Elon Musk hopes to remove this ’terrible habit’ from his morning routine

Elon Musk is well-known for his successes, but few know the habits that make him just as human as the rest of us. Recently, Musk talked on a podcast about one habit he’s trying to get away from completely, which he thinks many other people are also susceptible to. 

In an interview on the Full Send Podcast, Musk called one habit he’s used to doing every morning “terrible,” saying he hoped to cut it out of his daily routine (via CNBC). On the three-hour podcast, Musk discussed topics ranging from Mars to Tesla, and to the habit of checking his phone when he wakes up every morning.

Instead, Musk explained, he hopes to replace the habit with something healthier.

“I have a bad habit — which I suspect a lot of people do — of immediately checking my phone [in the morning],” Musk said during the podcast. “It’s a terrible habit, actually.”

Musk explained previously that he uses his phone to check his emails for around 30 minutes each morning, though he’s now hoping to replace that habit with a better one. Instead, Musk says he’s hoping to work out for at least 20 minutes before checking his phone at all.

“I [need] to work out and be in better shape,” Musk said on the Full Send Podcast. “So, I’m going to switch from immediately looking at my phone as soon as I wake up to working out for at least 20 minutes — then I’ll look at my phone.”

In the past, Musk has said that he goes to bed around 3:00 a.m. and gets up around 9:30 a.m. each morning. The smartphone habit initially came from Musk’s anxiety about missing out on company emergencies while he’s sleeping.

“I run SpaceX and Tesla, so there’s usually some sort of thing that’s happened over night,” added Musk.

Above: Elon Musk talks about getting out of the habit of checking his phone first thing in the morning. Video: Full Send Podcast / YouTube

Musk isn’t wrong about how common it is for people to check their phones first thing in the morning. According to findings in a study from IDC Research, around 80 percent of smartphone users check their phones within 15 minutes of waking up. But Musk also notes some of his other vices which may also sound familiar, like cutting back on a caffeine habit.

“There were probably times when I had like eight [Diet Cokes] a day or something ridiculous,” Musk said. “I think these days it’s probably one or two, so it’s nothing too crazy.”

Billionaire or not, Musk’s day-to-day vices seem to relate more to the average person than some might expect. Like many of us in the smartphone era, it can be all too easy to check our phones right when we wake up — but we’d probably be better off if we didn’t, according to Musk.

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