There’s no dearth of commentary on the morning schedules people must follow for peak productivity, ranging from getting up at ungodly hours, morning runs, cold baths and meditations, but one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time doesn’t seem to believe in any of it.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has an incredibly relaxed morning schedule, he revealed on the Lex Fridman podcast. “What’s a perfectly productive day in the life of Jeff Bezos? You’re one of the most productive humans in the world,” Fridman asked him.
“Well, first of all, I get up in the morning, and I putter,” Bezos said. Bezos said he spends time whiling around, and doesn’t have a fixed schedule. “I have a coffee. Just like I slowly move around, I’m not as productive as you might think I am, because I do believe in wandering. And I read my phone for a while. I read newspapers for a while with (partner) Laura. And I drink my first coffee. So I kind of. I moved pretty slowly in the first couple of hours,” Bezos said.
This is in stark contrast to what many productivity preachers seem to favour. Online, there are posts promoting extremely rigourous morning schedules. Activities for these include intense workouts, meditating, journalling, eating and drinking specific foods, and even cold showers and saunas. But it appears that one of the most successful people seems to like to keep things as simple — and normal — as possible when he wakes up.