Am I the only person that’s kind of obsessed with morning routines? I love ’em. I can’t remember the exact moment that I first decided to implement a structured routine into my morning, but I do know that I can’t imagine life without it now. It makes me feel calm, focused, and more productive. In fact, it has the power to completely alter the course of my day.
I’m also weirdly fascinated with other people’s morning routines. After plenty of online stalking, I realised that a number of the people who I’d consider successful all stuck to a particular regimen. Not only that but they tended to do the exact same things. They were early risers and favoured some kind of exercise at the start of their day i.e. they did things that most people would rather avoid. It made sense to me. Successful people exhibited the kind of rare discipline in their morning routines that presumably helped them in their professional lives. Scientists suggest that self-discipline is kind of like a muscle – the more we use it, the stronger it gets. So sticking to a structured morning routine could actually help us to be more disciplined and successful elsewhere.
So without further adieu, here are the morning routines from 5 successful individuals, to inspire you in creating your own and (maybe?) improving the rest of your life along the way?
Gary Vee, CEO of Vayner Media
Gary Vee wakes up at 6:00am every morning and checks news outlets, twitter, and Instagram in the bathroom as soon as he wakes up. He then works out for 45 minutes – an hour with a personal trainer before leaving for work. Whilst driving he calls a family member for a catch-up, and then calls his business partner to review their strategy for the day. Vaynerchuck’s routine involves lots of multi-tasking to get as much done as possible, as he believes ‘you have to use every second you get in a day’.
Emily Weiss, Founder & CEO of Glossier
Weiss’ morning routine is surprisingly simple. She starts every morning at 7:00am with ten minutes of meditation before drinking some hot lemon water, whilst reviewing user generated content on Instagram using the hashtag #glossier. She then showers and gets ready (using Glossier products, of course). After hopping in an Uber to work and arriving at Glossier HQ, she says she cuts out the New York Post’s daily horoscope section and tapes it to the wall in the lift.
Anna Wintour, Vogue Editor in Chief
Wintour also keeps things simple, typically starting her day between 4:00am and 5:30am by reading both the British and American newspapers. She follows this by playing tennis and having breakfast, which she says consists mainly of Starbucks, before arriving at work between 8:00am and 8:30am for meetings.
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Gwyneth Paltrow, Actress & Founder of Goop
Paltrow starts each day with coffee and a smoothie filled with vanilla mushroom protein powder, moon juice dust, and ashwagandha (don’t we all?). She says that this usually fills her up, so she often won’t have breakfast but if she does it’ll be eggs with salmon or avocado. Paltrow then reportedly exercises for 2 hours, often using her beloved Tracey Anderson Method. She then dry brushes her body before getting read for the day.
Jennifer Aniston, Actress
Aniston wakes up at a shocking 4:30am! She then drinks some hot lemon water before washing her face and doing 20 minutes of meditation. Each day she uses the same transcendental meditation mantra. She then eats a high protein breakfast, consisting of either eggs from her own hens or a protein shake. This is followed by 30 minutes of spin and 40 minutes of yoga with her personal trainer, before going to the gym and doing some strength training or some sprints on the treadmill!
