Getty/D Dipasupil
Robin Roberts drinks kombucha, not coffee.
- Robin Roberts starts her morning at 3:15 a.m. with a prayer, a meditation, television news, and gummy vitamins.
- Roberts' day starts early, but her morning routine is pretty different from what you might see promoted by CEOs and productivity gurus.
- It shows that a great morning routine is one that works for you.
There are early birds, and then there's Robin Roberts.
The face of ABC's "Good Morning America" wakes up at 3:15 a.m., as she recently shared with New York Magazine's The Cut.
About 15 minutes after waking up, Roberts watches television news for about 10 minutes. "Especially nowadays, by the time you go to bed and by the time you wake up, who knows what has happened," she told The Cut.
Then, she meditates for 20 minutes, followed by deep breathing. That's followed by more television news and a shower.
And she doesn't have coffee or eat breakfast either - just kombucha, water, and gummy vitamins. "I can't eat in the morning," she said.
Before heading out for the day, Roberts says this prayer: "The light of God surrounds me, the love of God unfolds me, the power of God protects me, the presence of God watches over me; wherever I am, God is."
By 5 a.m., she's at work.
Read more: How to design the ideal morning routine if you're a night owl
Roberts' routine suggests that not all morning routines need the onslaught of meditation, exercise, journaling, intention setting, a spinach-egg-white omelette, and so on.
We typically think of a good morning routine as consisting of a six-mile run (like Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey), keeping up with Asian and European bond markets while on the elliptical ("Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary), or waking with the sun for breakfast (Virgin Group founder and chairman Richard Branson).
But, Roberts' routine suggests what many successful people already know - that you need to make a morning routine that works for you. As writer Benjamin Spall found when interviewing more than 300 highly-successful people on their morning routines, you need to find a "sweet spot" that fits how your body works, your career, and your other responsibilities.
As for Roberts, the highlight of her morning comes at 7 a.m. - when "Good Morning America" starts.
"It is the best feeling to say 'Good morning, America' every day," Roberts told The Cut. "I mean that sincerely. It's a privilege, just getting to put a smile on people's faces."