Arthur C. Brooks's Daily Routine

Arthur C. Brooks is a Harvard professor who teaches leadership and the science of happiness, and writes a column for The Atlantic. His morning routine is built around the hours he concentrates best. By noon he has trained, prayed and written for 4 hours, before taking a single call.

He told Business Insider in 2025 that he is up at 4:30 AM and in the gym within 15 minutes, for an hour of weights and easy cardio, then goes to Mass with his wife. From 8:00 AM to noon he writes, with no calls and no social media. Afternoons go to teaching, podcasts and interviews, and evenings to a family supper he often cooks, a 40-minute walk with his wife, the rosary and bed around 9:00 PM, away from screens.

It suits people whose days fill up with other people's requests by mid-morning, such as teachers, managers and anyone who is on call in the afternoon. It also suits anyone who wants the things that keep them steady, like exercise, faith or quiet, to come before work gets its turn.

You get your clearest hours for the work only you can do, a body and mind looked after before the day starts, and evenings that end early and together. If his start is too early, shift the whole day later and keep the order: move, reflect, write, then meet. The length of Mass and the rosary, the afternoon hours, the evening times and the weekend are our estimates.

Sources

• Julia Pugachevsky, Business Insider 2025, Inside happiness scientist and Harvard professor Arthur C. Brooks' daily routine