Try to imitate Tim Cook's 'machine-like' work schedule

Apple CEO Tim Cook is notoriously private about his personal life. However, through many interviews and revelations, we can understand some of the habits and disciplines that help him succeed. First of all, those are the habits for a productive morning.

“I wake up really early, I’m an early bird,” Cook shared in an episode of the podcast “Dua Lipa: At Your Service” that aired last November, adding that he typically wakes up between 4 and 5 a.m.

“ I can control the morning better than the evening and the rest of the day. Things happen (unexpectedly) during the day that throw you off track,” he told The Australian Financial Review in 2021.

Apple CEO has a habit of waking up early, exercising, and drinking coffee. (Photo: Getty)

The first thing the billionaire does when he wakes up is spend an hour reading emails from customers and employees. This way, he can always pay attention to the voice of the community. In a day, the CEO receives 700-800 emails and he reads most of them, he revealed in 2014.

Before heading to the office, the Apple CEO hits the gym a few days a week. “I spend an hour in the gym, usually strength training,” he told Dua Lipa. “I don’t do anything else during that time, I never check my phone, I’m just completely focused on working out.”

After working out and showering, Cook goes to get coffee. A 2012 Time article reported that he would continue reading emails at the coffee shop.

It's unclear whether Cook regularly eats breakfast, but he revealed his preference for scrambled egg whites, unsweetened cereal, unsweetened almond milk, and bacon in a 2017 interview with New York Times journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin.

Experience the above schedule in 1 week

Interested in the busy morning schedule of the 64-year-old CEO, Mykenna Maniece - a 22-year-old reporter in New York for Insider decided to challenge herself with a series of 7 days of "experiencing" the feeling of waking up early and working hard.

She said she usually goes to bed between 11:30 pm and midnight and wakes up at 7:30 am, but decided to go to bed early at 10:30 pm to wake up at 4:45 am on the first day of this challenge.

Waking up for the first time at that time, she said it was a real challenge because there is probably nothing that can motivate someone to get up at 4am except for travel . Since she does not have a full inbox like Cook, she checks emails and chat apps before (unfortunately) falling asleep.

Waking up again at 6:20, she went to the living room to do pilates on YouTube for 30 minutes. This effort was a little more successful as she said she felt quite excited to start the day, even considering exercising more regularly. After the exercise, she watched the sunrise, took a shower, changed clothes but subjectively thought she had plenty of time, so she ended up rushing to work and skipping breakfast to make it on time.

Waking up to watch the sunrise is a new experience for a Gen Z who is not used to waking up early. (Photo: Insider)

Although tired by afternoon, Maniece still considered the first day quite successful.

The second day , she woke up at 5am after about 6 hours of sleep. Eyes half-closed, she quickly read through emails and chat apps before falling asleep (again). When she woke up the second time, she scrolled through TikTok for a while before getting up to exercise for 20 minutes.

This time, Maniece had time to make coffee and prepare a simple breakfast of egg whites. The coffee seemed to really work, as she was full of energy on Monday despite admitting she had "failed on every aspect of her schedule."

Simple breakfast on the second day "imitating" Apple CEO. (Photo: Insider)

Day three was perhaps the most positive of the entire challenge. Despite going to bed late the night before, Maniece said she felt more energized than the first two days. This time, the 22-year-old’s “new normal” wake-up time was 6 a.m. for another Pilates class. Then she headed to work, grabbing a coffee on the way.

The feeling of being energized and excited lasted throughout the day. Maniece shared that perhaps exercise really helped improve her mood, focus, and energy levels. She even started to feel confident that she could actually get up early to exercise once the challenge was over. In the evenings, she spent time hanging out with friends and colleagues.

The third day was the most successful day in the "7-day early wake-up with CEO" challenge series. (Photo: Insider)

But the harsh reality hit on the fourth day , the last day that Maniece continued this challenge. This was a complete failure and "chaos" day when the energy level dropped to zero, the body was exhausted and tired all day long.

The lesson for Maniece? Maybe 22 is too early to try to replicate the routine of someone as successful as Tim Cook. The billionaire became CEO of Apple in his 50s and has more life experience to deal with small pressures throughout the day. The most practical benefit from the experiment is that exercising and drinking coffee in the morning really helps.

Quartz (Source: Business Insider)

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