He’s one of the biggest names in the technology world.
And now Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, has revealed the morning ritual that has led to his success.
However, if you’re not an early bird, the billionaire’s routine might not be one for you.
Speaking to Jessie and Lennie Ware on the Table Manners podcast, Cook explained that he always starts his day at 5am.
‘It’s the part of the day that I can control the most,’ he explained.
‘As the day starts to unfold, it becomes less predictable.
‘And by the end of the day, all these things can commandeer your time and intention and energy.
‘And so I love the part of the day that I can kind of block out the world and focus on a few critical things and just be silent for a while.’
During the podcast, Cook was asked about how he starts his day.
And like many other people, the Apple CEO revealed how he browses his emails over breakfast.
‘When I get up in the morning, I typically grab coffee and some cereal. And then I’m doing emails,’ he said.
When probed on his cereal of choice, Cook explained: ‘Kashi, it’s a protein-based cereal and unsweetened almond milk. It’s very good for me.’
In terms of his morning work priorities, Cook said that he tends to focus on responding to emails from employees and customers.
‘I get an extraordinary amount of outreach from customers,’ he said.
‘And they’re telling me things that are critical in their lives.
‘Maybe they’re telling me a story of how the Apple Watch saved their life.
‘These are unbelievable stories where somebody’s wearing the watch and they get an alert that they’ve got AFib (atrial fibrillation).
‘So they run to the emergency room and get fitted with all of the EKG-stuff, and it confirms the diagnosis.
‘And in many cases, the cardiologist tells them that they would have died, had they not come in.’
However, this first flurry of emails only makes a small dent in Cook’s inbox.
In total, the CEO says he receives up to 600 emails a day!
‘All in all, probably five/six hundred,’ he added.
‘Some days when there’s something interesting going on, it will be a lot more than that.’
THE TRILLION DOLLAR RISE OF APPLE
1976: Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne created the company on April 1 1976 as they set about selling computer kits to hobbyists, each of which was built by Wozniak.
The first product was the Apple I.
1977: Apple released the Apple II in June, which was the first PC made for the mass market.
1981: Jobs became chairman.
1984: The Macintosh was introduced during an ad break for the Super Bowl and later officially unveiled during a launch event. It was discontinued a year later and Jobs left the firm.
1987: Apple released the Macintosh II, the first colour Mac.
1997: Apple announces it will acquire NeXT software in a $400 million deal that involves Jobs returning to Apple as interim CEO. He officially took the role in 2000.
2001: Apple introduced iTunes, OS X and the first-generation iPod.
The first iPod MP3 music player was released on October 23, 2001, at an event in Cupertino and was able to hold up to 1,000 songs.
2007: Apple unveils the iPhone.
2010: The first iPad was unveiled.
2011: Jobs resigned in 2011 due to illness, handing the CEO title to Tim Cook. Jobs died in October from pancreatic cancer.
2014: Apple unveiled the Apple Watch. It also unveiled its first larger iPhones – the 6 and 6 Plus.
2015: After purchasing Beats from Dr Dre, Apple launched Apple Music to compete with Spotify and other music streaming services.
2016: Apple returned to its roots and announced the 4-inch iPhone SE. Meanwhile, the firm is embroiled in a legal battle with the FBI, involving the agency demanding access to the locked phone used by Syed Farook, who died in a shootout after carrying out a deadly December attack in San Bernardino, California with his wife. The court order was dropped on March 28 after the FBI said a third party was able to unlock the device.
2017: Apple introduces the iPhone X, which removes the home button to make way for a futuristic edge-to-edge screen design and a new FaceID system that uses advanced sensors and lasers to unlock phones with just the owner’s face.
2018: In a first for the company, Apple introduces new features in its latest operating system, iOS 12, that encourage users to manage and spend less time on their devices. The move was spawned by a strongly worded letter from shareholders that urged the firm to address the growing problem of smartphone addiction among kids and teenagers.
2019: In January, Apple reports its first decline in revenues and profits in a decade. CEO Tim Cook partly blamed steep declines in revenue from China.
2020: In March, Apple closes all its bricks and mortar retail stores outside of China in response to coronavirus.
2021: In an online virtual event in April CEO Tim Cook declared Apple’s goal of becoming carbon neutral for Earth Day. Later in the year the iPhone 13 was announced.
2022: In September the iPhone 14 was announced. One of the new features included a new sensor to detect if a user had been in a car crash as well as an improved camera system.
2023: Apple brought back its ‘Home Pod’ after the first generation was discontinued. The ‘Home Pod’ can be seen as an alternative to Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home as it is powered by voice commands.
2024: Apple makes its first steps into artificial intelligence with the release of Apple Intelligence. The features are not all released at once with many delayed until the following year.
