Why Mark Wahlberg Wakes Up at 2:30 a.m. Every Day — Even on Vacation

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Mark Wahlberg is officially the most hardcore person on Earth.

Earlier this week the actor, rapper, model, and producer shared his daily routine with his Instagram followers, which he claims he sticks to every single day. Including while he’s on vacation. And man is it a sight to behold.

According to Wahlberg, he rises every single day at 2:30 am. He then sets aside 30 minutes to pray.

Next, he eats a quick breakfast at 3:15 a.m. Then, from 3:40 to 5:15 a.m. he puts in his first workout of the day. (Stay tuned as he works out again sometime later in the afternoon.)

Related: What Jennifer Aniston Does to Relax on Sundays

At 5:30 a.m. Wahlberg tucks into a post-workout meal, followed by a shower at 6 a.m. 

He follows all that with golf at 7:30 a.m. (a super-short game, might we add) and a snack at 8 a.m.

At 9:30 a.m., while you’re likely just getting to work, Wahlberg is hopping into his cryo chamber for a bit of cold therapy. After that — guess what — he has another snack.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. the actor sets aside time for family, meetings, or work calls. At 1 p.m. he has lunch, and at 2 p.m. he takes more calls. At 3 p.m. he picks up his children from school, followed by another snack.

From 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. he works out again and then showers. Yes, again. At 5:30 p.m. he has dinner with his family, then at 7:30 p.m., he heads to bed.

Is anyone else exhausted just reading this?

Though it all seems a bit absurd, this regimented way of life may be why Wahlberg is so successful. Scientific studies have shown that sticking to a daily routine is associated with the feeling that your life is meaningful. 

“You can sort of have a sense of the self from one time to the next," Samantha J. Heintzelman, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Virginia, told Business Insider. As she added, it helps humans feel they have coherence in their lives — "This is what I do or this is who I am."

And apparently, who Wahlberg is, is snacks on snacks on snacks, followed by long showers and family time. Even on vacation.

Budgeting for Vacation Never Works — Here's What You Should Do Instead

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Originally published on May 12th, 2017.

America, you need a vacation. Seriously, you earned it, and according to Project Time Off, you’re not even using it. As the project found, more than half of American workers left vacation time unused in 2015, adding up to 658 million unused days. Clearly, you also need assistance in planning a vacation, and we have plenty of advice for you, but the most important thing to remember is this: Do not give yourself a budget for your vacation.

“I think the entire concept of budgeting is flawed,” Brad Klontz, a psychologist and certified financial planner, told New York Magazine. “Your emotional brain responds to the word budget the same way it responds to the word diet. The connotation is deprivation, suffering, agony, depression.”

According to Klontz, the idea of limiting ourselves for short-term gain (i.e. with a diet or travel budget), only leads to an inevitable sense of failure when you eat a piece of cake, or splurge on a massage during your Hawaiian getaway.

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So how can you enjoy an epic vacation without totally blowing your entire life savings?

1. Plan.

For most of you, you know you have a set number of days off each year. At the beginning of the year, calculate just how much time you have off and divvy up how you’d like to spend it: A few days for three-day weekends, a chunk of time for the holidays, and a week off just for you.

Next, think about where you want to go. Live in New York and want to head to Paris for week? Great! Check out the flight options, hotels, and even a few discount sites like LivingSocial Escapes to see if there are any deals available. Tally up the total and make it a benchmark savings goals.

2. Squirrel away cash.

Each day, week, or month, put away a small amount of money into a separate savings account (better yet, try a money market account like Betterment to invest your vacation savings to potentially make a few dollars from the stock market along the way). Thinking in small increments will make paying off your vacation less stressful in the end.

3. Don’t forget to save for something special.

You know you’re going to Paris, but maybe there’s one restaurant you’re dying to try. Make sure to add in a little buffer to eat all the Coq au vin your stomach can handle.

4. Make peace with going over.

Hey, you saved all this money for your trip already, so when you see a beret in the window of a Parisian boutique you just have to have, go for it. It’s your vacation and your memories. Research even backs this one up: According to a study out of San Francisco State University, people who spend money on experiences rather things are happier and feel better about the money they spent. So go ahead, and have the time of your life.