Mike Bogan, CEO, LandCare

Mike Bogan admits he’s a creature of habit and enjoys his routine. Even when he’s on the road, he tries to keep things static. “I try to wake up, exercise and eat the same at the same times,” says the CEO of LandCare, which ranks 10th on Lawn & Landscape’s 2020 Top 100 list.

But that may not have always been the case, especially as a father raising young kids with his wife Rebecca, a landscape architect. “Our kids are grown and on their own, so life has evolved in the last five years and is very different than it looked as we raised our family,” the San Diego resident says. Here’s Bogan’s average day.

I wake up at 5 a.m. I’m happiest when I have 8 hours of sleep, so I try to in bed by 9 p.m.

For the first several months of COVID-19, I immediately checked my phone – which is a direct contradiction to the way I want to start my day. Living on the West Coast, areas of the company have already been at it for a few hours, so news about people’s safety was available and important to me.

Now, I am back to my preferred habit, which is to hold off on external information until 7 a.m. So, I start my day with 10-15 minutes of stretching, during which I try to be grateful for the blessings I have in life to start my mind in a positive place. I exercise from 5:30 to 6:30, alternating running with weight training.

I live near the beach, so when the tides are right, I’ll do 6 miles along the Torrey Pines shoreline. This gives me a connection with nature, a chance to watch the sunrise and often fellowship with a friend. Other days, its CrossFit with a group I joined a few years ago.

Then, I return home, fix my breakfast and pack my lunch for the day and read the news while I eat and have coffee. Usually, it’s toast with avocado and egg whites or tortillas, egg whites and Soyrizo.

I’m on my way to the office at 7:30. I only have an 8-10-minute drive to the office, so I usually ride in silence while I think about the day’s priorities.

I’m in at 7:45 and I’ll greet my team members while I make a cup of coffee, then take 10-15 minutes to organize my objectives for the day – usually with a “to do” list – before opening my computer and checking email.

Including calls and video chats, I have between three and six meetings – sometimes more. Most of my day is interacting with others, not working independently.

When others are working at the office (pre-COVID-19) we eat together at noon. Most of us bring our lunch. For me, it’s usually leftovers from the night before. My wife is an amazing cook and prepares most of our dinners, so it’s always something healthy and tasty.

Post-lunch, I’m responding to email and other inbound requests. I know the east half of the company is wrapping up soon, so I try to get back on issues for those who are on eastern time.

I usually work until about 6:30. I really like the last hours of the day. The office gets quiet, there are no interruptions and I can be very focused on my objectives.

I try to stop looking at work-related items when I leave the office. Unless there is a current crisis, I attempt to keep work between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

On weekends, I’ll often put in a couple of hours from home on Saturday and Sunday, but there are plenty of days when I don’t. I try not to email people as I know it interrupts their weekend, so I’ll cue mail up to send on Monday morning.

I also listen to a lot of podcasts while I do chores or exercise on the weekend, which can be professionally enriching, and I’ll be anxious to put those ideas into action the next week. My top three are Freakonomics by Stephen Dubner, This American Life by Ira Glass and Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell.