Ainsley Earhardt
Ainsley Earhardt is the co-host of Fox & Friends on the Fox News Channel, and the author of numerous books including her recent memoir, The Light Within Me. Originally from North Carolina, Ainsley joined the network in 2007. She currently lives in New York City.
What is your morning routine?
I wake up around 3:00am when my alarm goes off, and I snooze for a few minutes. When I finally roll out of bed, I check the baby monitor to make sure that Hayden, my daughter, is okay. After I get up, I get ready and go into the kitchen before I leave to grab either a cup of coffee or a glass of water. I make sure to get all my ducks in a row before I head out the door and go to work. On my way to work, I read my Jesus Calling daily devotion and put in earbuds and listen to hymns. Once I’ve read my devotion, I read through what’s coming up on the show one more time (because I’ve studied it the night before). I also read emails and go through materials that producers have sent me throughout the night.
When I arrive at Fox, I’m still listening to my music and I go straight to hair and makeup. I’ll take out the music, turn on the television, and listen to Fox & Friends First to hear the latest headlines while I’m getting my hair and makeup done.
I then head to my office at around 5:00am. I sit in my office with hot ginger tea and have about fifty minutes until we go live. I have the TV on and continue to listen to Fox & Friends First or flip around to other channels to see what they are airing. I log onto my computer and look through our rundown and any news of the day that’s been added since I last looked. I read through a lot of articles, especially the wires, to make sure I’m fully prepared. Then, I put all of my articles inside a manila folder and on the outside of the folder I write notes. I’m very visual—once I’ve read the article, I’ll highlight anything in it that I like and then I transfer that to the outside of my folder by writing it large so it’s easy to read. I then get ready for the show and head to the set about ten minutes before we go live on Fox & Friends from 6:00-9:00am.
How long have you stuck with this routine so far?
Two and a half years.
What time do you go to sleep?
I try to go to bed around 9:00pm… but that never happens. My daughter likes to stay up as late as possible—she gets that from me. I’m a night owl and I love alone time when the house is finally quiet.
However, sometimes Hayden fights going to sleep. Her bedtime is between 7:30-8:00pm. We brush her teeth, pick out books to read, and say prayers. We thank God every night for all the people we love, and I pray specifically about her future, friends, teachers, that she comes to know the Lord at an early age, and even her husband and their (God-willing) many children. It’s my favorite time of the day. But then she fights going to sleep. She is smart and tries to negotiate for one more book or song. When she was a newborn baby, I played Elvis’ Can’t Help Falling in Love every night. I would hold her with her head on my shoulder and dance slowly around the room. Well, now she wants to listen to it every night, except she insists on watching Elvis perform the song on stage (on YouTube). She tries to coerce me into letting her watch it, and it’s hard to say no, considering that it reminds me of her first few weeks of life (what a precious time).
Do you do anything before going to bed to make your morning easier?
I put Hayden to sleep and once she is down and quiet, I leave her room, get into bed with my computer and Fox News on the TV, and have a little time to myself before turning off the lights. I review the news, study, and prepare for the show the next morning.
We receive a rundown of every person we are going to interview on the show. I look up stories on these individuals, and I read articles and watch newscasts they’ve done before so I am able to carry that into the interview. I often write my questions out the night before, but they’re more like guidelines because when you’re in an interview, the key is to listen. If the person you’re interviewing says something and you have a follow up question, you are going to ask that. I’m a planner and I need to have a rough idea of how the interview is going to go. And if they have a longer story, I have to figure out how to tell this person’s story in a condensed way.
Do you use an alarm to wake you up in the morning, and if so do you ever hit the snooze button?
Absolutely! I use about five alarms on my phone and I snooze all of them for a little while.
How soon after waking up do you have breakfast, and what do you typically have?
I normally just have coffee at work because I don’t really get hungry until after Fox & Friends. Occasionally, I’ll get trail mix out of the vending machines in the kitchen.
Do you have a morning workout routine?
I try to work out three times a week and attend various workout classes around the city after the show. Sometimes I’ll go to Equinox, Orange Theory, or Barry’s Bootcamp… I like to mix it up.
Do you have a morning meditation routine?
My faith is extremely important to me. Aside from reading my Jesus Calling daily devotion and listening to hymns on the way to work every day, I am also in a Bible study with women and we meet at my apartment every other week. Right now, we are studying Beth Moore’s Breaking Free.
Do you answer email first thing in the morning or leave it until later in the day?
I usually don’t answer any emails until later in the day because I’m busy preparing for the show. If there’s something that’s pressing that I forgot to do the night before or if one of our producers needs something, then I’ll answer it on the way to work, but it’s very rare just because I run out of time. I also try not to send or read texts on the way to work because I’ll forget to go back and respond (and because if I respond when I read it, it’s in the middle of the night and most of my friends are sleeping. I try to be mindful of that).
How soon do you check your phone in the morning?
Immediately, since our staff is awake and sending messages to prepare for our morning show.
Do you also follow this routine on weekends, or do you change some steps?
I try to sleep in and do not follow this routine on weekends. Keep in mind—anything is sleeping in for me. I usually get up around 3:00am, so if I sleep until 7:00am on the weekends, that’s sleeping in and it feels so good! The baby monitor is right next to my bed and I’ll wake up when Hayden wakes up. Lately, I’ve been going to the Carolinas on the weekends to visit my mother who is recovering from a stroke, so I’ve been spending a lot of time traveling with my daughter to see her.
On days you’re not settled in your home, are you able to adapt your routine to fit in with a different environment?
For sure. I follow the same routine no matter where I am.
Anything else you would like to add?
I love my job. And I really don’t mind waking up extra early to wake up America each and every weekday morning. I am blessed beyond measure!
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