Fitness influencer Grace Beverley starts her day with the hardest task on her to-do list. Here's the morning routine that helped her found and run 2 companies.

• Grace Beverley, 25, is the founder and CEO of the activewear brand Tala and workout app Shreddy.
• She aims to get eight hours of sleep a night and lists three nonnegotiable things to do each day.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Grace Beverley, a 25-year-old founder and CEO, about her morning routine. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I know a lot of people swear by waking up at the same time every morning, but when I wake up is entirely dependent on when I went to sleep.

I am obsessed with sleeping eight hours. That's not to say I'll show up to work three hours late if I've had a late evening, but I try to be flexible with myself.

I usually wake up between 6:45 a.m. and 7:45 a.m., but that can get pushed to 8 a.m. if I'm working from home

I work from the office three to four times a week, usually Tuesday to Friday. On working-from-home days, I try to have a more relaxed morning because it's such a luxury.

Our office dress code is relaxed, so I can get up and out of the house pretty quickly. I usually wear some variation of activewear, which takes me two seconds to get into.

I often listen to podcasts during my commute

I try to listen to a podcast that aligns with whatever my first task of the day is so I'm in the right headspace. I'll listen to something business-y if I need some extra inspiration. Sometimes I need to just decompress and laugh.

The first thing I do is write my daily to-do table. If I feel really overwhelmed and am heading into the office, I'll even sit down and write it before I start my commute. It seems counterintuitive to slow down my morning, but I avoid spending the journey stressing about 101 things on my plate.

I usually write my to-do table once I've sat down in the office or at my desk.

My to-do table has three nonnegotiable things I need to do that day, then the rest of my projects and tasks are split into three categories: quick ticks, tasks, and projects.

Quick ticks take five minutes or less, tasks take around 30 minutes and require more thought, and projects take over 30 minutes and are made up of multiple tasks.

Then I write a daily schedule blocking my day, slotting in these things around my meetings.

I get easily overwhelmed, so it's really important for me to visualize my day and prioritize essential tasks. I always handwrite this on paper.

I try to block whichever nonnegotiable task uses up the most headspace first. I find this is a good stress-management tactic — by 10 a.m., you can feel like you've already accomplished something. It's also important for me to tackle these when I am my most energized.

They might not always be the most time-sensitive or important tasks, but I always block out my mornings for tasks that require the most deep work.

I'll avoid anything too autopilot in the mornings

Some people need the mornings to get warmed up, but if I do admin work straight away, I'll zap my creativity for the rest of the day.

Right now, I am mentoring small-businesses owners as part of a program with Meta. I have to really dive deep into these businesses, and I don't want to come to these sessions zapped. Brainstorming for these is an example of something I'd schedule for my morning.

For me, creating a productive morning routine is about understanding when I work best and when I find it hard to work. I know I need to tackle work that requires more concentration at the start of my day.

If it gets to the afternoon and I still have a concentration-heavy task, I'll often schedule in a 20-minute reading break. I find sitting with my Kindle for a short period takes me completely out of my day and I can get back into a creative mindset.

Understanding that I need that space between deep work and calls or administrative tasks is important to staying productive throughout the day.