There is a farfetched idea that people who run big businesses are up at the crack of dawn poring over reams of data, trying to squeeze every last minute of the day to balance the books. But for Melanie Whelan, the CEO of SoulCycle, the start to her day is surprisingly conventional – and she works hard to keep it like that.

There’s no eye-watering early mornings or number crunching over a coffee to go, in fact her priority is being present – the practice of presence is a form of mindfulness - for her two children before the business day begins.

“I have a nine-year-old who gets up at 6am every morning, which is wonderful…ly challenging to live with!” she jokes. “The good news is, he can read so there are things to do that don’t involve mum and dad on a Saturday morning, but my husband and I are both early risers.”

On a typical week day, when Melanie wakes up at roughly 6am and the first thing she reaches for is her mobile phone.

“I make sure I go through my email, text, WhatsApp, news headlines and numbers that have come in overnight – and I schedule for the day.

“It’s not healthy but, yes, I do that in bed,” she admits.

My morning routine: SoulCycle CEO Melanie Whelan’s wake-up ritual might surprise you