Napoleon Bonaparte’s Daily Routine

Morning Routine

Each morning, Napoleon would get up at around 7 am. As soon as he was up, he would have a cup of tea or an orange blossom infusion and read the day’s post with his secretary. He was susceptible to the cold and would always sit next to the fireplace, with a roaring fire already lit. After his tea and post, he would summon his servants to take his bath and get dressed. This would take nearly two hours as, unlike many of his contemporaries, Napoleon took his hygiene very seriously. With his valet, Constant, holding the mirror, Napoleon would shave, doing it himself. When on a military campaign, he made sure that he always had with him his little box containing all the necessary hygiene items, including a comb, razors, nail scissors and files, toothbrushes, and bottles of eau de cologne. In the morning, Napoleon would receive his brothers and his aides de camp who transmitted his orders and ambassadors and foreign representatives. Between 11 am and noon, he would take lunch, sit at a small table in the company of his secretary and one or two others. Sometimes he would lunch with his wife. Lunch was always quick, sometimes barely lasting fifteen minutes! Napoleon preferred simple food, such as roast chicken, pasta (which he discovered during the Première Campagne d’Italie), and wine mixed with water. Afterward, he would have a cup of coffee.

Personal Hygiene

Napoleon loved taking baths, which always had to be very hot. As Napoleon read the newspapers and took his hour-long baths, his servants would bustle around him, continually adding hot water to keep the tub at the right temperature. After his bath and shave, Napoleon would be rubbed down in eau de cologne, and then his valet would dress him. He would wear a shirt, a waistcoat, tight-fitting trousers, and stockings. He would then put on his colonel de grenadier uniform (blue) or his chasseur de la Garde uniform (green). He would finish it all off with his famous black, two-horned hat; he would have a new one bought for him each month. He would also wear an oversized grey coat during the winter campaigns to keep himself warm from the cold and the rain.

 How to Take Over the World Podcast Episode

Here is a podcast episode that goes into depth on how was Napoleon able to accomplish so much in such a short period of time.

How exactly was Napoleon able to accomplish so much in such a short period of time? In this episode, Ben reviews the book Napoleon: How He Did It. It was written by Baron Fain, a private secretary of Napoleon’s. He explains Napoleon’s systems and work habits in minute detail. In this episode, Ben highlights some of his top takeaways for how to be more efficient and maximize your impact.