Between steering Meta through its “year of efficiency,” trying to popularize Threads, and engaging in a will-they-won’t-they with Elon Musk on a rumored MMA cage fight, Mark Zuckerberg has a lot on his plate.

While the Facebook founder dedicates many hours to work, he still spends time on things like travel, tucking his kids in at night, and even bulking up through his pandemic-era hobby of jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts training.

Zuckerberg also famously saves time and brainpower by nixing nonessential choices from his life, most notably by wearing the same outfit nearly every day.

Here’s a look at the typical daily routine of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, based on what he’s said in prior interviews:

After waking up around 8 a.m., the Meta CEO immediately checks Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp on his phone before he even puts on his contacts.

Zuckerberg checks his phone as he arrives to testify at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

The social media session typically only lasts a few minutes but can take longer depending on current events, Zuckerberg said in a Facebook Live Q&A.

“The first thing I do is look at my phone. I look at Facebook to see what’s going on in the world,” he said in the Q&A. “It’s a pretty sad situation to be honest. I have contacts and I can’t see very well. And before I put my contacts in I often look to see what is going on Facebook.”

Zuckerberg admits checking his phone first thing in the morning is a bad habit.

“You get like a million messages of stuff that come in, and it’s usually not good. People reserve the good stuff to tell me in person,” he told Joe Rogan last year. “It’s almost like you wake up and you’re punched in the stomach, so it’s like okay … now I need to go reset myself and be able to be productive and not be stressed out about this.”

Once he’s gotten his morning updates, it’s time to work out. Zuckerberg used to go for a workout at least three times a week, often running. Now, he stays away from running and instead does jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts (MMA).

An Instagram video shows Zuckerberg sparring with MMA fighters on a floating barge. Mark Zuckerberg

“I used to run a lot, but the problem with running is you can think a lot,” he told Rogan last year.

Instead, he started asking himself: “What’s a thing that’s both super engaging physically, but also intellectually, where you can’t afford to focus on something else? MMA is the perfect thing because if you stop paying attention for one second, you’re going to end up on the bottom.”

In June, he said on Lex Fridman’s podcast that he does three or four jiu-jitsu and MMA sessions weekly, in addition to strength and conditioning work and mobility training.

It’s unclear what Zuckerberg eats for breakfast but he recently revealed that as part of his training, he aims for 4,000 calories a day.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg takes a drink of water as he testifies before a House Energy and Commerce hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 11, 2018, about the use of

Facebook data to target American voters in the 2016 election and data privacy. AP Photo
In July, Zuck said his McDonald’s order was “20 nuggets, a quarter pounder, large fries, Oreo McFlurry, apple pie, and maybe some cheeseburgers for later?”

Zuckerberg famously wears the same thing almost every day, with a “work uniform” consisting of jeans, sneakers, and a gray T-shirt.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Zuckerberg sticks with the same outfit to reduce the brainpower spent making minor decisions.

When asked about his wardrobe in 2014, he told an audience: “I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible about anything except how to best serve this community.”

Zuckerberg said in 2015 that he puts in 50 to 60 hours a week at Facebook but thinks about the social media platform constantly.

Mark Zuckerberg singled that he wants to shake up WhatsApp Samantha Burkardt/ Getty

“I spend most of my time thinking about how to connect the world and serve our community better, but a lot of that time isn’t in our office or meeting with people or doing what you’d call real work,” he told CNN in 2015.

“I take a lot of time just to read and think about things by myself,” he continued. “If you count the time I’m in the office, it’s probably no more than 50-60 hours a week. But if you count all the time I’m focused on our mission, that’s basically my whole life.”

Zuckerberg has particular preferences for meetings at work.

Charles Platiau/Reuters

“I actually like trying to have a rule,” he told Forbes. “For every hour of meeting that I have, the team sends out the pre-reads in advance. I want to have at least an hour to read the materials and think about it. And then I want to have at least an hour to follow up with different people after the meeting.”

As for his approach to work, colleagues have likened Zuckerberg’s undivided attention to the Eye of Sauron.

Sauron, the chief antagonist in the “The Lord of the Rings” series, is shown in some films as a flaming, disembodied eye interpreted as a metaphor for evil, ever-looming over Middle-earth.

“They’re like, ‘You have this unending amount of energy to go work on something. And if you point that at any given team, you will just burn them,'” Zuckerberg told Tim Ferriss last year.

“I just think the engagement that you get of having, like, an immediate feedback loop around thinking about something and then getting to go talk to the people who are working on this is so much better than going and scheduling a meeting that you’ll have three weeks later,” he said.

Zuckerberg has various interests outside of work.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

He’s tried to learn Mandarin Chinese, challenged himself in 2015 to read a new book every two weeks, and famously hit the water on an electric surfboard, meme-worthy amounts of sunscreen included.

Zuckerberg’s daily schedule tends to vary more when he travels. He’s frequently on the road to meet with world leaders. He’s met with figures including Pope Francis in Rome in 2016, French President Emmanuel Macron in 2018, and former US president Donald Trump in 2019.

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan Mark Zuckberg/Facebook

Zuckerberg also spends time with his family.

Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook

He married his longtime girlfriend, Priscilla Chan, in 2012. Zuckerberg and Chan share three daughters, Maxima, August, and Aurelia.

Zuckerberg has a nightly routine with his children.

Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook

“Sometimes they will read books together. Sometimes they’ll code together,” Chan said of Zuckerberg’s bedtime routine with the kids. “Mark has been doing that with August since she turned 3.”

Zuckerberg told Lex Fridman last year that he also has a “goodnight things” routine with his daughters.

“I basically go through with Max and Augie: ‘What are the things that are most important in life?'” he said. Zuckerberg points out their health, friends and family, and having something they’re looking forward to.

Chan told Forbes that her husband also sings a Jewish prayer, Mi Shebeirach, to his kids and always tucks them in, unless he has a board meeting or is traveling. She added that any work dinners he has take place after the girls go to sleep.

Zuckerberg sleeps more than most of his fellow tech CEOs.

Priscilla Chan, Mark Zuckerberg, and UFC President Dana White. Getty Images

“I don’t stay up super late at night,” he told Forbes, adding that he aims for eight hours of sleep a night and uses an Oura ring to track his rest.