Let us take a closer look in the lives of these big
Elon Musk
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, is known for his intense work ethic, and his mornings reflect that. Musk wakes up at around 9:00 AM, having slept for about six hours. For him, this is the optimal amount of rest to keep his energy levels high throughout the day. He believes in efficiency, so hisIn an interview with The Wall Street Journal in 2023, Elon Musk mentioned that he typically goes to bed around 3 a.m. and gets about six hours of sleep. This means he usually starts his day at around 9 a.m.
There was also a humorous moment when Musk responded to a doctor on X (formerly Twitter), claiming he eats a donut every morning. While this may have been said in jest, Musk has expressed his fondness for the sweet treat on several occasions. In a playful post from October of the same year, he joked about moderation, saying, “I only eat 0.4 donuts at a time, because my brain neural network rounds it down to zero.”
Like many people, Musk begins his mornings with his phone in hand. In 2022, during a conversation on the Full Send Podcast, Musk admitted that checking his phone right after waking up was a habit he was trying to break. He called it "a terrible habit" but noted that he often checks for urgent matters as soon as he wakes up.
Despite his efforts to change, it seems Musk is still tied to this routine. According to the Wall Street Journal, he starts most mornings by scanning his phone for updates or potential emergencies. His frequent posts on X suggest he remains deeply engaged with the platform, a habit that’s persisted even after his acquisition of the company in 2022. Reflecting on this in his biography penned by Walter Isaacson, Musk had also remarked with his typical humour, "Some days I wake up and check Twitter just to see if it’s still working."
Sundar Pichai
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, prefers a calm, more thoughtful morning. Pichai wakes up between 6:30 and 7:00 AM and begins his day with a mindful cup of tea. He’s not much of a coffee drinker, and he enjoys a peaceful start by reading the newspaper, usually The Wall Street Journal or The New York Times. He had revealed the same in an interview with Recode in 2016.He had also revealed how breakfast is a must for him, and it’s often simple—usually involving an egg or two and toast. He values a calm mind in the morning, so he avoids jumping straight into work. Instead, he takes a few moments to reflect on the day ahead.
More recently, in an interview with Wired earlier this year, Pichai had revealed that he loves to reach Techmeme in the morning. For the unversed, Techmeme is a tech news aggregator that displays industry news in a single place.
Satya Nadella
Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella seems to believe that a strong body fuels a strong mind. In the Hello Monday podcast with Jessi Hempel in 2019, Nadella had revealed that he wakes up early—around 5:30 AM—and immediately starts his day with exercise. Whether it’s running, lifting weights, or simply walking, Nadella makes sure his mornings involve physical activity. He believes that staying physically fit is essential to staying mentally sharp."For me, the daily ritual is just a half-hour of hitting the gym every day. It doesn't matter where I am, what time zone, how late I got in, I get up and get to the gym. It's just, 30 minutes of running, and it just makes a huge difference" he had said.
After his workout, Nadella takes time for personal reflection. He’s known for reading a lot, whether it’s books on leadership or the latest tech advancements. This quiet time helps him set the tone for the day, which is filled with leading Microsoft through the world of cloud computing, AI, and other cutting-edge technologies. After breakfast with his family, Nadella is ready to face the challenges of the day with a clear mind and a positive attitude.
Tim Cook
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, is famously an early riser. He wakes up at 3:45 AM—yes, even before the birds are up—and immediately checks his emails. For Cook, the early hours are the perfect time to catch up on work without distractions. He spends an hour responding to emails from employees and important business partners, ensuring that by the time most people are awake, he’s already ahead.In a post on X in March 2015, Cook had written how he got some "extra rest" for an event and slept in till 4:30 am. Now, the definition of "sleeping in" could vary person to person. But it is quite rare to be at the crack of dawn.
Cook had earlier explained his early routine as a way to take control of his day. As he told The Australian Financial Review in 2021, “I can control the morning better than the evening. The morning is yours. Or should I say, the early morning is yours.”
Around 5 a.m., Cook makes time for his fitness routine. Describing himself as a fitness enthusiast, Cook prefers working out at a gym off Apple's campus to avoid running into colleagues.
After reading some of his emails, at around 5 am, Cook hits the gym for an intense workout. He believes staying physically fit is key to staying at the top of his game.
In a 2018 interview with Axios, he had shared that his workout routine helps manage his stress. After an hour of exercise, he heads to Starbucks, where he reads through more emails before starting his workday at Apple’s headquarters.
Mark Zuckerberg
While most of us scroll through Instagram, WhatsApp or Facebook in the morning, what does the owner of these two social media platform do? Well, as per reports, Zuckerberg also follows the same. He wakes up at around 8 am and checks Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. For him, staying connected to what’s happening in the world is essential.In a Facebook Live Q&A, Zuckerberg had admitted that the first thing he does upon waking is to scroll through Facebook to see what’s happening in the world.
“It’s a pretty sad situation, to be honest,” he had joked and added that he often checks his phone even before putting in his contacts, squinting at the screen to catch up on the latest updates. While this has become a habit, he acknowledged that it's not the healthiest way to start the day.
Also, in a conversation with Joe Rogan, Zuckerberg admitted that checking his phone first thing in the morning can be overwhelming. "You get like a million messages of stuff that comes in, and it’s usually not good. People reserve the good stuff to tell me in person. It’s almost like you wake up and get punched in the stomach. So I have to reset myself to be productive and not get stressed,” he had said.
After catching up on his morning updates, Zuckerberg moves on to working out. In the past, he was an avid runner, hitting the pavement at least three times a week. However, he has since shifted his focus from running to more intense forms of exercise like jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts (MMA).
Zuckerberg is now committed to MMA and jiu-jitsu, doing three or four sessions each week, supplemented by strength training and mobility exercises. In June this year, he had shared on Lex Fridman’s podcast that this rigorous routine helps him stay sharp and grounded, keeping both his body and mind engaged.