Typical Day

A Typical Day for Ivan

I’ve recently been having people ask me what a typical day looked like for me.  The last person that asked me that questions caused me to ask a question to him in return.  I asked him, why he was curious about?  He replied, that he believed that “successful people had some routines that helped them achieve their success” and that’s why he was curious.

I thanked him for including me in that list of people he thought were successful and told him I would write about it in an upcoming blog – and here we are.

I believe my friend was correct – I too believe that successful people have routines that keep them focused and engaged.  Routines are truly different for every successful person.  What is the same is that they have a routine and they follow it. I can’t say that mine are that exciting but, they are mine and I like them.

I should note that I travel a lot and when I’m traveling – the routine is much different.

If I’m not traveling or attending a meeting, this is my normal routine.

  1. 7ish wake up.
  2. 30 minutes exercise in my home gym. Nothing crazy – walking, (sometimes outside – but often in the home gym watching the news), push-ups, crunches, stretching, simple bar weights.
  3. Steam shower (contemplative meditation).
  4. I try to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.  (All the meals are generally organic and always healthy).
  5. 9 am I walk the 51 steps to my home office and tackle email communications
  6. I am a zealot about my schedule. Almost every hour is scheduled with something (including time to think, research, and/or write).  Most importantly, I color code my calendar to know what kind of activities I have scheduled for the day.  The things I love doing are all in various shades of green.  (Red is bad, very bad.  They are the things I don’t want to do but must do – yes, I have some of those too).
  7. My primary focus is writing, speaking, and doing interviews.
  8. On writing days, I only tackle urgent emails and then focus most of the day on writing related activities (research, writing, editing).
  9. Throughout the days I do scheduled media interviews (these are always a priority) or record videos for BNI regions.
  10. End around 6 pm.
  11. Wine O’clock on the balcony to watch for deer or wild turkey on our property. Almost always a big bold – “hit you over the head” – red wine. 😊
  12. Dinner around 6:30 pm.
  13. Around 7, I watch some movie or TV shows recorded on my DVR (yes, I have some guilty pleasures that I do NOT feel guilty about).
  14. If necessary, I go back into my home office around 8 – 9 pm to get some work done.
  15. Head to bed between 10 pm and 11 pm.
  16. Read the news or a book for up to an hour.
  17. Generally asleep by 11:30 pm.

This is a normal day – I don’t always have those but when I’m home, this would be pretty normal.  The routines I have that I think are worth noting include daily exercise, contemplation, healthy food, a specific routine for the work, guilty pleasures (wine, TV, or movies), and reading time each evening.

And that my friends, is a day in the life of Ivan Misner.

What surprises you or what would you like to add to your list?

8 thoughts on “A Typical Day for Ivan

  1. Thanks for the insight into the most important routines of your day!

    I agree that being intentional about things like learning something new, having space to think and eating in ways that makes your body work at its peak lead to greater outcomes, but they are also items that can be so very easy to let slide off your schedule.

    I consider each day that I successfully accomplish all those things to be an extra big WIN, both in terms of completing the tasks and having a truly great day.

  2. Ivan, I LOVE that you watch television without guilt. I read and listen to so many top performers say they don’t even own a TV. I will not feel guilty about my DVR habits. I also love a ‘hit you over the head’ red! Still keeping my eyes open for a cloning clinic. 😉

  3. Wonderful! I agree that a routine is very important for staying focused and on task. I like that you have fitness in there – crucial for mind (and body).

    1. Hi Ramesh. My schedule was CRAZY for 30 years. It was much different than this. Watch the movie with Michael Keaton called, “The Paper.” When I first saw that movie, I thought “oh my goodness, that is my life!”

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