A comprehensive breakdown of Steven Bartlett's morning habits, compiled from every interview, solo episode, and podcast appearance where he's discussed his daily routine.
Steven Bartlett is one of the UK's most successful young entrepreneurs — CEO of Flight Story, investor on Dragons' Den, and host of Europe's biggest podcast, Diary of a CEO. He manages an absurd number of responsibilities, and his morning routine is a significant part of how he does it.
But here's the thing: Steven's routine isn't the extreme "ice bath at 4AM" type you see on YouTube. It's surprisingly practical, grounded in science, and designed for sustainability over spectacle.
I've gone through every episode, interview, and social media post where Steven has discussed his mornings and compiled the definitive guide to how he starts his day.
Natural wake time after 7-8 hours of sleep. No alarm when possible. Prioritises sleep quality over an arbitrary wake-up time.
Phone stays in another room or in a drawer. No email, no social media, no notifications. This is non-negotiable.
Large glass of water, sometimes with electrolytes. Has mentioned this consistently as his very first action after waking.
Writing about priorities, decisions, or processing thoughts from the previous day. Not gratitude lists — more like strategic thinking on paper.
Gym session (strength training) or a long walk. Varies by day and schedule. Exercise is treated as a productivity tool, not just a health habit.
Eggs, protein shake, or similar. Avoids high-sugar, high-carb breakfasts that cause energy crashes.
No meetings, no emails, no Slack. Pure focused work on the most important task of the day. Phone still away.
Steven has been vocal about sleep being the single most important factor in his performance. After interviewing Matthew Walker (the sleep scientist), he completely changed his relationship with sleep.
"After talking to Matthew Walker, I stopped wearing 'I only slept 4 hours' as a badge of honour. It's not impressive — it's stupid. You're literally operating at 70% capacity and bragging about it." — Steven Bartlett, Diary of a CEO
The key insight: Steven doesn't set an alarm when possible. He goes to bed early enough that his body wakes naturally after 7-8 hours. This is why his wake time ranges from 6:30 to 7:30 — it depends on when he fell asleep and what his body needs that day.
This is a radical departure from the "5AM Club" mentality. Steven argues — backed by the health experts he's interviewed — that forcing an early alarm at the expense of sleep quality is counterproductive. You're not getting a head start; you're starting the day cognitively impaired.
This is perhaps Steven's most consistent and emphatic morning habit. Across multiple episodes, he's described keeping his phone physically separated from himself for the first 30-60 minutes of the day.
Steven's reasoning, informed by neuroscience guests on DOAC: the moment you check your phone, you hand control of your attention to other people. Emails, notifications, and social media put you into reactive mode. Your brain starts responding to other people's priorities instead of setting your own.
"The first thing you look at in the morning sets the tone for your entire day. If that's someone else's agenda — an email, a notification, a news headline — you've already lost." — Steven Bartlett, Diary of a CEO
Steven has mentioned several specific tactics:
This single habit — which costs nothing and takes zero time — is probably the most impactful change anyone can make to their morning. It's not about willpower; it's about removing the temptation entirely.
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Subscribe Free →Steven has consistently mentioned drinking a large glass of water as one of his first actions after waking. After 7-8 hours of sleep, your body is dehydrated. Multiple DOAC health guests have confirmed that even mild dehydration reduces cognitive performance by 10-15%.
He's mentioned adding electrolytes to his morning water on occasion, though this isn't a rigid practice. The key is hydration before caffeine.
Following advice from neuroscience experts on his podcast, Steven delays his first coffee until roughly 90 minutes after waking. The reasoning: cortisol (your natural alertness hormone) peaks in the first 60-90 minutes after you wake up. Drinking coffee during this window means you're adding caffeine on top of your natural peak — which leads to a bigger crash later and builds caffeine tolerance faster.
By waiting 90 minutes, you let your natural cortisol peak pass and then use caffeine to maintain alertness as it starts to dip. It's a simple timing change with significant impact.
