I’m no Tim Cook (I thought I’d clarify to avoid any confusion ), but I have followed a similar strict routine most of my life. I’m up at 4:30 most mornings. I eat the same cereal each morning (Grape-Nuts with almond milk, banana, and sometimes I’ll add walnuts). And, my treadmill workout is in the morning before heading to the office. My wife and I have also developed a new routine after dinner. Instead of immediately turning on the TV (always tempting after a long day at work), we have classical chill (yes, there is such a thing) playing in the background while we spend time reading good books. Then, we’ll watch a game or show on TV.
I should hastily add that keeping up a routine as described above is easier as an empty nester. When the kids were around, I would do my runs after work and my reading/writing after the kids were in bed. There are blessings to being an empty nester.
I find that following these routines helps me to be less stressed and get more done overall. I hope and believe it is also healthy. I recommend it.
This blurb made me laugh… mainly because they are desrbing how millions of white collar workers have done this for decades, many without the ability to do the school thing.
Indeed, Cook is not alone in his proclivity for spending each day the same way. Brian Niccol, former CEO of Chipotle and current CEO of Starbucks, told Fortune that he often wakes up around 5:45 in the morning, has a cup of coffee and a cookie, works out around 7 a.m., has a shake or eggs and sausage, and then usually drives his daughter to school before getting into the office around 8:30 or nine in the morning.
Most of these pieces work backwards, to try to find a reason for success. I also wake up early to go to gym at 5:30AM and keep a pretty strict routine. Mostly because it’s human nature?
I wake up at 8am and my body does not like mornings, my workout routine is pretty consistent but at different times most days, and our dinner hours is at a different time every day to accommodate our schedules, so that’s it for me. Probably time to pack it up and get a job at Wendy’s.
I am envious of your discipline. We talk about it but we have not developed the early morning wake up habit. We own a small business that is very stressful as most are, and we tend not to get up until 6:30-7am most mornings. Then we fall pray to the “just turn on the TV” and lose any chance at good reading time. Over the holidays my wife suggested we watch enrichment YouTube or podcasts while we eat. So far every time we have sat down to eat this year and I have asked what she wanted to watch, it is back to news or a show. She doesn’t have the “energy” to be enriched. LOL! (Neither do I in all honesty.)
Whenever you look at someone’s discipline, one must always remember their particular context. Married, children, age, single, assistants, single proprietor, startup, non-startup, etc. All these affect one’s discipline.
), but I have followed a similar strict routine most of my life. I’m up at 4:30 most mornings. I eat the same cereal each morning (Grape-Nuts with almond milk, banana, and sometimes I’ll add walnuts). And, my treadmill workout is in the morning before heading to the office. My wife and I have also developed a new routine after dinner. Instead of immediately turning on the TV (always tempting after a long day at work), we have classical chill (yes, there is such a thing) playing in the background while we spend time reading good books. Then, we’ll watch a game or show on TV.
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