Daniel Lubetzky, the founder of Kind Snacks with a personal net worth of $2.3 billion, admits that his morning routine used to be tiring.
“I used to have terrible habits,” he said in an interview with Entrepreneur.
Lubetzky founded Kind Snacks in 2004 and sold it for $5 billion in 2020; Today, he is the founder and chairman of Camino Partners, a $350 million fund he launched in January 2023, and a regular cast member on ABC's “Shark Tank.”
Lubetzky said that for years he went to bed at 2 a.m. because he wanted to completely empty his inbox. Instead of going to sleep, he spent hours reading and answering emails. The next morning he couldn't complete his planned workout because he needed the extra half hour of sleep.
Daniel Lubetzky. Photo credit: Christopher Willard/ABC via Getty Images
“I had terrible training habits and sleeping habits,” Lubetzky said.
Over the past two months, the 56-year-old entrepreneur has consciously made some changes to his bedtime and morning routine.
“I’ve mastered that,” he said. “I won’t sleep and wake up at the same time. It just changed my life.”
Lubetzky now falls asleep around midnight and wakes up around 7:30 or 8 a.m., establishing a new habit. His morning routine consists of stretching, something he says he “enjoys so much.”
Related: Daniel Lubetzky turned the idea into a $5 billion stake. Here's his best advice for anyone looking to start a business.
Productivity hack
Lubetzky also shared his top tip for productivity: When you're working on a task, finish it.
“Don’t leave things halfway because then you have to start from scratch,” he said. “You’re very unproductive.”
He recommended thinking of attention as a point. Every time you read an email, a dot is virtually placed on the email. The goal is to minimize the number of points or points of attention that an email or document generates so that you don't end up dealing with the same topic over and over again.
Book recommendation
Lubetzky recommended reading “The Daily Stoic” by Ryan Holiday, a book with 366 meditations. The book focuses on insights from Stoicism, a philosophical system that encourages focusing on what can be controlled and accepting what cannot be controlled.
Related: Here's what it takes to land an investment from the Kind Snacks founder, who sold his company for $5 billion