During an interview at the All Things Digital conference in 2010, Steve Jobs was asked what
his day to day schedule at Apple was like. And Jobs replied, “What I do all day is meet
with teams of people and work on ideas and new problems to come up with new products.” And,
while that’s a pretty vague answer, it got me thinking what a day in the life of Steve
Jobs was really like. So in this video, I’ll be explaining, in detail, Job’s morning routine,
what he did at work, what he ate, and how he liked to relax. This is Greg with Apple Explained,
and this topic came in second place in the last voting poll, if you didn’t get to participate make
sure you’re subscribed and polls like this one will begin appearing in your mobile activity feed.
Alright now Jobs described himself as a morning person,
waking up around 6am. In an effort to keep his routine as efficient as possible,
he wore the same outfit everyday. A black mock turtleneck designed by Issey Miyaki,
and a pair of Levi jeans. Once dressed, he began working immediately. Jobs actually had a direct
telecom line setup between Apple, Pixar, and his home. It was called a T1, which updated all his
files and data across all the computers connected to the T1 line. Allowing him to begin working from
home, continue at Apple, and pick up where he left off at Pixar. Jobs stopped working once his kids
woke up around 7:30. The family gathered around the table for breakfast, where the kids finished
up their homework and Jobs ate vegetables, dried fruit, and, his personal favorite, Odwalla juice.
After seeing his kids off to school, Jobs tried to stay home and work for at least an hour.
But some days he would head to work immediately, putting his arrival time at Apple around 8 to 9am.
Jobs sits in meetings for the majority of his workday, especially on Mondays. When ten of
the company’s top executives would meet up with Jobs and run through Apple’s entire business.
Examining how much of each product was sold the previous week, discussing future products
still under development, products they were having issues with, products with a larger
than expected demand, and more. Although there weren’t many formalities at Apple,
Jobs ensured this Monday meeting was well-organized and well-prepared,
since it was crucial that every member of Apple’s executive team were all on the same page.
At noon, Jobs would break for lunch. He was a self-proclaimed fruitarian, becoming obsessed
with the diet as a teenager. That meant he ate primarily fruit, with occasional nuts and seeds.
If that doesn’t sound extreme enough, Jobs took things even further by eating just one food in
particular, like apples or carrots, for weeks at a time. This is actually part of the reason
why Jobs chose the name Apple for his computer company. I’ll actually be explaining more about
the story behind Apple’s name in an upcoming video so be sure you’re subscribed for that. But
after his pancreatic cancer diagnosis in 2003, he decided to expand his diet beyond fruit to foods
higher in protein like fish and eggs. Thereby transitioning from a fruitarian to a pescatarian.
After enjoying lunch, he visits the design lab around 1pm. Checking out
the development of future products and closely examining various prototypes.
In many ways, Jobs served as a one man focus group. Judging for himself if a product felt
right in the hand or delivered a satisfactory user experience, allowing his intuition influence
over important decisions. And many of these decisions were made in the design studio,
where Jobs spent about 2-3 hours every day. Afterward, he would focus on communications
inside and outside the company. Reading through hundreds of customer emails, making phone calls,
and going on walks with Apple managers and executives. If there was an upcoming
presentation, Jobs would also spend this time rehearsing and running through his slide deck.
His work day ended around 5pm, when he would drive back home and sit down to dinner with
his family. Which often included raw vegetables from the family garden, and even an after-dinner
tea brewed with home-grown herbs. Jobs would indulge in a glass of wine from time to time,
but otherwise avoided alcohol altogether. After dinner, around 6:30, Jobs and Laurene, his wife,
would take a walk around their neighborhood in Palo Alto. The two
would often be spotted carrying a bottle of Smart Water, Job’s personal favorite.
When it came to winding down at the end of the day,
Jobs often meditated, listened to music, or read a book.
Despite being worth over ten billion dollars, Jobs led a relatively simple life. He didn’t have any
mega-mansions with sprawling estates or supercars crowding up his driveway. He just worked at Apple,
spent time with his family, and often used his spare time for self-reflection.
Which is strikingly similar to lifestyle he once considered as a young man. That is,
becoming a monk and living in a monastery. And although his reality turned out much different,
I think beneath the surface, the strong connection he had to his spirituality and intuition
empowered him to take huge risks that ultimately paid off in the end.
So that was a day in the life of Steve Jobs, don’t forget to subscribe to see an
upcoming video explaining how Apple got it’s name. And I’ll see you next time.