Steven has mentioned eating a protein-focused breakfast — eggs, a protein shake, or similar. He avoids high-sugar cereals, pastries, or heavy carbohydrate breakfasts that cause blood sugar spikes followed by energy crashes.
The science, as discussed with nutrition guests on DOAC: protein and healthy fats provide stable, sustained energy. Carbs (especially refined ones) cause a blood sugar rollercoaster that kills focus and productivity by mid-morning.
Steven's journaling practice is one of the most frequently discussed aspects of his routine. But it's not what most people picture when they think of journaling.
Steven has been clear that his journaling isn't about "three things I'm grateful for." It's a thinking tool — a way to process complex decisions, clarify priorities, and surface thoughts that are cluttering his mind.
"I don't journal to feel good. I journal to think clearly. Writing forces you to convert vague feelings into concrete thoughts. Half the time, I solve problems just by writing them down." — Steven Bartlett, Diary of a CEO
Based on what Steven has shared across various episodes:
He's mentioned this takes roughly 15-20 minutes. It's not a long, elaborate process — it's a focused brain dump that creates clarity before the chaos of the day begins.
In one episode, Steven described a journaling technique he uses before major decisions: instead of asking "what could go right?", he asks "If this fails completely, what went wrong?" This pre-mortem approach surfaces risks and blind spots that optimism tends to hide.
Steven views exercise primarily as a cognitive performance tool, not just a health practice. He's spoken about how his best ideas come during or after workouts, and how exercise sets his mental state for the entire day.
Steven's exercise routine varies, but typically includes:
He doesn't follow an extreme program. The consistency matters more than the intensity. Steven has made the point multiple times that a moderate workout done daily beats an intense workout done sporadically.
Steven treats exercise like a meeting with his most important business partner — himself. It goes on the calendar first, and everything else works around it. He's described skipping exercise as "borrowing energy from tomorrow" — you might get an extra hour today, but you'll pay for it with reduced performance for the rest of the week.
This aligns with what productivity experts on DOAC consistently say: the 30-60 minutes "lost" to exercise are returned 3-4x in heightened focus, creativity, and energy for the rest of the day.
After his morning routine is complete, Steven transitions into what he considers the most important working hours of his day: a protected 90-minute block of deep, focused work.
Steven has described this as the habit that had the biggest impact on his business output. Before implementing it, his mornings were consumed by emails and reactions to other people's needs. After, he consistently makes progress on the projects that actually move the needle.
"If you can protect your first 90 minutes from the world, you'll accomplish more in that block than most people accomplish in an entire day of distracted, fragmented work." — Steven Bartlett, Diary of a CEO
During this block, Steven focuses on what he calls "Quadrant 2 work" — borrowing from Stephen Covey's framework. This is work that's important but not urgent: strategy, creative thinking, writing, long-term planning. The stuff that builds the future but never screams for attention the way emails do.
Steven has been honest that his morning routine wasn't always this structured. In his early Social Chain days, he was chaotic — checking emails in bed, skipping meals, running on caffeine and adrenaline.
By Steven's own admission, his early routine was: wake up, grab phone, start putting out fires. No exercise, minimal sleep, reactive from the moment his eyes opened. He's described this period as unsustainable and has been candid about the mental health toll it took.
As Steven interviewed more health experts, neuroscientists, and peak performers on DOAC, he began implementing their advice one piece at a time. Sleep came first — after the Matthew Walker episode. Then the phone-free mornings. Then journaling. Then protected deep work blocks.
What's notable about Steven's current routine is its flexibility within structure. The core elements are non-negotiable (sleep, no phone, exercise, deep work), but the specific timing and order can shift based on the day. Travel days look different from office days. Recording days have their own rhythm.
