Agendolo

Andrej Karpathy's Daily Routine

For builders who could keep going all night. Andrej Karpathy works from about 9:00 AM, Monday to Friday, and keeps weekends off.

By Colin PaceUpdated

Overview

Andrej Karpathy was a founding member of OpenAI in 2015, led AI at Tesla from 2017 to 2022 and in 2025 coined the term "vibe coding". His daily schedule is plain by comparison. About 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Monday to Friday, and nothing on weekends.

He aims for 7.5 hours of sleep and describes the week on Threads in 2024. What makes it interesting is the contrast. On X in 2025 he laid out a far more chaotic week from a stretch when he wasn't employed, and his PhD years ran later still, with bed in the early morning and waking at noon.

It suits anyone whose work has no natural edges: researchers, freelancers, builders who could keep going all night and sometimes do. It's also for anyone who has tried the all-hours version and wants a steadier one.

You get a week with a start, a finish and a weekend that's genuinely off. Pick your own hours, then tell the people you work with. The bedtime and the meals are our estimates.

At a glance

  • 7 hr 30 min sleep per night
  • 47.5 hr work per week
  • 2 meals per day
  • 8 hr eating window

Schedule

9:00 AM
12:30 PM
1:00 PM
7:00 PM
7:30 PM
12:00 AM
7:30 AMnext day

Similar frameworks

Cal Newport's Daily Routine

For anyone who ends the day busy but behind. Cal Newport plans every minute of his workday and stops at 5:30 PM.

Colin PaceUpdated

Jeff Bezos's Daily Routine

Make your hardest calls while you're sharpest. Jeff Bezos's morning routine: no meetings before 10:00 AM and 3 good decisions a day.

Colin PaceUpdated

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.

Colin PaceUpdated

Jason Fried's Daily Routine

For people who never quite reach the life after work. Jason Fried splits his day 8 hours for work, 8 for sleep and 8 for himself.

Colin PaceUpdated

David Heinemeier Hansson's Daily Routine

Do great work in a 40-hour week and sleep in. David Heinemeier Hansson's daily routine: no alarm, and work from 11:00 AM.

Colin PaceUpdated

Immanuel Kant's Daily Routine

Guard an hour of thinking before the workday starts. Immanuel Kant's daily routine: wake at 5:00 AM, think and write, then lecture all morning.

Colin PaceUpdated

Charles Darwin's Daily Routine

Get great work out of about 3 hours a day. Charles Darwin's daily routine: two focused sittings from 8:00 AM, with walks and a nap.

Colin PaceUpdated

Charles Dickens's Daily Routine

Think the story over on foot. Charles Dickens's writing routine: 2,000 words by 2:00 PM, then a three-hour walk.

Colin PaceUpdated