Jeff Bezos’ Morning Routine Is Surprisingly Chill, And People Are Ready To Copy

Jeff Bezos may be one of the richest men in the world, but anyone can copy his morning routine. Jeff studied computer science and electrical engineering at Princeton University before working on Wall Street. He later became a senior vice president at D.E. Shaw, but he left that job in 1994 to chase the early internet boom.

Jeff launched Amazon as an online bookstore from a garage in Bellevue, Washington. The company sold its first book in 1995 and eventually became one of the most powerful companies in the world. Amazon expanded into retail, streaming, cloud computing, smart devices, groceries and entertainment. Since then, plenty of people have tried to replicate his success. His morning routine might be one small place to start.

The “1-hour rule” is the internet’s name for Jeff’s morning routine. During a 2018 interview at the Economic Club of Washington, Jeff said he likes to start his day slowly. "If you shortchange your sleep, you might get a couple of extra 'productive' hours, but that productivity might be an illusion,” Jeff said, per CNBC. “When you're talking about decisions and interactions, quality is usually more important than quantity."

"I go to bed early and I get up early. I like to putter in the morning. So I like to read the newspaper. I like to have coffee. I like have breakfast with my kids before they go to school,” Jeff added.

Instead of waking up and immediately diving into emails, meetings or big decisions, Jeff gives himself room to think, move slowly and settle into the day. Lauren Sánchez Bezos also said he has a no-phone rule during their quiet morning time together.

"My favorite part of the day is the morning," Lauren told People. “I love waking up. I make myself a cup of coffee. I make Jeff a cup of coffee, and we kind of have this magic moment where it's just us talking. The kids haven't woken up yet. And we don't get on our phones. That's one of the rules."

Jeff has not publicly locked himself into one exact wake-up time. In a 2023 interview with Lex Fridman, Jeff said he wakes up early naturally. “I move pretty slowly in the first couple of hours. I get up early just naturally, and then I exercise most days,” Jeff said. “Most days it’s not that hard for me. Some days it’s really hard and I do it anyway, I don’t want to, and it’s painful. And I’m like, “Why am I here?” And I don’t want to do any of this.”

He also admitted that his mornings are not as polished or hyper-productive as people may assume. “I slowly move around,” Jeff added. “I’m not as productive as you might think I am. Because I do believe in wandering.”

Jeff has also pushed back on the idea that executives need to run themselves into the ground. He said he prioritizes eight hours of sleep because it helps him think better. “I prioritize it,” he said, per Yahoo. “I think better. I have more energy. My mood is better.”