Brian Chesky's Daily Routine
Keep your best hours for your best ideas. Airbnb's Brian Chesky starts slow, books nothing before 10:00 AM and saves 9:30 PM onward for creative work.
By Colin PaceUpdated
Overview
Brian Chesky, a RISD-trained designer, co-founded Airbnb in 2008 and has led it as CEO since 2010. His day is built around one fact: his best ideas arrive around 10:00 PM.
He wakes at 8:30 AM, does cardio or walks the dog, and takes no meeting before 10:00 AM. Meals run on the clock: lunch at noon, a snack at 3:00 PM and dinner at 6:00 PM. At 7:30 PM he trains, then creative work fills the evening until bed at 1:30 AM. He walked through the day in a 2025 video, reported by Fortune.
Adopt it if your sharpest thinking comes late and your days belong to other people. You get an unhurried morning, a workday that ends on time and 4 protected hours at night for the work only you can do. The end of the workday and the weekend are our estimates.
At a glance
- 7 hr sleep per night
- 77 hr work per week
- 4 meals per day
- 10 hr eating window
- 10.5 hr movement per week
Sleep
49 hours/week7 hr per night
- Every day1:30 AM → 8:30 AM· 7 hr
No naps.
Work
77 hours/week11 hr a day7 hr meetings4 hr creative work
- Meetings10:00 AM → 12:00 PM· 2 hr · Every day
- Meetings12:30 PM → 3:00 PM· 2 hr 30 min · Every day
- Meetings3:30 PM → 6:00 PM· 2 hr 30 min · Every day
- Creative work9:30 PM → 1:30 AM· 4 hr · Every day
Eat
14 hours/week4 meals14:10 eating window2 hr eating
- Breakfast9:00 AM → 9:30 AM· 30 min · Every day
- Lunch12:00 PM → 12:30 PM· 30 min · Every day
- Snack3:00 PM → 3:30 PM· 30 min · Every day
- Dinner6:00 PM → 6:30 PM· 30 min · Every day
Off
Move
10.5 hours/weekCardio 8:30 AMStrength 7:30 PM
- Cardio8:30 AM → 9:00 AM· 30 min · Every day
- Strength7:30 PM → 8:30 PM· 1 hr · Every day