Jack Dorsey, CEO of both Twitter and Square, is a very busy man. Some people might even think that he would need to bend time and space in order to manage the two multibillion dollar firms every day.
In October, Twitter tapped then-interim CEO Dorsey to continue as permanent CEO, returning to the position in the company that he co-founded. His decision to remain as CEO of Square, a payment technology company he founded, however, raised a few eyebrows in both the tech and business sectors because the workload for pulling off such a double duty could be too overwhelming for a single man to handle.
Dorsey has beaten the odds, flourishing so far in multitasking on his two roles and earning newfound respect from his peers in the industry.
In a question and answer session with Product Hunt, Dorsey revealed how he manages his very busy life, and how he prevents being overwhelmed with everything that is going on.
The typical day for Dorsey starts at 5 a.m., when he meditates for 30 minutes and then exercises for another 20 minutes before making coffee. His workday officially starts at 6 a.m., with the first half of the day spent with Twitter and the second half spent with Square.
"I look to build a lot of consistent routine," he said, adding that the steady state allows him to be more effective when he has to react to something that is not part of his usual activities.
For relaxation, Dorsey resorts to meditation, exercise and dinner out with friends, which he admits are "nothing too out of the ordinary."
He still gets in six hours of sleep per night, which is not as bad for someone who is the CEO of two massive companies.
While Dorsey is seemingly adjusting well to his busy life, the performance of Square and Twitter are, of course, a different thing. The recent IPO of Square was priced lower than expected, with the company's almost $6 billion valuation last year cut in half to $2.9 billion this year.
Over at Twitter, Dorsey started his second stint as CEO by laying off a total of 336 employees, which is equivalent to about 8.2 percent of the company's workforce, with the company still struggling to grab a larger foothold in the cutthroat social media industry.
The dual role that Dorsey finds himself in has invoked comparisons to other big names in the tech industry such as the late Steve Jobs, who used to run both Apple and Pixar, and Elon Musk, who is currently the CEO of both Tesla Motors and SpaceX.
In October, the 44-year-old Musk even gave advice to Dorsey on the duty of running two companies.
"I wouldn't recommend running two companies. It decreases your freedom a lot," Musk said at the Vanity Fair summit. He revealed that for 70 percent of his day, Musk is involved in design and engineering, but despite the challenges associated with dual CEO duties, he said that he will not be giving up his position in either Tesla Motors or SpaceX.
In the same Product Hunt question and answer session, Dorsey said that he tracks the growth and health of Twitter keeping in mind that the aim is to building daily utility of the social network, with users flocking to the website for anything and everything that is happening in the world.
