Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate, investor, and author.
Every day Richard Brandon engages in some form of physical activity and spends time with his family – family time and exercise are his two non-negotiables for the day.
Mornings
While he enjoys his time on Necker Island, he often travels the world on business in his private plane. Regardless of whether he’s waking up on Necker or another country on the other side of the world, Branson gets an early start.
Like many entrepreneurs, he rises every day at 5 am and uses the morning to get some quality time with his family and exercise, before settling down to the day’s business. He says he spends about 40 minutes lifting weights in the morning to help him maintain his strength and fitness.
If he is on Necker, he’ll use the morning to get into the ocean for some kite surfing. After getting out of the water at around 9 am, he’ll go home for breakfast. If he’s on the mainland, he will spend the time playing tennis in the morning to get the blood moving.
Branson says he enjoys a light, nutritious breakfast consisting of a fruit salad and some muesli, nuts, and dried fruit. He’ll eat the meal dry, without any milk or yogurt.
The workday starts around 10 am, answering emails and catching up on the news through reports sent to him by his team. He sips tea almost constantly during the day, reportedly drinking as many as 20 cups a day.
Afternoons
If he is on the mainland, he’ll take his lunch during meetings to save time. Branson is known to dislike formal meetings and prefers to either walk and talk or discuss business over a meal in the afternoon.
If he is working from Necker, he’ll coordinate his schedule with Helen, his assistant. Most of his afternoons are spent taking calls and answering emails from the Virgin offices around the globe.
Lately, he has been spending more time posting to his blog, releasing a steady stream of content — quite varied in topic and substance — ranging from business tips for young entrepreneurs to his family’s photos.
Branson typically winds down the day at around 5 pm to 6 pm and enjoys the fading light on his private island, relaxing on the patio in front of the pool before getting ready for the highlight of the day – dinner.
Evenings
Dinner is his favorite meal of the day – not only for the delicious food but for the chance to chat with his friends or family at the dinner table.
According to Branson, the best dinners consist of laughter and conversation. Necker’s dinner table has seeded dozens of new ideas.
Dinner provides Branson with nutrition and inspiration that’s vital for his creative process. While he used to enjoy a drink with dinner, he has recently gone off alcohol, preferring to sip on some sparkling water with lemon instead.
After dinner’s antics are over, Branson takes a few hours to go through his social media and his email inbox.
After finishing with the tech side of his life, he will retire to bed around 11 pm where he’ll often read a few chapters of a book or watch a documentary to relax before sleeping.
The Virgin boss says he needs at least five to six hours of sleep a night to remain functional throughout the day.
In a 2017 blog post, Richard Branson wrote about the significance of staying active to his long-term success:
Keeping active is a huge part of my life. I seriously doubt that I would have been as successful in my career (and happy in my personal life), if I hadn’t always placed importance on my health and fitness.
ORIGINAL THINKING | RICHARD’S BLOG
Exercise and family time are his two non-negotiables for the day. Branson wrote about how raising his children influenced the way he ran his businesses in his autobiography:
Their hopes and desires encouraged me to keep chasing my big dreams. Their intrepidness and fearlessness gave me the confidence to keep putting myself outside my comfort zone. Their thirst for knowledge and new experiences were my incentive to keep questioning and challenging the status quo, and never rest on my laurels.
HOW I BALANCED MY CAREER AND FAMILY | PENGUIN BOOKS
In an interview with Thrive Global, when asked about the last time he felt burnt out, Branson said:
As long as I get my exercise in I very rarely feel burnt out. I’ve always managed to get a pretty good balance in my life with things like working from home with the family and having wonderful breaks with them.
THE BOOK THAT CHANGED RICHARD BRANSON’S LIFE | THRIVE GLOBAL
Sources:
- https://www.balancethegrind.com.au/daily-routines/richard-branson-daily-routine/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CAgx-yIBXw
- https://finty.com/us/daily-routines/richard-branson/
- https://www.businessinsider.com.au/richard-branson-daily-routine-2017-8?r=US&IR=T
- https://www.virgin.com/branson-family/richard-branson-blog/my-usual-daily-routine