5 Things Wealthy People Don't Do

You're no doubt aware that the highest achievers are up earlier than most people: The National Sleep Foundation says most 30- to 45-year-olds get out of bed at 6 a.m. on a typical weekday morning, while this Guardian article shows that many CEOs of major companies wake closer to 5. You may not know, though, what those leaders are doing with the extra hour. Laura Vanderkam's new book What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast gives plenty of concrete examples (and none of them involves catching up on Facebook). For instance: A businesswoman knows she could spend her early-morning hour cleaning out her in-box, but since that's a job she can do in 5-minute breaks during the day, she devotes the alone time to making real, uninterrupted headway on a project that she's decided is a top priority for her—and that will have clear career benefits, teeing her up for a promotion or other advancement.