By now, you’ve probably heard of the benefits of a solid routine, and that nearly every influential person in business and entertainment swears by this tried and true “life hack.” Today, we get to take a glimpse into the daily routine of Christian Carbone, a 26-year old international businessman and real estate entrepreneur, who’s as known for his business prowess as he is for his lifestyle.
Splitting his time between three “homes,” in New York, Tokyo, and London, the jetsetter understands the importance of a work-life balance—as seen by his inspirational and aspirational Instagram account, where style, travel, and tips for success are displayed to a 20K+ following.
How does he seemingly “do it all”? His secret formula to success was developed over years of competitive swimming and perfected during his time at Harvard. For Carbone, it all lies in a killer routine, which we break down here for our readers.
6:30am: Carbone usually wakes up around 6:30am. This is a holdover from the 10 years he spent training for a spot on the US Olympic swim team—when an even earlier rising time was the standard for fitting in grueling workouts prior to school. Due to much of his business being conducted internationally, Carbone reviews any urgent emails from other time zones, before checking up on breaking news first thing in the morning.
7am: Carbone starts his day with a workout, oftentimes “creating his own gym.” He begins the workout with a set of ab/cardio exercises, doing the reps as fast as possible—25 pushups, 50 V-ups, 25 pushups, 50 sit-ups, 25 pushups, 50 right obliques, 25 pushups, 50 left obliques, 25 pushups, 50 bicycle sit-ups, 25 pushups, 50 dips, 25 pushups, 20 burpees. This set is repeated about 4 times in an hour. After that, he swims 2,000–4,000 yards. The entire workout takes about 90 minutes. Sometimes, Carbone opts to mix things up, running to a nearby mountain and sprinting up the steep trail to the top. While exercising, he listens to audiobooks for a simultaneous physical and mental workout.
8:30am: Post-workout Carbone does some stretching followed by a steam. If an actual steam room is not available, he improvises by making his shower super-hot and steamy, followed by an ice-cold rinse. The drastic temperature change helps with muscle recovery—an old trick from his swimming days.
8:45am: One of Carbone’s cardinal rules is that “you should always look good and smell good.” He applies one of his favorite colognes—either Hermès Rocabar, Louis Vuitton Au Hasard, or Bond #9 Chez Bond—and makes sure that his clothing is wrinkle and defect free. He picks a watch, some shoes, and heads to breakfast.
9am: Regardless of his geographical location in the world Carbone generally orders the same thing for breakfast: 3 eggs scrambled medium, some chicken apple sausage (or extra crispy bacon), and some sautéed spinach or a green juice if I can get one. He usually drinks about a liter of alkaline water with breakfast. While eating, Carbone reads the news and responds to more emails.
9:15am: The working day begins with phone calls. Carbone often has back-to-back calls throughout the morning, some scheduled and some not. Due to COVID he’s been avoiding in-person meetings.
12pm: Around noon, Carbone usually breaks for lunch. Good food is very important to the businessman, so a healthy, inspiring meal is his preference. Recently, due to COVID, he has opted for ordering in, whereas historically he was big on lunch meetings. Since he was a kid Carbone has had a love for sandwiches, so he frequently goes for healthy gourmet sandwiches along with a mixed green salad and another green juice. While eating he catches up on correspondence and checks the news.
1pm: He gets back on the phone—external calls for new deals he’s looking at, follow up calls for deals he is already pursuing, and internal calls to review analysis and coordinate with his team.
6pm: Dinner time. Again, because of COVID, Carbone has been ordering in, rather than going out. For dinner, he tries to sample the local cuisine—something healthy, but unique. It has to be inspiring and the ingredients have to be high quality. He also never misses dessert. Anyone who knows Carbone well, knows that he’s a dessert connoisseur, especially pies.
7pm: Back on the phone. Since his evening is usually morning somewhere where he’s conducting business, Carbone is no stranger to calls that drag late into the night.
10pm: Carbone tries to go to bed between 10pm and 11pm to get at least 7.5 hours of sleep, as he believes getting enough sleep is critical. Because a big part of his job is being able to think deeply about very complex opportunities and challenges, he sees being tired is an unnecessary impairment. In an August interview, he said “do yourself a favor and get plenty of sleep—there are better ways to challenge yourself.”
To see more of Christian’s life and personal tips, follow him on Instagram: @christianjcarbone.
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