Andrew Yang is the CEO and founder of Venture for America. He is the author of "Smart People Should Build Things," published by Harper Collins. Follow Andrew on Twitter @andrewyangvfa.
The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is push my dog off of me.
He likes to sleep on top of me. I think it’s because I’m warm and breathing.
The second thing I do is check on my wife and son. I generally wake up before them, so if they’re both asleep I have a window of time.
If they’re asleep, I’ll check my phone and go to the gym. I try not to bring my phone to the gym — it's too tempting to play with it.
If my son’s awake, I try to spend some time with him. Most nights he might be asleep by the time I get back from the office or meetings, so if I don’t see him in the morning, I might not see him until the following day. I’m not that good at reading books to him, so I’m more likely to point things out in the window.
At some point in the morning, I review my schedule and get a sense of the meetings I have. My assistant will have sent me a text message the night before with anything I need to be aware of. I wear a suit most days, in part because it’s suitable for any type of meeting, and in part because it takes the thought out of it.
The other thing to figure out is if I’m riding my bike to work. Once a week I'll pack a change of clothes for my weekly basketball game.
I’ll eat cereal, almonds, crackers, or a muffin, and take a vitamin. I’ll grab something else to eat on the way to the office. I moisturize.
If I’m on the road, then most of this doesn’t apply — I’ll text my wife and eat a KIND bar.
If I need a pick-me-up, I pull up a memo file on my phone and type in three things I'm grateful for. The things I've typed on other days are still there. It's a long list. Always helps.
The Success Series is a collection of the best advice from some of our favorite writers, thinkers, and leaders. This week, we asked: "What is your morning routine?" See other articles in the series here.
