Bill and Melinda Gates Just Gave Us New Insight Into Their Evening Routine and, of Course, It’s Genius

You don’t have to be a billionaire to adopt these habits.

By Elizabeth Yuko | May 22, 2019
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Everyone has their own way to unwind at the end of the day, and are no exception. So what do a couple of billionaires ? Thanks to some new insights from Melinda, we now have a better idea. (Spoiler: it doesn’t involve having Enya perform private concerts in their living room.) As it turns out, the of the Gates Family is actually pretty normal — and involves things anyone can do. Here are three , straight from Bill and Melinda’s playbook:

Connect with the people you love

Despite their hectic schedules, the Gates Family — including Bill and Melinda’s 16-year-old daughter Phoebe — all try to as often as possible, Melinda . They usually sit down between 6 and 7 p.m., and eat a mix of what each person likes — from Mexican or Asian food, to steak or fish dinners, she says. At a time when so many to their devices, (to clarify: not FaceTime) with loved ones and discussing the events of your day is a great way to de-stress.

And if you’re wondering who does the dishes, it’s all Bill. In he said that he does them every night. “[O]ther people volunteer, but I like the way I do it,” he wrote. Not only does mean that all the silverware is up to his standards of cleanliness, it also gives him , if he so chooses: athat washing dishes was the perfect time to .

No work after dinner

Speaking of dinner, for doing work for the day, Melinda noted in the same interview. “I try not to work after dinner — that was kind of a mantra I made for myself about four years ago,” she said. “, talk with Bill, and then, generally, I’ll watch something relaxing before bedtime with Bill or Phoebe.”

Their show of choice at the moment is the royal period drama Victoria on PBS. And like dinnertime, this must-see TV is a group activity: Gates told The Cut that they had to binge-watch the last three episodes of the third season before going on her book tour because they don’t watch the show without each other. “If we’re in separate locales, we’ll agree to both watch the same episode at the same time so we’re caught up with each other,” she added.

Get to bed as early as possible

When it comes to our bedtimes, most of us have the best of intentions, but somehow never manage to make it under the covers as early as we’d like. And like our , Melinda makes getting enough sleep a priority. “My aspirational time to go to bed is 9:30 p.m.,” she told The Cut. “Realistically, it’s between 10 and 10:30 p.m. I go on about a dozen [work trips every year] — give or take — and if I’ve been on an international trip, I’m literally in bed by 9:30 p.m.”

Though Melinda didn’t address Bill’s bedtime, he stressed the importance of getting at least seven hours of sleep each night in order to be creative. Plus, we know that leads to poor , which is, of course, key to performing at our best.

Everyone has their own way to unwind at the end of the day, and are no exception. So what do a couple of billionaires ? Thanks to some new insights from Melinda, we now have a better idea. (Spoiler: it doesn’t involve having Enya perform private concerts in their living room.) As it turns out, the of the Gates Family is actually pretty normal — and involves things anyone can do. Here are three , straight from Bill and Melinda’s playbook:

Connect with the people you love

Despite their hectic schedules, the Gates Family — including Bill and Melinda’s 16-year-old daughter Phoebe — all try to as often as possible, Melinda . They usually sit down between 6 and 7 p.m., and eat a mix of what each person likes — from Mexican or Asian food, to steak or fish dinners, she says. At a time when so many to their devices, (to clarify: not FaceTime) with loved ones and discussing the events of your day is a great way to de-stress.

And if you’re wondering who does the dishes, it’s all Bill. In he said that he does them every night. “[O]ther people volunteer, but I like the way I do it,” he wrote. Not only does mean that all the silverware is up to his standards of cleanliness, it also gives him , if he so chooses: athat washing dishes was the perfect time to .

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