When you have the opportunity to ask some of the most interesting people in the world about their lives, sometimes the most fascinating answers come from the simplest questions. The Thrive Questionnaire is an ongoing series that gives an intimate look inside the lives of some of the world’s most successful people.
Thrive Global: What’s the first thing you do when you get out of bed?
Tamron Hall: Pray.
TG: What gives you energy?
TH: Naps.
TG: What’s your secret life hack?
TH: My days are split between very early mornings and evening events, so I really try to energize with afternoon naps. But never longer than 30 to 35 minutes; anything longer than that is a problem. Sadly, not every day has time for naps, so on the long days I just have to mentally stay alert to keep going and push through.
TG: Tell us about your relationship with your phone. Does it sleep with you?
TH: I’m embarrassed to admit it, but yes, my phone sleeps with me. Right on the side of my pillow.
TG: How do you deal with email?
TH: It goes in spurts. Last count has 74,000 unread emails. There are days that I commit to deleting all of them and aggressively file through my inbox and delete, delete, delete. But then, three days later I’ll have another 500 emails that I should delete, but don’t.
TG: You unexpectedly find 15 minutes in your day, what do you do with it?
TH: Nap.
TG: When was the last time you felt burned out?
TH: Right before the election, the TODAY show, anchoring on MSNBC Live, and in production for Season 5 of Deadline: Crime. In addition to that, I was doing a lot of events, including many events for my new fund to help victims of domestic violence. But I was overbooking myself and wasn’t able to give everything the attention it deserved.
TG: Share a quote that gives you strength when times are tough.
TH: I recently saw this viral video of this teacher starting every day with her class telling them to “push through.” I’ve heard many, many quotes throughout my life from great philosophers and religious leaders, but I loved the visual and loved the idea of pushing through. It is extremely encouraging. So for 2017, that’s my mantra: “Push through.” Not in a negative way and not in a forced way. Everyone has to believe in themselves!
Tamron Hall is a former co-host of the third hour of NBC News’ TODAY. She is currently working on a new daytime talk show with Weinstein Television.
Originally published at medium.com