As a 20-something CEO I am always looking for ways to organize and improve the use of my time so I am able to get to the things that are important to me such as family-time, work, fun physical activities, to just unplugging and having my coffee. Although I will always wish there were more hours in a day, I have found that the most important tip to being successful is just plain waking up early.
The daily routines of the world’s most successful people reflect that as well, from fashion designers like Diane von Furstenberg to successful entrepreneurs like Warren Buffet. While their morning routines alone are enough to spike our interest, their wake-up times are sometimes especially shocking. The
Business Insider chronicled the wake-up times of over 20 successful people, from Michelle Obama to Martha Stewart. Organized by time frame, here’s when the world’s most successful business leaders choose to start their day:
Between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.: Apple CEO Tim Cook, NextDesk director Dan Lee, Twitter CEO Dan Dorsey, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, Ellevest CEO Sallie Krawcheck.
Between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m.: Former First Lady Michelle Obama, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong, Disney CEO Bob Iger, Virgin America CEO David Cush, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.
Between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m.: Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Martha Stewart and Project Runway co-host Tim Gunn.
Most of these entrepreneurs start their day by either working out, checking email, meditating, reading, drinking coffee, or a combination of the five activities. I personally love to do a quick yoga sequence, have my coffee and read before I check my email and leave for work. Others, like Disney CEO Bob Iger, prefer to use that unstructured time to think in peace. Regardless of how they spend those early morning hours, these people clearly seem to live by the motto, “the early bird gets the worm.”
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