Thomas Edison's Daily Routine

Thomas Edison gave the world the phonograph and a practical electric light, and held more than 1,000 US patents. He also claimed he needed only 4 hours of sleep, but his sleep schedule in 1901 had him in bed at 11:00 PM.

That year he gave Orison Swett Marden his day for How They Succeeded: at the laboratory by 8:00 AM, home for tea at 6:00 PM, then study until bedtime. The legend comes from earlier, when at Menlo Park he worked 18- and 19-hour days and slept roughly from 2:00 to 7:00 AM. Catnaps on the lab benches and the "Insomnia Squad" of 1912 kept the story going, but the 4-hour claim is best read as self-mythology.

This one suits anyone who wants to keep growing while holding down a full job. You get a working day with a fixed end and 4 evening hours that belong to learning, every day. The 7:00 AM wake, lunch and the short midday catnap are our estimates.