Many top CEOs in Silicon Valley have different morning routines. For example, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has a rule of no touching his phone before breakfast.
His fiancée, 54-year-old Lauren Sánchez, revealed in an interview with People magazine published on Thursday, September 5th, that every morning, she makes two cups of coffee and enjoys a “magical moment” together with Bezos.
“At that time, the kids are still asleep. We don’t make phone calls. It’s one of the rules,” Sánchez said.
Sánchez, a former news anchor, mentioned that this rule set by Bezos has been very beneficial to her.
During a speech at the Washington Economic Club in 2018, Bezos mentioned that in the morning he reads the newspaper, drinks coffee, and has breakfast with his children. He referred to this time as his “stroll time” to relax his mind and added that this routine increases his energy and improves his decision-making ability.
During an appearance on the Lex Fridman podcast in December, Bezos defined his “strolling” as moving slowly. “I’m not as efficient as you might imagine,” he chuckled.
“In the first few hours of the morning, my movements are quite slow. I wake up naturally and very early. Most days I also work out,” he said.
It is said that Bezos usually takes on dishwashing after breakfast. He goes to the gym for aerobic exercise and weightlifting.
CNBC reported that Bezos also encourages his employees to relax their minds in the office to foster creativity without limits.
However, Bezos tries to stay away from his phone in the morning, while Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg does the opposite.
“The first thing I do is check my phone. I check Facebook to see what’s happening in the world,” Zuckerberg said during a Facebook Q&A in 2016.
“To be honest, it’s not a good habit,” he added.
Zuckerberg’s morning routine often includes Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA training, followed by wearing the same style of clothing to avoid the hassle of outfit decisions.
“Never waste precious time on trivial matters,” that’s Zuckerberg’s way of doing things. Rather than spending brainpower on deciding what to do in the morning, it’s better to think about how to improve work.
Apple CEO Tim Cook usually rises even before the sun, waking up between 4 to 5 a.m. every morning.
In November 2023, he revealed on Dua Lipa’s podcast that he spends the first hour after waking replying to emails, then takes a shower, grabs a cup of coffee, and maybe has a light breakfast.
Similarly, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel also rises at 4:45 a.m.
An interview published by Entrepreneurship Handbook in 2018 mentioned that because Spiegel wakes up early, he can freely allocate any activities he wants to do between 5 to 7 a.m.
Biologist Christoph Randler, during an interview with Harvard Business Review in 2010, stated from his research on college students that “Early risers anticipate problems and try to minimize them. They’re proactive. Several studies have linked this trait of character, scheduling efficiency, better job performance, greater professional success, and higher wages.”
Not all CEOs wake up at dawn, though. In February 2023, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk told The Wall Street Journal that he often works late at night and usually wakes up around 9 a.m.
Musk once replied to a post on SpaceX saying, “I have a donut every morning. Still alive.” It’s uncertain whether the billionaire was serious or joking.
If given the choice between “work” and “eating,” he said he would choose “work”; but if given the choice between “eating” and “exercising,” he would choose “eating.” He hopes to find a way to enjoy good food, skip exercise, and still maintain a good physique.
He dislikes running, doesn’t use a treadmill, and isn’t a fan of gym workouts. However, he enjoys practicing taekwondo, karate, or judo in his spare time.
“I have to work out, get stronger,” and even shared his fitness plan humorously, “I plan to wake up early and immediately exercise for at least 20 minutes when I see my phone display,” he quipped on X.
“To be honest, if I could, I wouldn’t do any exercise,” Musk revealed during a podcast in 2020.