Barack Obama's Daily Routine

Barack Obama was the 44th President of the United States, from 2009 to 2017, and has written several bestselling books. His daily routine in the White House ran late. The evening, not the morning, was his time to think.

He was up around 7:00 AM and, NBC reported in 2009, saw his daughters off to school, worked out, read the briefings and papers, then spent the day in meetings. After dinner with his family at 6:30 PM, he spent 4 to 5 hours mostly alone in the Treaty Room with his briefing book, letters and speech drafts, going to bed around midnight, The New York Times found. Fridays were film nights with his family, and he often played golf at weekends, ESPN reported.

It suits people whose days are full of other people and who need quiet hours to do their own thinking. The day belongs to everyone else, so the night has to be yours.

You get a protected stretch each night when nobody needs anything from you, so the hard thinking has a home. Those nights were short, so keep the protected evening, not the late bedtime: try 2 hours after dinner. Meal times, the Friday and weekend times and the workout length are our estimates.