For some, headlines such as “How this successful CEO starts their morning” offer hope. What if it took only a few tweaks to one’s daily schedule to achieve power, riches and smugness? For others this corner of the internet offers a warning. The price of success seems to be a 4am wake time followed by a glug of a celery smoothie while pumping weights. If that is what it takes to “win the day”, I’ll accept the loss.
What might an economist’s morning routine look like? I am not suggesting that their fresh-faced glow is something to aspire to. (I have attended enough economics conferences to confirm that this is not the median look.) I am suggesting that they think carefully about data, as well as optimisation under constraints.
So imagine an economist staring at their computer, trying to map out the best possible start to the day. First, they must work out what exactly they are optimising for. “Utility” is broad enough to capture most things, including the possibility of divorce if the optimal routine mysteriously lacks any childcare responsibilities. But it can be difficult to measure, so they pick productivity instead.