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Albert Einstein's Daily Routine

For productive days with no breathing room. Albert Einstein's daily routine at Princeton: a walk to work at 10:30 AM, then a lunch nap.

By Colin PaceUpdated

Overview

Albert Einstein developed the theory of relativity and won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics. His daily routine at Princeton had a nap built into it: lunch at 1:30 PM, then a nap, then tea.

Mason Currey sets out the day in Daily Rituals (2013). Mornings started slowly, with breakfast and the papers, then at 10:30 AM he walked to the Institute for Advanced Study and worked until 1:00 PM. The afternoon went to more work and his letters, and after supper he worked again. He walked with Kurt Gödel and played the violin.

This is the one to try if your days are productive but have no breathing room. It's also for anyone who feels guilty about stopping midday, since the nap and the walks are part of the plan.

You get 3 sittings of real work with walks, a nap, tea and music between them, and proof that rest can live inside a serious day. Put one walk between two work blocks today. The 11:00 PM bedtime, the nap's length and the violin hour are our estimates.

Who's it for

At a glance

  • 9 hr 30 min sleep per night
  • 49 hr work per week
  • 4 meals per day
  • 11 hr eating window
  • 7 hr movement per week
  • 7 hr play per week

Schedule

9:00 AM
10:00 AM
10:30 AM
11:00 AM
1:00 PM
1:30 PM
2:30 PM
3:00 PM
3:30 PM
6:30 PM
7:30 PM
9:30 PM
10:30 PM
11:00 PM
8:30 AMnext day

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