Morning Routines of Successful People…….Okay, real question: are you a morning person?
Because I’m not. At least… not naturally. If left to my own devices, I’d roll out of bed at 10 a.m., make a questionable cup of coffee (usually forgetting to rinse yesterday’s mug, don’t judge), and scroll my phone until noon pretending it’s “research.”
But here’s the kicker: every single time I read about highly successful people—like the kind of people who build billion-dollar companies before breakfast—they all seem to have these magical morning routines. And I’m sitting here like, “Cool, Jeff Bezos, but I live in Queens and I’m just trying not to spill coffee on the F train.”
Still, I got curious. So I started looking into morning routines of highly successful people—not to copy them exactly (because honestly, some of them are ridiculous), but to figure out what normal humans like us could actually learn from them.
The Myth of the Perfect Morning
Let me just say this up front: I do not believe there is a “perfect morning routine.”
Like, some guru will tell you to wake up at 4:30 a.m., run ten miles, meditate in a salt cave, and then drink some kale-infused mushroom tea. Meanwhile, I’m proud of myself if I don’t snooze my alarm three times.
So yeah. If you’re looking for that “one magical secret,” you’re not gonna find it here. But what you will find are some quirky, surprisingly helpful things successful people actually do in the morning—and how you can steal the good parts without going full cult leader vibes.
Strategy #1: Wake Up Early (But Not Too Early)
Alright, let’s talk about the obvious one.
Tim Cook (Apple CEO) wakes up at 3:45 a.m. Three. Forty-five. In the morning. I don’t even know what’s open at that time besides diners and bad decisions.
But then you’ve got Oprah, who wakes up around 7. Still early, but not “crime-drama TV rerun” early.
So what’s the takeaway? You don’t have to torture yourself with 4 a.m. alarms. The real point is: wake up before the world starts yelling at you. Before the emails, the Slack pings, the kids needing pancakes. Even if it’s just 30 minutes.
(For me, it’s 6:45. Not glamorous, but it works. I get a little quiet before Queens traffic starts honking outside my window.)
Strategy #2: Move Your Body (Even a Little)
Richard Branson swears by early workouts. Like, dude literally goes kite surfing before breakfast sometimes. (Meanwhile I trip over my sneakers trying to find them.)
But I noticed something—almost every “successful” person does some kind of movement in the morning. Could be yoga, could be walking the dog, could be dancing around the kitchen like a weirdo.
I started doing 10 push-ups while my coffee brews. That’s it. Sometimes I do them badly and my cat judges me. But still—it’s enough to shake off the zombie mode.
Strategy #3: No Phone First Thing (…Good Luck)
This is the one that hurts.
A bunch of CEOs say they don’t check their phone for at least an hour after waking up. Which sounds amazing. Peaceful. Zen. But also… unrealistic?
Like, the first thing I usually do is grab my phone and squint at it like a mole-person. Then I scroll Twitter, see some doom headlines, and boom—stress before coffee.
So I tried leaving my phone in the kitchen overnight. And wow. Game changer. Instead of doomscrolling, I actually noticed the morning light. And my brain wasn’t fried eggs by 9 a.m.
Highly recommend, even if you only last 20 minutes before checking TikTok.
Strategy #4: Mind Food Before Actual Food
This one’s from people like Barack Obama, who reads briefing papers first thing, or Warren Buffett, who spends hours reading in the morning.
The idea is: feed your brain something intentional before you feed it bagels.
I started swapping my usual phone scroll for a chapter of a book (okay, sometimes it’s a podcast, let’s be real). And suddenly I’m starting the day with new ideas instead of “random stranger’s cat video.”
Strategy #5: Breakfast Matters (But Not How You Think)
Okay, so there are two camps here:
- Team Breakfast Like a King: Oprah, LeBron James—big, hearty breakfasts with eggs, fruit, the works.
- Team Coffee Only: Jack Dorsey (Twitter guy), who sometimes just does coffee and fasting.
I land somewhere in the middle. I can’t function without at least a bagel (Queens, duh), but I don’t need a five-course feast.
Lesson here: breakfast isn’t one-size-fits-all. What matters is how it makes you feel. If oatmeal makes you feel like a productivity wizard, go for it. If just coffee keeps you sharp, also fine. Just maybe don’t do stale cereal three days in a row like me last winter.
Strategy #6: Write Stuff Down
Journaling. Gratitude lists. To-do notes. You’ve heard it before, but listen—there’s something to it.
Michelle Obama journals in the morning. So does Tim Ferriss. And okay, I know journaling sounds like “dear diary, today I felt feelings,” but it doesn’t have to be like that.
Sometimes I just jot: “Don’t forget rent. Call dentist. Blog idea about subway pigeons.” Not poetic, but it clears my brain.
Strategy #7: A Moment of Stillness
Meditation, prayer, staring at the ceiling—call it what you want.
Arianna Huffington swears by meditation. Jeff Weiner (LinkedIn CEO) literally schedules nothing for part of his morning. Just quiet.
When I tried it, I lasted maybe 3 minutes before my brain screamed, “Did you leave the stove on?” But honestly, even 3 minutes of breathing quietly before chaos begins? Worth it.
My Queens-Style Morning Routine (Not Fancy, But Real)
So after stalking all these successful people and trying to copy-paste their lives (spoiler: didn’t work), I built my own. Here’s what it looks like now:
- Wake up at 6:45 (not 3:45, sorry Tim Cook).
- Splash water on my face like I’m in a bad skincare commercial.
- Do 10 push-ups while coffee brews.
- Journal one page of messy, chicken-scratch thoughts.
- Breakfast = bagel, always.
- Read something smarter than Instagram captions.
- Sit for 5 minutes pretending to meditate (sometimes just daydreaming about pizza).
That’s it. Not glamorous, but it gets me moving without burning me out.
What You Can Actually Learn about Morning Routines of Successful People
- Don’t copy, remix. Borrow pieces of routines that feel good. Leave the rest.
- Consistency beats fancy. Ten push-ups every day > a half marathon once a year.
- Morning is about setting your tone. Not your boss’s, not Twitter’s. Yours.
And honestly? That’s the real secret: successful people don’t have “perfect” mornings. They just have mornings that work for them.
.){kind=link}