This is a key lesson: a routine should serve you, not cage you. The purpose of structure is freedom, not rigidity.
| Element | Steven Bartlett | Ali Abdaal | Chris Williamson |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Time | 6:30-7:30 AM | ~7:00 AM | ~6:00 AM |
| Phone Rule | No phone 30-60 min | Checks briefly, then puts away | No phone first hour |
| Exercise | Gym or walk | Gym (afternoon preferred) | Gym (morning, non-negotiable) |
| Journaling | Strategic journaling | Occasional | Gratitude + strategic |
| Deep Work | First 90 min protected | First 2 hours for creative work | First task before noon |
| Caffeine | Delayed 90 min | Morning coffee | Delayed 60-90 min |
The pattern is clear: all three prioritise sleep, exercise, and protecting morning focus time. The specific details vary, but the principles are identical. This isn't coincidence — it's convergent evolution. High performers independently arrive at the same core habits because they work.
You don't need to copy Steven's routine exactly. The principles matter more than the specifics. Here's how to build your own version:
Nothing else works if you're sleep-deprived. Before adding anything to your morning, ensure you're getting 7-8 hours of quality sleep. This is the foundation that everything else is built on. See our guide to health advice from DOAC for more on this.
Start with just 15 minutes of phone-free time after waking. Put the phone in another room overnight. Use a cheap alarm clock. This single change will feel strange at first and transformative within a week.
Choose one morning habit that grounds you: journaling, exercise, meditation, or even just sitting with your coffee in silence. Don't try to add all of them at once. One anchor habit, practiced consistently for 30 days, before adding the next.
Whatever your schedule allows — 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes — protect a block of deep work before opening email or attending meetings. Tell your team. Put it on your calendar. Guard it fiercely.
Your routine will evolve. Steven's did. What matters is maintaining the core principles while adjusting the details to fit your life. A routine you actually follow at 80% is infinitely better than a perfect routine you abandon after a week.
"Don't overthink it. The best morning routine is the one you'll actually do. Start with one thing, do it for a month, then add another. That's how every high performer I've met built their routine." — Steven Bartlett, Diary of a CEO
Steven has made this point multiple times: a morning routine isn't about the morning. It's about who you become when you consistently show up for yourself before showing up for the world.
Every element of his routine — sleep, no phone, journaling, exercise, deep work — is designed to ensure he starts the day on offence rather than defence. He's creating rather than reacting. He's moving toward his goals rather than responding to other people's.
Over weeks and months and years, this compounds dramatically. The person who starts each day with intention will build a fundamentally different life than the person who wakes up and immediately starts putting out fires.
Start tomorrow. Just one thing. No phone for 15 minutes. Or a glass of water before coffee. Or 5 minutes of journaling. Pick the smallest possible change and do it tomorrow morning.
That's how it starts. And as every productivity expert on DOAC will tell you, small starts lead to transformational outcomes.
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Join the Newsletter →Steven typically wakes up between 6:30 and 7:30 AM. He's been clear that he doesn't force a 5AM wake-up, instead prioritising 7-8 hours of quality sleep and letting his natural rhythm determine his wake time. His bedtime is usually around 10:30-11:30 PM.
Yes. Steven's morning routine includes avoiding his phone for the first 30-60 minutes, hydration (large glass of water), journaling or strategic reflection, exercise (gym or walk), a high-protein breakfast, and protecting his first 90 minutes of work for deep, focused tasks with no meetings or emails.
Steven has experimented with meditation but has said it's not a consistent daily practice for him. He prefers journaling and long walks as his forms of mental clarity, saying they achieve a similar effect for his brain type. He's not against meditation — he just found alternatives that work better for him personally.
Steven has mentioned eating a high-protein breakfast — usually eggs or a protein shake. He avoids sugary, high-carb breakfasts that cause blood sugar spikes and energy crashes. He also delays caffeine until about 90 minutes after waking to let his natural cortisol peak pass first.
Steven's productivity system centres on protecting his mornings for deep work, using theme days (separating creative "maker" days from "manager" days with meetings), saying no to most opportunities, journaling for decision clarity, and treating sleep and exercise as non-negotiable foundations. For a deeper dive, see our complete guide to DOAC productivity tips.