What time do you wake up?
Usually around 5.00 am (I am not naturally an early riser and am certainly not one of those “always on the grind” type of CEO but because I live in LA and the UK is still our largest market, I like to get as involved as I can with the UK work day).
What do you typically have for breakfast?
Oats and protein cake right now – I like to get at least 50-70 grams of protein and a similar amount of carbs to kick off my day.
What is the rest of your morning routine?
I spend all my time either on the phone with colleagues or customers to get caught up on what’s been happening while I was asleep and make sure that plans are progressing properly. I intersperse this with dog walks.
What is the first thing you do at the start of your working day?
Check my bank balances, this is a habit that evolved out of being pretty poor in my early 20s and just never checking my bank account in the hopes that everything would be ok by the end of the month!
How do you prioritise your day’s work?
I create a things-to-do list, however, I usually start with the things that are easy to achieve to give me some sense of achievement before moving on to more challenging or time-consuming tasks.
Occasionally, there are no work-related tasks to complete that aren’t challenging or time-consuming, so I will add benign non-work related tasks to it like “walk 5000 steps by 10.00 am” or “put a wash in the washing machine” just to get myself going.
Do you plan meetings or are they a waste of time?
Absolutely, I find that they focus the information available to me, so I have weekly meetings with each of the departments in the business. I do have a bugbear with individuals who book a time to speak to me rather than just call me though and I typically refuse to accept one-on-one meetings with anyone in the organization.
Do you have a working lunch or do you take a break?
I don’t structure my day with pre-planned breaks, I tend to do a bunch of work in the mornings and another bunch in the evenings when I’m at my most creative. I try and take advantage of the weather where I live in LA and enjoy personal pursuits in the afternoon, generally involving being outdoors.
When does your working day finish?
I don’t really have a cut-off for it: if something needs to be done, it needs to be done. If I am too tired to do something effectively, I will leave it until the next day but that rarely happens.
How do you prepare for the next day’s work?
Once again my work doesn’t really fall into that kind of pattern anymore. If I have an important meeting or something, I may refresh the details in my mind, but generally, my role falls into one of two categories: either instant reactive activity that needs to be resolved immediately or long-term transformative projects.
What’s your favorite piece of technology?
My Philips Hue Gradient Sync box and associated lighting. I have a complete smart home where almost every function can be voice controlled but that lighting system provides the ultimate movie-viewing experience, so much so that I recently created an entire room in my house just to maximize its potential.
How do you switch off?
Usually by doing stuff with my dog. He is a Border Collie/Poodle cross breed and is super high energy. I love taking him places and he’s super smart and acts as my best friend as well as my personal jester.
What is the best piece of advice you have received?
Your first instinct is usually the right instinct but always take a minute just in case.
This article first appeared in: https://www.businessleader.co.uk/my-working-day-owen-keenan-lindsey-ceo-assimilated-international/
