A leaked schedule shows Trump reportedly spends up to five hours a day on 'executive time,' and he doesn't hold his first official meetings until the middle of the day

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump walks to the Residence during an event to showcase American made products at the White House July 23, 2018 in Washington, DC.

• President Donald Trump often spends up to five hours per day in unstructured 'executive time,' according to his private schedule which was leaked to Axios.
• The schedules show how Trump has spent his time since the November midterm elections. It adds up to almost 300 hours of executive time, compared to just 77 hours in official, scheduled meetings over that period.
• Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, told Axios in a statement that Trump's unorthodox schedule allows for "a more creative environment that has helped make him the most productive President in modern history.

President Donald Trump reportedly often spends up to five hours a day in unstructured 'executive time,' according to his private schedule.

The private schedule, is different than the schedules the White House releases to the public, was first reported by Axios.

The schedules show how Trump has spent his time since the November midterm elections. It adds up to almost 300 hours of executive time, compared to just 77 hours in official, scheduled meetings over that period.

Despite waking up before 6 am, Trump's first official meetings -often an intelligence briefing - aren't held until 11 am, when he makes his way from the private White House residence to the Oval Office.

Read more: Trump said 'you have to get rid of' the Russia probe and parroted a Kremlin talking point in a wide-ranging interview

Though the schedule shows Trump in the Oval Office between 8 am and 11 am, he is often in the White House residence watching TV, tweeting, reading the news, and making phone calls to various foreign leaders and political allies, sources told Axios.

However, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, told Axios in a statement that Trump's unorthodox schedule allows for "a more creative environment that has helped make him the most productive President in modern history."

"The time in the morning is a mix of residence time and Oval Office time but he always has calls with staff, Hill members, cabinet members and foreign leaders during this time," Sanders said in the statement. "The President is one of the hardest workers I've ever seen and puts in long hours and long days nearly every day of the week all year long."

It's also worth noting that not all of Trump's meetings appear on his schedule. Some are spur of the moment, or are kept under wraps for fear of leaks or national security concerns, reports Axios.

Axios first reported the existence of executive time in January of last year.

Read the full Axios story here.