Emma Grede has co-founded multiple companies, works as the CEO of one of them, was the first Black woman to be an investor on ABC’s “Shark Tank” and has an estimated net worth of $405 million.
A calculated daily routine helps Grede stay productive without sacrificing self-care, she said on a May 12 podcast episode of “The Skinny Confidential Him and Her.”
“I’m pretty regimented with my routine and, because I have four kids, that’s the only way I can do it,” said Grede, 42, the co-founder and CEO of apparel brand Good American. “I’m very, very, very militant about not picking up my phone first thing [in the morning] … So I’m like, what do I need to do today? What’s important to me? And what do I think before I start getting messages from the world, from the news, from social [media]?”
Grede, who also co-founded apparel brand Skims and cleaning product company Safely, starts each day at 4:35 a.m., grabbing a cup of coffee before heading downstairs to her home gym, she said. She does a 90-minute workout five days per week, she said: “[It’s] the only time no one’s asking anything of me. That’s like my meditation time … I’m in my own space.”
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From there, she gets her four kids ready for school, makes breakfast and corrals everyone at the table by 7:30 so they can spend at least 20 minutes together as a family before they go their separate ways for the day. By 8:30, Grede is at her office in California for a day of “back to back to back” meetings, she said.
The companies that she’s operationally involved in — like Skims, Good American and Safely — are based in the same building, added Grede, who was named a CNBC Changemaker on February 24.
Grede gets home each day around 5:30 p.m., she said — then it’s dinner, bath time and bed time for her kids. About three nights each week, she’ll attend a work dinner or gathering with friends, get home and answer more emails before meditating, reading and turning in for the night, she said.
Staying busy, both personally and professionally, works for her, she said: “You have to work really, really, really, really, really hard if you want to be successful … I’m a furious organizer and scheduler. I try to make the most of every single thing I’m doing.”
Grede’s routine contains elements of timeboxing, where you spend a specific amount of time tackling a task on your to-do list and stick to it. Highly successful people from Richard Branson to Michelle Obama have used the scheduling method to lead more productive lives.
Some experts particularly recommend scheduling time for dedicated focus, and breaks, into your calendar each day. It’s “really critical” for productivity, Slack senior vice president of research and analytics Christina Janzer told CNBC Make It on Jan. 8, 2024.
For Grede, the idea is more simply to pack her workdays tightly enough to balance productivity and personal happiness outside the office, she said.
“When you’re someone like me that, all day, people are taking [from you] … I can’t wait for someone to come and give something to me. I have to do that part for myself,” said Grede. “I have to find those moments in my day because it ain’t coming otherwise.”
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