If you were asked to describe what the day in the life of a tech entrepreneur looks like, I'd imagine that scenarios such as waking up at the crack of dawn, back-to-back meetings and 12-hour work days are what comes to mind.
However, not every CEO likes to spend their day doomscrolling or plugged into the online matrix.
As the founder Amazon, it wouldn't be too farfetched to assume that Jeff Bezos spends a large amount of time online, which is likely true, however, the 61-year-old also chooses to dedicated a good portion of his stay to ditching screen-time.
Enter puttering - an essential part of the Bezos family routine.
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Puttering explained
"I’m not as productive as you might think I am," Bezos said when asked about his morning routine on an episode of the Lex Fridman Podcast in December 2023.
"First of all, I get up in the morning and I putter. I have a coffee... and just slowly move around."
He continued: "I move pretty slowly in the first couple of hours. I get up early, just naturally. And then, you know, I exercise most days."
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Despite what a phrase which includes the word 'putter' may lead you to believe, this part of Bezos' day has absolutely nothing to do with golf and much more with relaxing.
This isn't the first time Bezos has spoken about his relaxed morning routine, having previously talked about puttering in a 2018 speech at the Economic Club of Washington.
There he explained that puttering also included having a coffee and spending breakfast with his children before heading into his first meeting at 10am, adding: "My puttering time is important to me."
By now, it should be pretty common knowledge that sinking hours into scrolling on your phone isn't too great for you, with scientific studies also backing up the argument.
"If you scrolled on your phone in bed for an hour just one morning, the negative impacts would be minimal... But if it becomes a habit... this behaviour can take a toll," therapist Maris Loeffler told MailOnline, citing one neuroscience study which suggested that increased screen-time impacted our 'learning ability, memory function and mental health'.
The slow ease into the day is something which his fiancee Lauren Sánchez has also taken up, with the journalist revealing in a recent interview with PEOPLE that phones are also banned in the morning.
"My favourite part of the day is the morning," the 54-year-old said, referring to the routine as their 'magic moment'.
"The kids haven't woken up yet. And we don't get on our phones. That's one of the rules."
Sánchez went on to add that the no phones rule had come from Bezos, which means it's likely part of 'puttering', confessing that she'd personally sneak in a bit of screen-time.
"He definitely made that rule," she said.
So there you go folks, the secret to success isn't being a billionaire tech guru but having a slow morning drinking coffee and reading a newspaper.
It's just a shame most of us have to get up and commute to the office for 9am.
Topics: Jeff Bezos, Lifestyle, Technology
Brenna Cooper