Power Hours: 9 Daily Habits Highly Successful People Have in Common

Stacey Kennedy, the CEO of Philip Morris International, allows herself five minutes to check her email before starting her morning routine. On an ideal morning, she’s up at 6:30 a.m., out of the house for a mindful walk around her neighborhood, and back for 15 minutes of yoga before heading to the office at 8 a.m.

She’s one of several leaders who told Business Insider that protecting their mornings matters, even if they aren’t completely offline. Tori Dunlap, the CEO of Her First 100K, checks her phone quickly when she wakes up before taking a circadian walk along the water to improve her digestion, metabolism, and energy throughout the day.

Signal president Meredith Whittaker wakes up around 6:30 a.m. and fits in a protein shake, coffee with cardamom, dance music, house chores, and a non-negotiable yoga routine — but still leaves time to catch up on the latest AI news.

What do Carter Reum, the VC and husband of Paris Hilton, and Mark Cuban have in common? Neither lets their inbox take over their schedule.

Reum said the moment he opens his inbox in the morning, he’s no longer in control; he’s immediately reacting to what everyone else wants. To avoid that trap, he writes down his priorities before opening his email.

Then there’s Cuban, the email enthusiast. Cuban uses his inbox to avoid meetings rather than be consumed by them. He manages email across three phones, allowing him to power through 700 to 1,000 messages a day on the go. The payoff for Cuban is fewer “long, boring meetings” and more time spent on his own priorities.

For many people we spoke to, a morning drink isn’t just about caffeinating — it’s a ritual that signals the start of the day.

Kennedy starts her mornings with a nonnegotiable double espresso from her Nespresso machine. David Risher, the CEO of Lyft and a self-described coffee addict, is also firmly on team Nespresso and says he’s still searching for the perfect capsule.

Reum prefers a cold brew from his Cumulus machine, while former presidential candidate and entrepreneur Andrew Yang opts for an iced matcha with oat milk, usually picked up from a local café.

For some leaders, the ritual creates space for connection. Mark Rivers, the CEO of Canyon Ranch, hosts a daily “cowboy coffee” gathering, where staff and guests sip coffee around a warm fire before the day gets going.

One trend that consistently emerged among Power Hours leaders is that they eat a protein-rich breakfast to stay energized.

Justin Nedelman, the CEO of Pressed Juicery, skips breakfast three days a week. When he does have it, he said he prioritizes fat and protein over carbs — a Pressed greens juice, an avocado or grilled cold fish with salad, and nonfat Greek yogurt with fruits and seeds.

Will Ahmed, the CEO of Whoop, starts his day with six to eight eggs on mornings he works out (and a “more measured” amount on days he doesn’t). His love of eggs is also shared by Sunny Jiang, the CEO of Eyebuydirect, who calls herself a “big egg person.”

After happiness expert Arthur C. Brooks wraps up his workout, he heads home to eat a protein-rich breakfast of Greek yogurt, protein powder, nuts, and berries.

“Shark Tank” star and investor Kevin O’Leary told Business Insider he bikes for 12 hours every morning for “longevity and mental acuity” — otherwise, “bad things happen.”

Jimmy Spithill, the CEO of the Redbull Italy SailGP team, said he hits the gym before doing anything else because he makes better decisions after getting his blood pumping.

Brooks is at the gym by 4:45 a.m., training hard for an hour with no podcasts or distractions — a choice he says helps preserve dopamine, a major factor of focus. Jiang swears by a 30-minute mix of fast walking and slow running, followed by 20 minutes of weightlifting, while Ahmed starts the day with a trainer for an hour of strength training.

When the to-do list feels endless, these leaders don’t push harder — they turn inward. Ahmed has practiced meditation for more than 11 years. Each morning, he spends 10 to 20 minutes with his eyes closed, breathing deeply and letting his thoughts settle.

Rivers takes a different approach, using a structured breathwork pattern in the evening to quiet his mind and ease into an early 8:30 p.m. bedtime.

For others, meditation is closely tied to their faith. Former Netflix CMO and current “Real Housewives” star, Bozoma Saint John, begins her mornings with up to an hour of meditation, reading, or prayer — a routine she says brings her greatest clarity.

Brooks attends Catholic Mass every morning at 6:30 a.m., even if it means finding a church while traveling. The meditative focus of Mass helps him regulate his mood, sharpen his creativity, and sustain his ability to concentrate.

A walk isn’t always a break from work — it can be part of it.

Risher takes a 30-minute walk to get an iced matcha every day, sometimes turning it into a one-on-one opportunity with a member of his staff. When he leaves the office, before hopping on a bike the rest of the way home, he uses his walk to take a call or listen to a podcast.

Ahmed takes meetings while walking outside and bought a walking desk, which he’s determined to use more often. Yang uses the walk to lunch to get information updates from his team.

Without guardrails, meetings can crowd out real work. Emily Fontaine, the global head of venture capital at IBM, keeps meetings short and intentional, limiting most to 20 minutes and avoiding back-to-back scheduling whenever possible.

Jiang delegates nonessential meetings and sets clear expectations for the ones she does attend. Kennedy created P.O.D.D. meetings — short for problem, opportunity, discussion, and decision — to make space for conversations that don’t fit neatly on the calendar.

Another habit that emerged cross roles and industries: Meetings are inevitable, but when they’re deliberately grouped, they become a tool for leadership rather than a drain on the day.

Whittaker protects her mornings for focused, solitary work and batches most conversations into a long afternoon meeting block, often from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Kennedy takes long-term planning even further, scheduling many of her meetings as much as a year in advance.

After a long day at work, it can be hard to “turn off” your brain, so leaders rely on simple, offline rituals to signal that the workday is over.

For Dunlap, that ritual is reading — anything from fantasy smut to murder mysteries. The genre doesn’t matter as much as the habit itself. She also journals at night, using the practice to process her thoughts and reset for the next day.

Kennedy prefers to end her evenings with 30 to 60 minutes of reading, even when her husband tries to lure her into a TV series, though she saves fiction books for the weekends.

Brooks closes out his day by praying the rosary with his wife and avoids screens before their 9 p.m. bedtime. Whittaker ends her nights by tidying up and listening to music, a podcast, or an audio service that reads academic papers aloud, creating a gentle transition out of work mode.