Success can mean different things to different people. It could be something big, like reaching a career goal, or something small, like making the perfect cup of tea.
But for the world’s most successful people, success often starts with a good morning routine. They follow habits that help them stay focused and productive without depending on endless cups of coffee or hitting the snooze button too many times.
If you want to follow in the footsteps of top CEOs or innovative entrepreneurs, your morning routine matters. After all, it’s hard to achieve big things if you start the day feeling tired and unprepared.
Arianna Huffington, Twitter founder Biz Stone, and Pixar president Ed Catmull are just a few of the successful people featured in the book My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired. In the book, they share the morning habits that help them start their day, like exercising early or meditating.
According to co-author Benjamin Spall, the most common habit among nearly all 300 people interviewed is getting enough sleep.
On average, they sleep for about seven and a half hours, wake up at 6:24 AM, and go to bed around 10:57 PM.
“If you don’t have a good night’s sleep, you’re not going to be able to have much of a morning routine to speak of,” he adds.
Unsurprisingly, successful folk aren’t the type to lounge around in bed upon rising.
“The majority of the people we interviewed get up and at ‘em right away, choosing not to spend any time laying in bed, whether using their phone or not, once they’ve woken up,” Spall told The Independent.
However, there are some differences. People in creative jobs usually start their mornings more slowly than those in business roles, he added.
Interestingly, even though many models and celebrities on Instagram talk about their intense early morning workouts, not everyone in the book follows this routine.
Some people, like US Olympic gold medalist Rebecca Soni and Clif Bar CEO Kevin Cleary, prefer to exercise first thing in the morning. But many others choose to work out later in the day, either in the afternoon or after work, Spall said.
For example, Vanguard chairman Bill McNabb believes exercise is an important part of his routine. However, instead of working out in the morning, he tries to fit in a midday session three or four times a week.
One common reason why some people work out later in the day is that they don’t have young children. Without the responsibility of making breakfast or driving kids to school, they have more flexibility in their schedule.
People who don’t have much time for exercise prefer very short workouts that fit into their daily routine.
“Many of the people we spoke to do simple exercises while going about their morning,” Spall said. “For example, some do yoga while their coffee brews, or star jumps while waiting to use the bathroom.”
You might think that top CEOs start their day by checking emails right away, but that’s not always true. Many prefer to begin with other habits, like meditation, before getting to work.
This is especially common among writers, Spall added.
“Meditation is easy to include in your morning because it doesn’t take much time,” he said. “I meditate for just ten minutes every morning, and it helps me a lot.”
Even though Arianna Huffington spoke against using alarms in her interview, most people still prefer to wake up with one. However, very few people use the snooze button.
“Snoozing your alarm can make you feel worse when you finally wake up. Instead of hitting snooze, count how many times you usually do it and set your alarm for the right time instead.”
However, there is a difference. People in creative jobs usually start their mornings more slowly than those in business jobs, he added.
Interestingly, even though many models and celebrities on Instagram talk about their tough early morning workouts, not everyone in the book follows this routine.
