By Dan Moren

October 31, 2024 1:01 PM PT

The Back Page: Tim Cook’s busy schedule

It should come as a surprise to no one that Tim Cook is a very busy man. He’s the CEO of one of the world’s largest and most valuable companies—and he’s not just a stuffed, button-down blue shirt; he really cares. As we learned from a recent Wall Street Journal article, he uses every single Apple product every day.

Now, most of us are Apple product users. Many of us have more than a device or two. But even the most ardent among us may wonder how Tim can use every single product every day. It seems impossible.

So I did some digging, reached out to some sources, and I can now exclusively report that I have obtained a rare copy of Tim Cook’s detailed schedule. Behold.

4am: Wake up. Use HomePod mini to turn on lights, start coffee machine.

4:30am: Start Apple Fitness+ workout (dance, naturally) on Apple Watch Ultra 2, Apple TV 4K, and AirPods Pro 2.

5am: Check email on 11-inch iPad Air with Magic Keyboard over breakfast (yogurt, blueberry, and Cheerios smoothie).

5:30am: Drive to Apple Park, using Apple Maps on CarPlay.

6:30am: Finally reach Apple Park.

7am: Lament lack of Diet Mountain Dew. Check emails on 13-inch iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro. Reply using Apple Pencil Pro. Doodle in Apple Notes.

8am: Morning staff meeting. In person, but all don Vision Pros to hold meeting in virtual environment of Apple Park conference room. Agree Tim’s spatial persona is as realistic as Tim, if not more.

9am: Thinking time. Don AirPods Max, stroll through Apple Park ring and check customer sat numbers on iPhone 16 Plus.

10am: Return to desk. Check email on M4 iMac (silver) with Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad. (Magic Mouse is charging.)

10:30am: Visit Caffe Macs. Diet Mountain Dew still absent. Perch at table with 13-inch MacBook Air. Check email.

11am: Pop in AirPods 4 for walk back to office. Text group chat with John Ternus, Jeff Williams, and John Gianndrea (Named “The Johns and also Jeff”) on iPhone SE. Agree to meet for lunch.

11:30am: Return to desk. Check email on tenth-generation iPad. Use Apple Pencil (not Pro) to draw diagram of new possible project:

12pm: Lunch time. Use AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation to walk to Caffe Macs. Buy lunch for the Johns and also Jeff at Caffe Macs with Apple Card via Apple Pay. Eat salad. With apples.

1pm: Focused time with new product [REDACTED]. Try to figure out how it fits into life and, more specifically, schedule. Use Mindfulness meditation feature on Apple Watch SE to calm down.

2pm: Take 15-inch MacBook Air to Rainbow Stage. Practice “Good mornings.” Use 11-inch iPad Pro as teleprompter. Ignore looks from bemused passing employees.

3pm: Mandatory Memoji FaceTime with Craig Federighi via iPhone 16 Pro Max.

3:30pm: Return to desk, check email on 14-inch MacBook Pro.

4pm: Assistant swaps in 16-inch MacBook Pro while Tim relaxes in Bali on Apple Vision Pro and checks his email.

4:30pm: Afternoon stroll to close rings and use iPhone 16 Pro to track down AirTag that Phil Schiller hides daily on Apple Park campus.

5pm: Evening check in call with global division chiefs via iPhone 16.

5:30pm: Assistant wheels in Mac mini and Apple Studio Display. Check email.

7pm: Eat dinner while continuing Ted Lasso rewatch on 13-inch iPad Air. Finally drink Diet Mountain Dew and remember why living is worthwhile. Make note to FaceTime Jason Sudeikis with Season 4 thoughts. Put feet up on Mac Pro.

8pm: Drive home, listen to latest episode of Six Colors Subscriber podcast via CarPlay.

9pm: Relax with iPad mini in bed, reading latest Dan Moren novel in Apple Books.¹

9:30pm: Use Siri via HomePod to turn off lights. Fire up Apple Watch Series 10 sleep tracking.

11pm: Wake from dead of sleep to fumble for bedside Mac Studio and Pro Display XDR. Check email. Breathe sigh of relief and go back to sleep.

[Dan Moren is the East Coast Bureau Chief of Six Colors, as well as an author, podcaster, and two-time Jeopardy! champion. You can find him on Mastodon at @dmoren@zeppelin.flights or reach him by email at dan@sixcolors.com. His next novel, the sci-fi adventure Eternity's Tomb, will be released in November 2026.]