Rishi Mandal
Standing out in the home-fitness industry is tough work. Rishi Mandal, CEO of Future, devised an app that brings personal trainers to your smartphone. Here’s how the father of two schedules his day
6.30am Get Up And About
If Mandal isn’t woken up by his alarm, he’ll be woken up by his kids, aged one and four. He brings them in for some quality time first thing in the morning. ‘It’s a little bit of chaos to start every day,’ he says. ‘A time I can really lean into and enjoy.’
8am Walk And Talk
He’s on autopilot now, starting with coffee (a bright Ethiopian blend) and a veggie breakfast burrito like clockwork. His first phone meeting of the day, often with Future’s chief operating officer, is always a walking one, no video required. ‘Getting moving and thinking sets the tone for my day,’ he says.
9am Track Random Thoughts
Mandal doesn’t get many meeting gaps, leaving little room to decompress. To keep track of his thoughts, he keeps it old school: with a physical notebook. He says it helps him step back and listen more. ‘I have a three-column system where I’ll write notes on the left, feedback in the middle and random ideas I have on the right, and it turns into a timeline of the day,’ he says.
12pm Fit In Some Future
On weekdays, he pencils in a weightlifting session with his Future coach to keep in shape. ‘I never miss [a workout], because I relentlessly schedule everything,’ he says. ‘I don’t have to think about anything. I just hit start.’ After, he grabs a preprepped lunch – usually salmon and a complex carb such as brown rice, with spinach and roasted carrots – to reduce decisionmaking and keep himself on track.
2pm Never Not Learning
Due to the pandemic, Mandal adopted a habit of listening to audiobooks after lunch, compiling his thoughts on his phone in a running note he has aptly named ‘TIL’ (Today I Learned). His most recent auditory read? The American Story by David M Rubenstein. ‘Hopefully, writing down notes embeds them more deeply,’ he says.
6.15pm Chef It Up
As well as being a CEO, husband and dad, Mandal takes the role of home chef, whipping up an ‘elaborate’ meal for his family every evening. His baked fish with sherry and a knob of butter is a great hit. ‘I always make a first course, fast, which is usually a veg such as romanesco broccoli,’ he says, to keep the kids from getting hangry. ‘The fish comes out amazing and you have to do very little.’
10pm Puzzle Down
Mandal often sleeps poorly, so he has developed a puzzle habit to help him get a better night’s kip. ‘Doing these puzzles helps me stay engaged and turn off my screens,’ he says. By the time he’s done, he’s ready to drift off.