Madison Reed CEO's Daily Routine: 5:30 AM Starts

Madison Reed founder and CEO Amy Errett adheres to a rigorous daily schedule designed to maximize productivity and personal well-being. Starting her day between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m., she immediately checks her phone for urgent West Coast updates and proceeds to a regimen of exercise, meditation, and high-protein nutrition.

Her workday is characterized by extreme discipline, specifically regarding communication and hiring practices. Errett keeps her inbox at zero and personally interviews every candidate for store general manager positions. Despite a packed schedule of back-to-back meetings, she prioritizes outdoor time and family connection to maintain balance.

The CEO's day begins promptly between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m., even on weekends. The first action she takes is checking her phone to ensure no urgent matters arose overnight. Following this, she engages in a strict health routine that she tracks meticulously.

Errett utilizes specific technology to monitor her physical state. She tracks her sleep and stress levels using an Oura Ring and weighs herself every morning before consuming anything or exercising. Within 45 minutes of waking, she completes a home workout.

Her exercise regimen consists of:

• 30 minutes of cardio using a Peloton machine
• 15 minutes of strength training using Tonal equipment
• 10 minutes of meditation via Henry Shukman's app, The Way

By approximately 7:15 a.m., she is showered and dressed. Before settling into her workspace, she spends a moment with her dog, London, and prepares a specific coffee blend of two regular and two decaf shots.

Errett’s professional life is defined by a highly structured approach to time management. From 7:30 a.m. to noon, she is engaged in back-to-back meetings. Her schedule is anchored by fixed weekly one-on-one sessions with direct reports, which are scheduled at the same time every week. She relies heavily on her assistant, Christina, to plan weeks in advance.

A distinctive aspect of Errett's leadership is her hands-on approach to recruitment. She personally interviews every candidate for the position of store general manager or higher before an offer is extended. These 15-minute interviews focus exclusively on cultural fit.

She asks a specific question to gauge character: "Tell me about something that didn't go well in your life, and what you learned from it." She looks for resilience, grit, and honesty, noting that answers regarding loss or hardship reveal a candidate's true nature. She has encountered stories of homelessness and perseverance that deeply impacted her decision-making.

Despite the heavy meeting load, Errett is extremely disciplined regarding communication. She maintains an inbox count of zero and responds rapidly to emails, Slack messages, texts, and phone calls. She advocates for picking up the phone, viewing it as a lost art in business communication.

Lunch serves as a vital pause in Errett's day, allowing her to eat and breathe. Following a significant weight loss, she has adopted a protein-loading strategy, aiming for 90 to 100 grams of protein daily. Her go-to meal is cottage cheese topped with a poached egg and a slice of gluten-free toast.

She allows herself a specific indulgence: a mini Coke Zero three days a week in the afternoon. While the afternoon is typically packed with meetings, Errett protects her Fridays. She refuses meetings after 1:00 p.m. on Fridays to dedicate time to catching up and thinking freely.

Her best thinking occurs outdoors. She frequently hikes near Marin County and often drives to her boat alone on Friday afternoons. During these solo trips, she cruises and reflects without talking to anyone, though occasionally a close friend joins her.

Errett aims to wrap up her workday by 6:00 p.m. to transition into personal time. Evenings are dedicated to unwinding, often by watching sports or thrillers. A cornerstone of her evening is dinner with her wife, Claire, who is a professional artist and chef.

The couple eats a home-cooked meal almost every night around 6:15 p.m. Before eating, they perform a ritual called "roses and thorns," where they share one good thing and one hard thing from the day. This tradition dates back to when their daughter, Madison, was young.

To manage the emotional weight of leadership, Errett works with an executive coach via Zoom twice a week. This helps her identify triggers and recover quickly from setbacks. When overwhelmed, she steps outside to walk or pause for a breath. She targets a bedtime of 10:00 p.m., utilizing a Hatch sound machine and an Eight Sleep mattress to ensure quality rest.