by Walker Larson
October 10, 2026

from TheEpochTimes Website

Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (121–180)

is known for his "Meditations."

Biba Kayewich
 

The Roman emperor's journal entries

help contemporary readers

discover how to master themselves

and develop sustainable habits...

Marcus Aurelius was the most powerful man on earth in the 2nd century.

Yet he did not use that position of power primarily for self-enrichment or to supply himself with pleasures.

Click above image...

Instead, he approached his role as emperor with an awareness of the weight of responsibility.

He sought to hold himself accountable. Since he wielded uncontested power over life and death, there was no one besides himself to answer to.

One way Marcus Aurelius held himself accountable was by adhering to a disciplined daily routine, an outgrowth of his dedication to stoicism.

Stoicism was a philosophical movement originating in ancient Greece and founded by Zeno of Citium. It was later taken up by many important Romans - including Marcus Aurelius.

Stoics believed in a universe governed by reason. They sought to live in a rational, self-controlled, and virtuous manner - taking responsibility for what they could control and accepting with equanimity the things they couldn't.

We know about Marcus Aurelius's daily routine primarily from his book "Meditations," which was really a manuscript composed of his journal entries.

It recorded his struggle to implement stoic ideals and ethics in his daily life.

From the pressures of this interior battle, recorded in his journals, emerged the pearls of disciplined habits and a structured daily routine from which we can benefit from today.

Choosing the Lifestyle You Want

As the modern stoic Ryan Holiday noted,

Marcus Aurelius was a morning person, not by nature, but by an effort of the will.

 

Marcus Aurelius recognized that an early start was an important component of a successful day. Acquiring the habit required the right mindset.

In "Meditations," Aurelius wrote:

"At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself:

'I have to go to work - as a human being.

 

What do I have to complain of, if I'm going to do what I was born for - the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for?

 

To huddle under the blankets and stay warm? So you were born to feel "nice"? Instead of doing things and experiencing them?...

 

You don't love yourself enough. Or you'd love your nature too, and what it demands of you'."

It's a call to put aside personal comfort for the sake of a higher calling.

Aurelius began the day,

with a conscious choice to do what was best, not what was easy...

From there, he took time to pursue a period of quiet and reflection.

He journaled in the early morning hours, before the bustle of the day. In fact, he was penning his "Meditations" in the hush and chill, the stark freshness and soft spreading blue light of the hours on the threshold of day, often huddled in a tent inside a military camp.

Along with this introspective practice, Marcus Aurelius also began his day mentally preparing for what lay ahead.

"When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly," he wrote.

 

"They are like this because they can't tell good from evil."

Here, Aurelius wasn't being morose, but rather engaging the stoic idea of the "premeditatio malorum," the "premeditation of evils."

The idea was that the unexpected blow lands the hardest, and so, by taking stock ahead of time, he could prepare himself for the blows of the day, develop resilience, and also store up more patience and compassion for others.

The evil could do less harm to him if it found him well-prepared...

He launched into the day's labors with a firm sense of duty.

"Concentrate every minute like a Roman - like a man - on doing what's in front of you with precise and genuine seriousness, tenderly, willingly, with justice," he insisted.

"And on freeing yourself from all other distractions.

 

Yes, you can - if you do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life, and stop being aimless, stop letting your emotions override what your mind tells you, stop being hypocritical, self-centered, irritable."

Aurelius's ideal involved transcending the distractions and pettiness of everyday life to focus on completing his duties as excellently as possible.

What mattered was doing the right thing - even when natural desires rebelled.

In modern parlance,

this would align closely with the productivity advice to "eat the frog" - that is, perform your most difficult yet important task first, ensuring that it gets done right away.

This ensures that duties are fulfilled and also prepares the way for a downhill coast over the remainder of the day.

Balancing Intensity With Relaxation

Holiday noted that Marcus Aurelius admired his stepfather Antoninus, whose work ethic was so well-developed that he even scheduled bathroom breaks so he could work uninterrupted for long periods.

Even when the long, unthinkably busy days of running an empire grew tiresome, Marcus Aurelius insisted on avoiding complaints.

"Never be overheard complaining, not even to yourself," he said.

He did, however, find time to destress through horseback riding, hunting, wrestling, and spending time in the public baths for which the Romans were so famous.

Those baths would have helped to cleanse both body and mind, wiping away the grime of the daily grind. Here, Aurelius reminds us of the importance of balancing labor with necessary relaxation and recuperation.

Holiday wrote,

"Nearly a dozen times in Meditations, Marcus Aurelius talks about seeking and achieving 'stillness.' These moments of quiet would have been essential too.

 

Without quiet, we can't think. We can't clear our minds. We can't get the big picture. We can't be philosophical."

Though Marcus Aurelius was clearly a strict, disciplined man, he also had an appreciation for quiet, reflection, and beauty.

A beautiful passage from "Meditations" reads:

"Anyone with a feeling for nature - a deeper sensitivity - will find it all gives pleasure. Even what seems inadvertent. He'll find the jaws of live animals as beautiful as painted ones or sculptures.

 

He'll look calmly at the distinct beauty of old age in men, women, and at the loveliness of children. And other things like that will call out to him constantly - things unnoticed by others.

 

Things seen only by those at home with Nature and its works."

Similarly, he treasured his family - he had more than a dozen children with his wife Faustina the Younger, though only five or six lived to adulthood - and he made sure to conclude his daily routine by tucking his children into bed in as mindfully as possible.

As he kissed them goodnight he would remind himself not to rush the process because it might be the last time he got to do it.

There was no guarantee either of them would live through the night.

 

This awareness of mortality allowed him to be committed to his ideals and also gratefully aware of the good things in life.

Marcus Aurelius's mindful daily routine helped him rule over nearly 100 million people with more justice than many of his predecessors or successors could boast of.

Though he was certainly not a perfect man, he did live by many noble principles.

As Igor Zanetti pointed out for The Collector,

"Unlike many emperors who sought power for personal glory, Marcus approached his position with a sense of duty and responsibility.

 

From a young age, he was recognized for his calm temperament and thoughtful nature...

 

Even though he wielded immense authority, he consistently reminded himself, through his writing and habits, to act with humility and restraint."

There's much to be gleaned from Marcus Aurelius's routine and the attitudes with which he faced the challenges of daily life...