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.
