Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Get started
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast summary
And Two Other Short Guides to Achieving More at Work and Home
26 mins
Brief summary
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam is a self-help book that offers insights on how successful individuals prioritize their mornings to maximize productivity and achieve their goals.
Table of Contents
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast
Summary of 10 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 10
Start the day by immediately doing the things that matter most to you rather than putting them off.
Mornings are hectic and often pass in the blink of an eye. You jump out of bed, bustle about getting the kids ready for school and then rush out the door and off to work. But it doesn’t have to be like that. Rethink your mornings and they can become an opportunity to do the things that matter most.
The key is to stop postponing important tasks. Do them now rather than waiting for the perfect moment later on.
Everyone wants more time to do the things they care about. For some, that’s exercise; for others, it’s reading or putting in a few hours on a long-term work project like writing an annual report. It’s all too easy to let daily chores and obligations distract you. And, by the time you’re done responding to work-related emails and doing the laundry, all you want to do is collapse in front of the TV.
That makes mornings the perfect time to accomplish your goals. Take it from James Citrin, the leader of the headhunting agency Spencer Stuart’s North American Board and CEO Practice.
He interviewed a group of high-flying executives about their morning routines, and 18 out of 20 of them had this one thing in common: they were up before 6 a.m. every day.
Citrin is also an early riser, and he uses the morning hours to work out. The world is still calm in the wee hours – a perfect time for some quiet reflection!
Then there’s Steve Reinemund, the former CEO and chairman of PepsiCo and the current dean of the School of Business at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. He gets up even earlier, starting his day at 5 a.m. with a four-mile run. After that, he takes some quality “me time” and either reads or prays. Next on the itinerary is a good breakfast with his kids. If he’s traveling, he makes sure he can stick to his tried-and-true routine by only ever staying in hotels with treadmills.
Perhaps you’ve also tried to develop a morning routine but fallen prey to the temptation of grabbing some extra sleep. That’s a common enough problem. As we’ll see in the following blinks, it can be overcome. The secret? Willpower.
Want to see all full key ideas from What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast?
Key ideas in What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast about?
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast (2013) is a guide to the early hours. Packed with useful tips drawn from the lives of today’s highfliers, it lays out an actionable plan that’ll help you design and implement your perfect morning routine. Do that, and you’ll find time for the things that matter most to you. Even better – once you’ve mastered a few time-management skills and revolutionized your mornings, you’ll be set to boost your work performance and get the most out of your weekends.
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast Review
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast (2013) by Laura Vanderkam provides valuable insights into the morning routines of high achievers and why they are crucial for success. Here's why this book is worth reading:
- Offers practical strategies that can be implemented to make the most of your mornings and increase productivity throughout the day.
- Backed by research and interviews with successful individuals, it provides evidence-based tips and actionable steps to kickstart your day.
- With its engaging anecdotes and relatable stories, the book keeps you hooked till the end, ensuring that it is anything but boring.
Best quote from What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast
[L]earning to use mornings well is, in our distracted world, what separates achievement from madness.
—Laura Vanderkam
Who should read What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast?
- Managers
- Parents
- Entrepreneurs
- Busy bees
Categories with What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast
Book summaries like What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked these summaries
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
John C. Maxwell
Follow Them and People Will Follow You
20 min
4.4
The Grieving Body
Mary-Frances O'Connor
How the Stress of Loss Can Be an Opportunity for Healing
23 min
The Job-Ready Guide
Anastasia de Waal
Employability Skills and Strategies for Career Success
24 min
4.1
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
37 Million
Downloads on all platforms
10+ years
Experience igniting personal growth
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast FAQs
What is the main message of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast?
Prioritize important tasks in the morning for a more productive day.
How long does it take to read What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast?
The reading time for What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast varies depending on the reader's speed, but it typically takes several hours. However, the Blinkist summary can be read in just 15 minutes.
Is What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast a good book? Is it worth reading?
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast is worth reading as it offers practical insights on maximizing mornings for increased productivity.
Who is the author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast?
The author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast is Laura Vanderkam.
What to read after What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast?
If you're wondering what to read next after What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- My Morning Routine by Benjamin Spall and Michael Xander
- 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam
- A Handbook for New Stoics by Massimo Pigliucci and Gregory Lopez
- The Free-Time Formula by Jeff Sanders
- The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
- Tranquility by Tuesday by Laura Vanderkam
- I Know What to Do So Why Don't I Do It? by Nick Hall
- The Procrastination Cure by Damon Zahariades
- Stop Self-Sabotage by Dr. Judy Ho
- Powered by Happy by Beth Thomas