Elon Musk: CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, founder of The Boring Company (responsible for, well, digging holes for super trains), and cofounder of both Neuralink and OpenAI. Imaginably… To say that Musk is one busy guy would be a massive understatement. How does he structure his day to do it all–from leading the way in the EV and renewables market to progressing on his vision of making space travel a reality? We explore.
#1 – He spends time on exercise
Surprisingly, Musk has admitted (more than once!) that he wishes he could do without exercise. But of course, he still does. In addition to “lifting some weights” on his own, he also dabbles in Taekwondo, karate, judo, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. So, what do you say? If Musk recognises the importance of staying physically active despite pulling between 85 to 100 hours a week… Your usual excuses won’t work now.
#2 – He avoids food and alcohol 2 – 3 hours before bed-time for better sleep
This billionaire sleeps less than 7 hours per night. But this is unideal. Research consistently shows that inadequate sleep sets you up for obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke, frequent mental distress, and death. Count us out. While you shouldn’t emulate the amount of sleep Musk gets, what you should do is improve your sleep quality by avoiding food and alcohol 2 to 3 hours before bed–just like he does–for optimal sleep.
#3 – He breaks his time down into 5-minute blocks
Musk breaks his time into a series of 5-minute slots (the same thing Bill Gates does!) to increase his productivity. You don't have to be as meticulous as Musk, of course. The takeaway from this is that you need to schedule your day in advance–and time-block it–so you will put all your energy into a single task without getting distracted. The result? Enhanced productivity.
#4 – He avoids distractions as much as possible
To keep his tightly-run daily schedule on track, Musk forgoes most phone calls in favour of email and texts–so he can get to them on his own time. He also prefers to use an obscure email address to prevent people from spamming his inbox. What does this all mean for you? Well, identify all the key distractions you deal with daily and find ways to overcome them. Always picking up unwanted phone calls? Silence it; make yourself available only via messaging. Etcetera, etcetera.
#5 – He makes time for reading
This tech-genius is known to carve out just enough time before his bed-time to read to gain guidance and inspiration for his pursuits. Just so you know: spending time with books can benefit your health; reading has been shown to enhance confidence, decision-making, empathy, and even prevent depression! Time to cozy up with a book?
Need some help managing your schedule?
If you wish to maximise your productivity as Musk does, you'll have to gain control over your schedule. But wait. How do you do that when you don't even have a daily routine? Well, this is where The Daily Routine Journal comes in–it guides you, in a step-by-step process, how you should structure your day, so you become the most productive version of yourself. Check out how it's transformed the lives of others here!