Kyle Legg

What is your morning routine?

I wake up around 7:00am with the help of my Jawbone UP24’s smart alarm and Philips Hue (which fades to 100% brightness from 6:55-7:05am). The first thing I usually do is grab my iPhone to check any notifications, read through headlines on SmartNews, and flick through my social media feeds for about ten minutes before getting out of bed.

Once I’m up I head to the kitchen and prepare a light cappuccino with toast or a bowl of fruit to enjoy over some magazines (Rolling Stone, Nylon Guys, San Francisco Magazine) or one to two chapters of a book if I’m reading one at the time. After I finish breakfast I’ll hop in the shower, brush my teeth, shave (if I feel like it), get dressed, and tame my hair with grooming clay before it poofs into baby chick hair.

If I’m working the first part of the day from home, I’ll dive into work a little before 9:00am from my desk before heading to the office around 11:00am. Otherwise, I’ll head straight to my office (usually I’ll walk the mile and a half to the nearest underground Muni Station, but depending on what needs to be done and how lazy I’m feeling, I’ll drive) and hope to be there by 9:45am.

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How long have you stuck with this routine so far?

I have stuck with a similar routine to this for a little over two years now.

How has your morning routine changed over recent years?

My morning routine has evolved over time with changing technologies; from real alarm clocks, to iPhone alarm clocks, to wearable alarm clocks. The most notable change in recent history being the addition of Hue and UP24 (and losing my dependency on screeching alarm clocks).

What time do you go to sleep?

I’m a total night owl. I try to fall asleep by 11:00pm. It can—but rarely does—happen. I normally fall asleep close to midnight.

Do you use an alarm to wake you up in the morning, and if so do you ever hit the snooze button?

I set my iPhone alarm as a backup alarm (I have a really, really cool EQ3 digital alarm clock, but it’s really just for decoration), and rely on my UP24 and Hue to artificially lift me out of my dreams.

How soon after waking up do you have breakfast, and what do you typically have?

I usually have a bowl of fruit or some toast within half an hour of waking up, along with a light cappuccino.

Do you have a morning workout routine?

Some will not count this as a workout of any sort, but I walk the hills (read: mountains) of San Francisco for a total of two miles (a mile and a half to the nearest underground Muni Station, and about half a mile from the Muni stop to my office).

Do you answer email first thing in the morning or leave it until later in the day?

If I notice any important email notifications when I wake up, I’ll check them, but usually email waits until I’m in the office. Even then, email is not the first thing on my mind when I arrive.

How soon do you check your phone in the morning?

Immediately! My phone is the first thing I reach for in the morning. I read through headlines on SmartNews and check what I’ve missed on Instagram during my sleep (Insta #FOMO).

What are your most important tasks in the morning?

My most important task in the morning is getting to work. If I’m working on a deadline (and really pushing it) or I have a sudden burst of creativity, I may immediately skip to work over breakfast.

What and when is your first drink in the morning?

I always go to bed with a huge glass of water (I’m talking about one of those Big Gulp-style cups you get at the pool in Vegas for drinks) on my nightstand. I wake up parched, so I guzzle every last drop when I wake up.

On days you’re not settled in your home, are you able to adapt your routine to fit in with a different environment?

I struggle with any routine when I’m not home. This may be from a bad night’s sleep, being in vacation-mode, or just the psychological effect of not being able to relax in my own environment.

When working remotely from my parents’ home in Central California I just spend the day in pyjamas, lagging and desperately crying for a cup of Ritual Coffee. On those days, I tend to focus on completing the major tasks at hand; typically putting together new property websites, finalizing drafts of what needs to go to print, and ensuring all information on my company’s website and social media reflects all current market data.

What do you do if you fail to follow your morning routine, and how does this influence the rest of your day?

If I fail to follow my morning routine, my day may or may not be influenced. Sometimes I may be thrown off and move very slowly, but other times I may be entirely unaffected and able to fly through the day regardless.

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