Live a day in a CEO’s shoes, and you will realize how much stakes there are in his hands. On the other hand, they still have to make countless small and personal decisions every day, including what clothes they should wear and what to eat for breakfast. And, you guessed it right, they instead reserve their energy for more intensive mind work than on these mundane things.
And so, they build a routine that minimizes, if not eliminates, these time-wasting decisions for them and keeps them in their best physical and mental states. They eat healthily and exercise regularly. They maintain a simple wardrobe so that dressing up need not take much of their morning preparation. Here are some other habits they keep so they are on top of their game:
Make the Most of Their Waking Life
They know best how time is a resource they cannot have back, and so take measures to maximize the 24 hours in a day. Aside from getting restful seven-hour sleep, they get into action the moment they wake up. They are more or less familiar with the order by which they need to perform tasks, which they already ingrained in their system. What makes them stick to their routine religiously is their desire to finish the day’s work early. That way, they have more time for more spontaneous activities like catching up with loved ones or enjoying a hobby.
Plan for the Future
CEOs are just as habitual planners as they are experts in executing them. Without fail, they jot down their plans on their notebook or digital devices daily to know which ones to prioritize first and which ones to delegate to their assistants. Knowing what they need to do for the day first thing in the morning helps keep them from getting sidetracked by non-priority concerns. This leaves them with more time for additional tasks, all of which somehow relate to both their short- and long-term goals.
Constant Self-Improvement
They intentionally use their hours out of work to read or watch self-improvement books and engage in leisure activities like sports and passion projects. Another way they maximize their free time is by attending counseling sessions with their health and fitness coaches. Keeping a close eye on their health gives them the energy they need to manage their work’s demanding nature. They also take time out of their packed schedules to confide in business mentors. After all, they still need guidance even if they are already on top of the organizational structure.
Keep Meetings Brief
Executives are efficient with their time; they don’t want a second wasted on anything unproductive. Suppose their assistants have booked an hour-long meeting on their schedule. In that case, you can almost always expect that they can cut through the chase of a long meeting agenda into a matter of minutes. Because they proactively approach different things, they prefer their team to present performance reports briefly and, likewise, their direct-to-the-point feedback after.
CEOs make sure that, while the meeting is ongoing, everybody dedicates their undivided attention. The CEOs expect them to take notes of action items and corresponding timelines that they will provide updates for in the next meeting. When the CEO’s team comes to a meeting unprepared, he will most definitely notice and point it out before they even deliver what he expects as beat-around-the-bush rhetoric. Overall, he brings up and tackles with his team what is necessary and readily avoids menial discussions.
Laser Focus
CEOs are masters of prioritization. They make the most out of a workday by dedicating their energy first to the most important matters on their list. Once they are on it, they almost ultimately block distractions—their phones with endless notification alerts, for instance.
Often, a staff member barges into their occupied state and refers them to an urgent but otherwise unimportant problem. Unless these problems have escalated to alarming levels, they will rather dismiss these, having put their trust in whoever is in charge of these matters at hand. Due to their impeccable concentration, they can pave the way for the bigger moves that their companies make.
Inspire People
CEOs do not consume that much self-improving content only to benefit themselves. They do this to equip themselves into becoming a more capable leader and, in turn, exhibit a good moral example and promote positivity among their people.
A CEO’s job is tough. If they don’t take care of their well-being, they could get easily overwhelmed by their stressful work. That is why, aside from working, they consciously dedicate their time and energy to attain a better work-life balance.
