The incredible daily schedule of Theodore Roosevelt is shocking even to those familiar with his reputation as a hard-charging man of action. From his famous “man in the arena” quote to his belief that it was better to wear out than rust out, the snippets of his personal philosophy are pandered as motivational fuel across the internet. What’s clear is that he held himself to a high standard when it comes to making the most of the time that we’re given. What’s less clear from these snippets is what exactly that meant on a daily basis.
Fortunately, one his aides documented the incredible daily schedule of Theodore Roosevelt during one day on the campaign trail. Although it isn’t dated, this day occurred during the campaign trail of 1896. A campaign trail on which he delivered 673 speeches while visiting 567 towns in 24 states – mostly by train. If that staggering total seems implausible, one glance at the schedule below and you will see how TR was able to accomplish this feat. If this piques your interest in Roosevelt and you’re ready to dig deeper, all this information (and much more) is available in Edmund Morris’s Pulitzer Prize winning biography, “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt.”
The Incredible Daily Schedule of Theodore Roosevelt:
7:00 AM Breakfast
7:30 AM A speech
8:00 AM Reading a historical work
9:00 AM A speech
10:00 AM Dictating letters
11:00 AM Discussing Montana mines
11:30 AM A speech
12:00 Reading an ornithological work
12:30 PM A speech
1:00 PM Lunch
1:30 PM A speech
2:30 PM Reading Sir Walter Scott
3:00 PM Answering telegrams
3:45 PM A speech
4:00 PM Meeting the press
4:30 PM Reading
5:00 PM A speech
6:00 PM Reading
7:00 PM Supper
8-10 PM Speaking
11:00 PM Reading alone in his car
12:00 To bed.
What stands out immediately from this list is how much time Roosevelt spent reading. 4 hours and 30 mins, to be exact. What also stands out is the variety of topics that he covered in his reading. He clearly belonged to that class of people who maintain multiple books at once. As the schedule shows, his books on this day covered history, ornithology, and the classic novelist Sir Walter Scott. He also spent only 7 hours (at most) sleeping and two hours total for all meals. Whether he maintained a similar schedule while at home is unknown, but one thing Morris makes clear throughout The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt is that Roosevelt read and wrote at a pace that very few people could match.
Indeed, this daily schedule is only a morsel of the astounding facts and figures that Morris uncovered regarding Roosevelt’s daily life, his devotion to reading and writing, and prowess as a hunter – on top of his career in public life as a politician and war hero. The book is lengthy, but it, and another book regarding Theodore Roosevelt’s efforts to save America’s wild places, are two that are worth every second of the time that it takes to read them. To pick up a copy of The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, click HERE.