook and Richard Branson both wake up around 5am.
But Josh York, 40, CEO of home personal training company GymGuys, takes it a step further, telling Fortune that his mornings start at 3:29 a.m.
After a cold shower, I begin my 1.5-hour workout, followed by a 3-minute ice bath.
“That’s what makes me a superhuman,” he told the outlet.
2. Bob Iger prefers to train in a dark room with the TV on mute
Disney’s CEO trains in a dark room first thing in the morning, he said in a masterclass on “Using Time Effectively.”
He leaves the TV on silently while training so he can watch it with music of his choice in the background.
“In many ways, this is my most creative time,” Iger said.
3. 1 teaspoon Start your day with Icelandic cod liver oil washed down with black coffee
Michael Berner, CEO of email software company Edison Software, starts his day with cod liver oil, a source of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, and vitamin D.
It is intended to have benefits such as promoting heart health and benefiting cells. Experts warn against consuming more than 1 tablespoon of vitamin A daily to avoid overdosing.
4. Or if you’re Elon Musk, your morning routine includes eating donuts
Tesla CEO Elon Musk starts his day with something sweet.
A post on X declared sugar to be poison. Mr Musk replied: “I eat donuts every morning. I’m still alive.”
5. Mark Zuckerberg’s diet requires him to eat 4,000 calories a day
Mehta previously told Threads that he consumes about 4,000 calories to supplement his intensive training in MMA and Jiu-Jitsu.
Another diet popular among successful CEOs is intermittent fasting, or eating only within specific time frames.
6. Take a nap at the office
Robin Zeng, known as China’s “Battery King” as the CEO of CATL, the world’s largest EV battery manufacturing company, revealed in an interview with FT that he takes a nap in his office every day at noon. Became.
Some experts recommend short naps of 20 to 30 minutes to improve concentration and fight fatigue.
7. Meditate for 2 hours a day
Jack Dorsey, who runs financial services company Block, adhered to a strict health schedule that called him “just staying above water” when he was also CEO of Twitter. Every day, I walked five miles, meditated for two hours, and ate only one meal.
Dorsey is a strong supporter of mediation. On his birthday in 2018, he attended his 10-day silent Vipassana meditation retreat. He meditated for nearly 17 hours every day
“It’s extremely painful, physically and mentally demanding work,” he said in a Twitter thread at the time.
8. “Eye-opening” meditation
Another meditation fan is Gwyneth Paltrow, CEO of wellness brand Goop.
She advocates “eye-opening” meditation, which brings awareness to every moment of daily life.
“Learning how to do eye-opening meditation, which you can incorporate literally at any time, allows you to stay deeply connected to yourself while still engaging with the world,” she previously told Business Insider. “I rely on it to feel more fulfilled.”
9. Massage just before midnight
If reading a book or meditating isn’t enough to relax you, Stephen Barrett, the former CEO and founder of the CEO Diary podcast, recommends an 11 p.m. massage.
“I often get massages in the evening. It may sound crazy, but my masseuse usually comes in at 11pm,” he told the Telegraph.
10. In an even more unusual habit among CEOs, Tobias Lutke says he never works after 5:30 p.m.
While some CEOs brag about working long hours at the office and spending their nights sleeping on the office floor, Shopify CEO Tobias Lutke has previously said that he doesn’t work after 5:30 p.m. He said he would never do it.
“The only time I worked more than 40 hours a week was when I had a burning desire to do so. I need about 8 hours of sleep a night,” he said in a Twitter thread (currently X ).
