Oleksandr Kosovan
Oleksandr Kosovan is founder and CEO of MacPaw, the software dev. company behind CleanMyMac, with more than three million customers around the world. Oleksandr currently lives in Kiev, Ukraine.
What is your morning routine?
My morning routine varies from season to season, from year to year, but the routine I’m trying to keep to now is the one I’m planning to stick with for a long time.
When it’s a summer weekend I often get up at 7:00am and head for the Dnipro River banks (Kyiv area, Ukraine) to do some windsurfing, wakeboarding, or jetskiing.
Winter weekends are a bit lazier, but I’m often awakened by our office pet, Fixel, whom I typically take home from the MacPaw office for the weekend. His tone of voice is unbelievably demanding when he’s hungry at six in the morning, so it’s better that I obey and give him some food. After he’s been fed, I can get some rest.
When the weather gets frosty I like to go kitesurfing on the frozen Kyiv Reservoir (Kyiv Sea). The three elements that I love are water, wind, and snow. All the sports activities that I do are somehow connected with those three. It gives me an unspeakable sense of conquest over the unconquerable and the pleasant feeling of muscle soreness. I really love it.
How has your morning routine changed over recent years?
A couple of years ago I’d spend long hours working. It was a bad habit. I’d often go to bed way too late, sometimes past 3:00am, which shifted the whole day, making me tired, late for meetings, and generally non-productive.
I had to switch it up. Since then I’ve managed to switch to a stricter and more productive schedule, and I really enjoy it.
What time do you go to sleep?
I try my best to get to sleep before midnight. And sometimes, I succeed.
Do you use an alarm to wake you up in the morning, and if so do you ever hit the snooze button?
I always use the alarm clock on my iPhone, setting it for at least thirty minutes before I need to wake up.
As a Mac developer and tech guy, I’ve tried several apps and hi-tech wristbands that track sleep cycles and give the wake-up signal when your body and brain can handle it the best, but I haven’t found anything to replace the alarm clock on my iPhone.
How soon after waking up do you have breakfast, and what do you typically have?
I don’t eat or drink anything in the morning. It’s not recommended before training.
Do you have a morning workout routine?
A couple of years ago when I worked at night and slept during the day I realized that it wasn’t a routine I wanted. I experienced some health issues and was looking for a radical solution.
I started training in Kyokushin, a style of full contact karate which is rooted in a philosophy of self-control, hard training, and discipline. It’s a sport that teaches endurance and strength, virtues that are vitally important in business.
How about morning meditation?
I used to practice autosuggestion, and I’m still planning to learn some techniques and make them a part of my everyday routine. The mind is a powerful thing when you can control it.
Do you answer email first thing in the morning or leave it until later in the day?
I try to leave email until later in the day.
How soon do you check your phone in the morning?
There are only two things that can wake me up in the morning: the day’s news in my iPhone and CleanMyMac statistics in my MacBook.
To be fully awake, I need to see some data that will grab my attention. In the morning I open my eyes, stretch my hand, reach around for my gadgets, unlock them, and scan the news until something wakes me up.
What are your most important tasks in the morning?
My main morning priority in the morning is to not forget anything and to be on time!
What and when is your first drink in the morning?
As I have a “food and drink” free morning, my first drink comes at the MacPaw office when I come to work. It can be a glass of water, a cup of coffee, or a mug of tea. I’m not addicted to any of them, but it’s always great to have a choice.
On days you’re not settled in your home, are you able to adapt your routine to fit in with a different environment?
I get adjusted to different environments easily, but I always take the chance to switch my mind and take a break from traditional routines when I travel. I try to benefit from it.
I live very far from the United States, but I travel there many times a year for business. I often get jet-lagged but I still try to turn it into a benefit. With this extra time, it feels like I can have two working days instead of one. I like this, but it’s difficult to continue this routine for more than a week.
I like to make jet lag my life hack: I can walk around the awakening city at 4:00am when it’s silent and deserted. It’s a great piece of luck, I must say. Worth trying.
What do you do if you fail to follow your morning routine, and how does this influence the rest of your day?
Regardless of my morning routine, bad days happen sometimes but I don’t blame it on my morning.
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