What these successful Kenyans do before breakfast

Ann McCreath, Founder and creative director of KikoRomeo

It is different ‘starts’ for different folks. Some people jump out of bed anytime and start their day perfectly, on any foot … even if it’s the wrong foot.

Some have their waking time planned out to the last second, their outfits for the day (and night) laid down to the last accessory, and their breakfast measured down to the last calorie.

Other folks oscillate between the two extremes, depending on their mood, schedule or, well, the day’s mood. These four well-known Kenyans tell us how they start their day. And their ‘starts’ are as different as apples and oranges.

Ann McCreath: Founder and creative director of KikoRomeo

The time that I get up usually depends on the business that I have for the day. But I usually wake up between 7am and 8am. I use the alarm on my phone – it’s just something that I’m used to.

The first thing I do in the morning is stroke my cat, Oki. Afterwards, I feed it. If I don’t feed it, I’ll be asking for trouble.

I don’t know how true this is, but I read somewhere that stroking a cat helps one’s body relax, cuts down on stress levels and lowers blood pressure.

The motivation behind how I organise my day is, essentially, avoiding Nairobi traffic at all costs, and delivering on expectations.

What absolutely ruins my morning is being late for a meeting, which is why I try to schedule all my meetings from 10am, when there is less traffic on the road.

I do not have blue days. I’m lucky to be blessed with a character that never gets depressed. I love Mondays as I love what I do.

I’m not really specific on what I wear on any given day … although you can say that I have a palette of sorts. I seem to wear a uniform of simple black pieces with contrast jewellery or accessories. If I’m going to a meeting with less artsy people, I have to remember to throw on a jacket to look more formal.

Myke Rabar: Entrepreneur, investor and reality TV show star

Every Monday to Saturday, I wake up at 4:30 am. I have an alarm clock because I need something to prompt me to wake up. I hardly wake up automatically.

The first thing I do when I open my eyes is meditate for about 20 minutes. I don’t kneel down or do a yoga pose, but I mull over life while still under the covers.

I know somebody might be thinking that, in the process of meditating, I may doze off. But that’s not true; when I meditate, I stay awake and I find it helps me to get out of bed faster.

What I meditate upon depends on the mood of the day or night, whether it’s family, life or business. Basically, how the day ended, and the trajectory of my career. Whether I have closed a deal or not … those kinds of things.

The motivation behind how I organise my day is based on what I want to achieve by the time I’m going to bed. I have to think about all the various obstacles and challenges that I come across every day. Also, because I enjoy what I’m doing, there is nothing that bogs me down.

At home, what absolutely spoils my morning is if there’s not enough butter on my bread, or if there’s too much. It has to be right. That is the first meal of the day.

I’m a clock head. In the office, what spoils my morning are guys who do not keep time because I am always there on time.

On the road, nothing spoils my morning. I know and understand my environment and I accept that there are people who will not obey rules, so I don’t allow their madness to infect me.

If I had a bad night, I turn it into a good morning by managing my dreams. I select what I will dream about, and it works. I have conditioned myself to have a very short memory about certain things. I know what not to focus on.

I do not have blue days. In our line of business, Sunday is someone else’s Monday, which means that we do not have weekends. We may have bad days, but I cannot tell you that it is Monday. For me, my off day could be Tuesday.

My dress code for the day depends on what I’m up to. If I’m going to the field, I know the kind of gear to wear. But I’m not particular about colours or things like that, just about the practicality of what I am doing for the day.

Jackson Biko: Award-winning blogger

I wake up any time between 4:30am and 5am. I don’t have an alarm clock – unless on the very rare occasion that I’m catching a very early morning flight and I was out drinking the previous night. I don’t do alarms because they are noisy. Besides, I never have problems waking up; my internal clock is unfailing.

The first thing I do in the morning is reach for my Kindle, which is probably somewhere under my bedding from the previous night when I fell asleep. I like to read in the morning. I read two chapters of whatever book I’m currently reading, then I go to the reading list on my phone and access my morning reads from apps; Guardian, New Yorker, BBC and the Financial Times (their arts and culture magazine pages are good).

After my read, I either go running for 10 kilometres (twice a week) or I go to the gym (thrice a week). By 8am, I am at my desk holding the day by its throat.

The motivation behind how I organise my day is, I guess, habit. It could also be something I picked up from boarding school – it was a military camp. Things like that stay with you.

There is nothing in particular that spoils my morning, it could be anything from an idiot on the road to someone at the gym hoarding the darn dumbbells!

If I had a bad night, I turn it into a good morning by sleeping. Sleep cures most things. Well, except gout.

I do not have a specific blue day. Some days I just wake up out of it; I get up and my mood is crap. When that happens, I go to the gym or run. Good endorphins help.

When it comes to what I wear for the day, it’s comfort first. So, it’s jeans and khakis. I never wear suits or blazers or ties. I pick my clothes carefully. I’m a bit of a clothes horse sometimes and will only step out of the house if I’m happy with how I look. I love comfortable shoes. If my shoes aren’t comfortable, I’m going to have a bleeding long day.

Mufasa Kibet: Spoken word poet

On Sundays, I wake up at 7:45am. The church service starts at 10:30 am. I don’t want to walk in just after offering … and God is watching. The other days of the week are unpredictable, but I rarely sleep past 8am.

Most nights, I sleep late, which means that all my hopes are on my alarm clock.

What’s the first thing I do in the morning? Let’s see. The way my body works, going to the loo should be the right answer. Looking for my phone is a right answer, too.

But, really, I have this morning routine of standing at the balcony for a few minutes. If I was working on a poem the previous day, I will go over it and see how it sounds, then I go back inside the house and listen to music and, if I’m in the mood, make pancakes.

The motivation behind how I have organised my day is the targets that I have. If I find myself in a creative zone mentally, I utilise the moment.

What absolutely spoils my morning is being woken up by a buzz from my phone because of an email that starts with the words, “Dear customer …”.

If you have had a bad night, my morning playlist will help in turning it into a good morning.

I have Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, rainy days, sunny days, long days, bad days and good days. I don’t have blue days. I have blue socks and I love everyone else’s blue jeans.

I dress up. How official or casual I am will depend on who I’m planning to meet during the day, and sometimes how I feel. I try as much as possible not to meet the same person while I’m wearing the same clothes. And no, I don’t wear the ‘Kalenjin jacket’. Why? Because the man’s not hot!

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