I'm the CEO of Oura. I wake up at 5 a.m. when things are going well, and 3:30 a.m. when they're not. Here's what a day in my life looks like.

Aug 27, 2026 04:05 PM - 1 hour ago 4

Tom Hale

Jason Henry for BI

This as-told-to effort is based connected a speech pinch Tom Hale, the 57-year-old CEO of Oura Health, based successful San Francisco. It's been edited for magnitude and clarity.

I became the CEO of Oura successful March 2022. We make the Oura Ring, a smart ringing that delivers personalized wellness information and insights to thief group unrecorded much balanced lives.

My profession spans much than 30 years successful exertion and user products, including serving arsenic president of SurveyMonkey.

Here's what a emblematic time successful my life successful San Francisco looks like.

5 a.m. — No siren necessary

I aftermath up astir 5 a.m. each time without an alarm. The first point I do is cheque my Oura Ring. I want to cognize really I slept and really I'm group up for the day.

I person a small title going pinch my woman and kids complete our scores. Based connected what the information tells me, I commencement making mini decisions astir really to attack the day. If my people is little than normal, I return it easy and defer awesome decisions. If my people is higher than normal, I'll push myself successful workouts and astatine work.

Readiness score

Jason Henry for BI

When the business is going well, I slumber until 5 a.m. When it's not, I aftermath up astatine 3:30 a.m. and effort to get backmost to sleep.

5:30 a.m. — The 2 minutes I effort to protect

I shower, and for the past 2 minutes, I do a breathing exercise. I'm not a meditation person, but my breathing workout helps maine get centered earlier I commencement my day.

Sadly, it's the first point that drops disconnected erstwhile I'm pressed for clip aliases dealing pinch a crisis.

6 a.m. — Information overload

By 6 a.m., I'm showered, shaved, and fresh to commencement the day. The information I person first point successful the greeting from the institution stats, news, and overnight events from Finland, wherever a bully information of our institution is based, affects really my time goes, whether it's bad news, bully news, aliases both.

I cheque my email and return my supplements. I do intermittent fasting, truthful my first repast of the time is astir lunchtime. I past look astatine 3 captious sources of information: our regular income data, listings of our products connected eBay, and news digests.

Tom Hale

Jason Henry for BI

For news, I trust connected curators who compile information. I ever publication The Information's regular newsletter by Jessica Lessin and Headlines by Abe Burns.

LinkedIn is wherever I'm astir active. It has awesome content, but it sucks maine down rabbit holes, truthful I usage a timer app that limits my societal media time.

6:30 a.m. — Walking to work

I locomotion to activity each day. It takes maine half an hour, and I extremity up climbing a mates of beautiful steep hills. During the walk, I'll perceive to podcasts aliases return calls from my team.

Airpods

Jason Henry for BI

When I'm traveling, I effort to get a tally successful aliases return a locomotion astir the city. I recreation to Finland 3 aliases 4 times a year, positive regular trips to the UK, Europe, and Washington, DC.

8 a.m. — The early greeting anxiety

I'm astir anxious and stressed successful the early morning. Getting into the plaything of things calms maine down. The first point I do erstwhile I get to the agency is make a database successful 1 of my accounting notebooks. Every clip I transverse thing off, I consciousness for illustration I'm making advancement against immoderate the situation of the time is.

You'll astir apt laughter astatine this, but successful our all-hands meetings, we person a conception called "Keeping Me Up astatine Night" and "Helping Me Sleep Soundly." That's really I pass to the squad what I'm worried astir and what's going great. It helps them understand what to salary attraction to.

9 a.m. — Standing desk, unfastened level plan, nary trophies

My workspace is beautiful Spartan, nary activity trophies aliases memorabilia. I activity astatine a opinionated desk. Our agency has an unfastened level plan. Anyone tin extremity by pinch an thought aliases a question.

Tom Hale

Jason Henry for BI

I've developed a play cadence. On Mondays, my nonstop reports person their unit meetings, but I cheque in. Tuesdays are my unit meetings, system pinch clear agendas. On Wednesdays, I activity done my to-do database pinch a operation of advertisement hoc meetings. Thursdays are for customers and partners. Fridays are for heavy work.

Noon — Two meals connected repeat

I eat my first repast astatine my table astir noon. I usually bid a repast from Proper Food and rotate betwixt 2 orders: a crockery pinch chickenhearted aliases salmon connected atom pinch teriyaki sauce.

After luncheon and during the day, I return five-minute breaks to locomotion astir the office. We person an outdoor platform and a bocce shot tribunal wherever you tin get immoderate steps in.

A repast connected repeat

Jason Henry for BI

5 p.m. to 7 p.m. — My astir productive period

I get a batch done betwixt 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. I nonstop proactive emails, emblem what we request to attraction on, and schedule the remainder for erstwhile I get capable accusation to make a decision.

I usually time off the agency betwixt 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and locomotion home.

There are moments erstwhile it each feels overwhelming

From property 30, erstwhile I had my first kid, to my early 50s, I was sleep-deprived and stressed beautiful overmuch each the time. I drank much java and crushed done it.

I wore an Oura Ring earlier I ever joined the company, truthful I came into this occupation already believing successful the data. These days, I don't portion caffeine anymore, I get much sleep, and I'm very intentional astir really I onslaught problems.

Tom Hale drinking tea

Jason Henry for BI

This occupation is harder and much demanding than thing I've ever done, but it's besides the 1 wherever I consciousness champion equipped to negociate it.

Evening regular — Physical books and furniture by 9 p.m.

I eat meal pinch my wife. We stock the cooking, and our go-to meals are crockery pinch chickenhearted aliases spaghetti squash pinch lamb meatballs successful herb sauce. Then we'll watch TV aliases publication together.

Right now, I'm reference "King of Kings," which is astir the autumn of the Shah of Iran, and "How the Body Knows Its Mind," which is astir the relationship of intelligence and beingness health.

My woman and I spell to furniture astir 8:30 p.m. aliases 9 p.m.

I put connected a slumber disguise and earplugs, support the room dark, and return magnesium and melatonin earlier bed.

I usage an Eight Sleep furniture cooler. I group it astatine -3°C beneath ambient temperature. I've recovered that consistency successful going to furniture astatine the aforesaid clip regular matters much than the long of sleep.

Tom Hale

Jason Henry for BI

Weekends — Walks, poodles, and backgammon

On weekends, I for illustration to spell for walks pinch friends. I besides spell for runs pinch my dogs. I person 2 ample poodles. They're a handful.

The astir important point I do connected the weekends is walk clip pinch my family. Sometimes we do abstracted activities successful the aforesaid room, aliases we play backgammon together. I besides play guitar, but that's erstwhile I want to bask immoderate unsocial time.

Using the sauna has been a monolithic unlock for me. I purpose for erstwhile aliases doubly a week, and if I'm astatine the gym, I ever extremity my workout pinch a session. In San Francisco, there's a spot correct connected the h2o wherever you tin rotate betwixt the power and a jump successful the acold bay. That opposition therapy is incredibly energizing.

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Chi Odogwu is an AI operations advisor and executive ghostwriter who helps companies streamline operations, boost productivity, thrust gross growth, and future-proof their workforce.He founded The Bulletproof Entrepreneur, an acquisition and consulting patient that helps executives instrumentality AI solutions and fortify their thought leadership.Connect pinch him on LinkedIn and at BulletproofEntrepreneur.com.

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