Running a company is a stressful job, especially if you’re running one of the biggest firms in the world.
That high stress can lead to some intense and unconventional daily habits. Here are some of the most unusual routines of CEOs:
1. Waking up at 3:30 a.m. and launching into a 90-minute workout
CEOs are known for waking up early: Tim Cook and Richard Branson both rise around 5 a.m.
But Josh York, the 40-year-old CEO of in-home personal training company Gymguyz, takes it further and starts his mornings at 3:29 a.m., he told Fortune.
After a cold rinse in the shower, he launches into an hour-and-a-half workout followed by a three-minute ice bath.
“It’s what makes me superhuman,” he told the outlet.
2. Bob Iger prefers to work out in a dark room with the TV on mute
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The CEO of Disney works out first thing in the morning in a darkened room, he says in his MasterClass on “using your time effectively.”
He keeps a TV on silent during his workout so he can watch it against the backdrop of his own choice of music.
“It’s my most creative time in many ways,” Iger said.
3. A teaspoon of Icelandic cod liver oil washed down with black coffee to start the day
Mikael Berner, CEO of email software company Edison Software, starts his day with a dose of cod liver oil, a source of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, and vitamin D.
It’s meant to have benefits like promoting heart health and benefiting cells. Experts warn against taking more than one tablespoon daily to avoid consuming too much vitamin A.
4. Or, if you’re Elon Musk, your morning routine includes eating a doughnut
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk opts for a sugary start to the day.
A post on X said that sugar is poison. Musk replied, “I eat a donut every morning. I’m still alive.”
5. Mark Zuckerberg’s diet requires eating 4,000 calories a day
Photo by Mark Zuckerberg / Instagram
The Meta CEO previously said on Threads that he eats roughly 4,000 calories to offset his intensive MMA and jiujitsu training.
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Another popular diet with successful CEOs is only eating within specific time windows — intermittent fasting.
6. Taking an afternoon nap in the office
Robin Zeng, whose role as leader of the world’s largest EV battery manufacturing firm CATL makes him known as China’s “Battery King,” takes a daily nap at noon in the office, according to an interview with the FT.
Some mental health professionals recommend short naps of between 20 and 30 minutes to improve focus and combat fatigue.
7. Two hours of meditation a day
Joe Raedle
Jack Dorsey, who runs financial services company Block, adhered to a strict wellness schedule that allowed him “to stay above water ” while he was also CEO of Twitter. Each day involved walking five miles, meditating for two hours, and eating one meal.
Dorsey is a big proponent of meditation. For his birthday in 2018, he participated in a 10-day silent Vipassana meditation retreat, during which he meditated for nearly 17 hours daily.
“It’s extremely painful and demanding physical and mental work,” he said on a thread on Twitter at the time.
8. ‘Eyes-open’ meditation
Rachel Murray/Getty Images for goop
Another fan of meditation is Gwyneth Paltrow, CEO of wellness brand Goop.
She advocates “eyes-open” meditation, which involves being mindful at any moment in everyday life.
“Once you learn how to do eyes-open meditation — something you can literally incorporate at any time — you can be engaged with the world but still very connected to yourself,” said previously told Business Insider. “I rely on it to feel more whole.”
9. When faced with a tough problem, Jeff Bezos engages in some mind-wandering
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The former Amazon CEO held meetings that lasted an undetermined amount of time. He used this time to let his mind wander and generate creative ideas.
“When I sit down at a meeting, I don’t know how long the meeting is going to take,” Bezos told the Lex Fridman Podcast in December, “the reality is we may have to wander for a long time.
“Real invention, real lateral thinking that requires wandering,” he said.
Letting your mind wander may seem like an inefficient use of time, but some psychologists believe it helps increase creativity and improve working memory.
10. A massage just before midnight
If reading a book and meditating aren’t relaxing enough, Steven Barlett, a former CEO and founder famed for his Diary of a CEO podcast, recommends an 11 p.m. massage.
“I often get massages in the evening — it sounds crazy, but usually my masseuse comes over at 11 p.m.,” he told The Telegraph.
11. A more unusual habit among CEOs, Tobias Lutke says he never works later than 5:30 p.m.
While some CEOs brag about their long hours in the office and spending nights sleeping on the office floor, Shopify CEO Tobias Lutke previously said he never works later than 5:30 p.m.
“The only times I worked more than 40 hours in a week was when I had the burning desire to do so. I need 8ish hours of sleep a night,” he said in a thread on Twitter, now X.
12. Bernard Arnault spends his weekends visiting LVMH-owned stores
ERIC PIERMONT/AFP/Getty Images
The 75-year-old CEO and chairman of retail empire LVMH doesn’t sleep in on Saturday mornings.
Instead, Arnault and his entourage take the time to visit the stores of any one of the several brands that LVMH owns. He’s not there to shop but to point out any issues that might depart from his vision for the company, Bloomberg reported.
Celine, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Tiffany & Co. are a few of the luxury brands under LVMH’s umbrella. Arnault’s sons told Bloomberg that his notes can be extremely detailed.
“He made a bunch of comments that were very, very detail-oriented,” Alexandre Arnault said. “Things that you wouldn’t typically notice, but once you’ve seen tens of thousands of stores over the years, I think it’s what comes to your mind immediately.”
13. Going to the grocery store 14 times a week
Whole Foods CEO Jason Buechel doesn’t just manage the supermarket giant — he also makes sure to visit “at least twice a day, every single day,” Fortune reported.
A self-proclaimed “foodie,” Buechel told Fortune that he usually peruses the cheeses and salad bar and likes to pick up new products to try out different recipes.
Of course, it helps that his office is located above Whole Foods’ flagship store in Austin.
“I can’t host a party without asking our cheesemongers for their recommendations on putting together an impressive cheese and charcuterie board,” he said.
14. Driving for Uber and Lyft in their spare time
AP Photos; Getty Images
The CEOs for ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft have both gotten behind the wheel themselves to drive around riders. Lyft CEO David Risher previously told BI that he works as a driver about every six weeks.
“I drive to learn about what our riders are going through when they get in the car and why our customers choose us over the other guys,” Risher said.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told The Wall Street Journal in 2023 that he made dozens of trips in a used Tesla Model Y under the alias “Dave K.” He got stuck in traffic on a trip back into San Francisco from an Oakland dropoff, the Journal reported. He saw for himself the difficulties that Uber drivers face on a daily basis.
“The industry as a whole, to some extent, has taken drivers for granted,” Khosrowshahi said in the interview.
