NewsNation’s Markie Martin On The Morning Routines and Habits Of Highly Successful People
An Interview With Jake Frankel
A consistent morning routine is fundamental because it dictates the rest of the day. I learned a long time ago to set aside enough time — before the workday starts! — to tackle the things that bring me joy and peace. I notice on the days when I skip self-care routines and rush straight into work that my entire day feels hectic and incomplete. When I take the time to focus on myself and fill my own cup, I’m able to give myself more fully to family, friends, and work. I am confident your readers would feel the same if they created the same space for themselves.
Beginnings are a Genesis. That means that not only are they a start, but they are also the origin of all that follows. This means that the way we start something, the way we start our day, for example, creates a trajectory for all that follows. How do highly successful leaders start their day in a way that creates a positive trajectory for a successful, effective, productive, and efficient day? How do you create habits that make these routines permanent? How do you get inspired to develop the discipline necessary for such a lifestyle? In this new series, called Morning Routines and Habits of Highly Successful People, we are talking to successful leaders who can share the morning routines and habits that have helped them to achieve success.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Markie Martin.
Markie Martin is the morning co-host of “Morning in America” on NewsNation. Prior to joining this show, she traveled the country as a national correspondent at the network and made local anchoring stops in Oklahoma City and Texoma. Martin credits her daily rituals, particularly her morning routine, with getting her through the demands and pressures of network news.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
Yes, and thank you for including me in your series! I was born in Dallas and lived there for several years before moving to Ada, Oklahoma. Oklahoma is where I feel I truly grew up. I often share how thankful I am that my childhood was spent in a place that instilled small-town values in me, where neighbors took care of neighbors, and where I was able to be a kid before the time of social media. I’m eternally grateful to have grown up in a loving home, where my parents championed my sister and me to strive for excellence and chase our dreams. As a young girl, when other children were watching cartoons, I was watching the news and Food Network! For those who know me well, they’d attest that those TV choices couldn’t have been a better foreshadowing for all that was to come — broadcasting is now my life’s work, and cooking is one of my greatest hobbies.
What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.
In elementary school and high school, I never considered a career in news because I didn’t know anyone in the industry. Although I was a young viewer, that world seemed completely foreign and unattainable. I attended the University of Richmond with the mindset that I’d eventually go to medical school, but I realized in that first collegiate chemistry class that medicine wouldn’t be my calling! I eventually made the eye-opening pivot to the journalism school on campus, and those professors really made the difference for me. They believed in me and mentored me, and it was the first time I wanted to stay late after class to continue talking about the course work. Richmond had no broadcasting class, so my professors encouraged me to apply for my first internship at the local CBS station during my senior year. I knew in that first week it was an itch I wanted to scratch. I eventually created the University’s first weekly broadcast out of the campus newspaper’s basement office. It was SO bad, but I like to remind myself that it landed me my first job in television!
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?
The people I credit with molding me into who I am today are, undoubtedly, my parents and my husband. In every facet of life, they have been my greatest cheerleaders. They have supported me in endless ways and still watch almost every newscast. In my local news days, my mom drove me to every interview and audition I ever had, which became such a special tradition. I thank God for them every day, because I can’t imagine getting through life and this career without a constant support system. My family is my North Star.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that happened to you in the course of your career? What lesson or take-away did you learn from that?
Oh, let me count all the ways in which live TV has been comical, powerful, awkward, and cringeworthy! Ask anyone in broadcast — we all have our own list of good and bad moments. One of my first real lessons came when I was the weekend anchor in Oklahoma City. It was a weekday, and our newsroom received breaking news that there was a bomb threat at a local gas station. Our news helicopter went up, and at the time I was the only anchor in the building, so they had me head into the studio for a live breaking news cut-in. I had never helmed wall-to-wall coverage before, let alone by myself, and I wasn’t getting a lot of information from producers. I had mistakenly assumed the team would fill me in before they took me live, so, unfortunately, I didn’t ask a lot of questions. Then, without even a warning, I was live on air with zero bullet points to reference! You can imagine the word vomit that ensued. I was so mortified at how bad the coverage was that I spiraled for several days. But those moments of terror taught me a couple of monumental lessons — the main lesson being the importance of overcommunication. From that day forward, I learned never to put on a microphone or get in front of a camera with breaking news until I have at least a couple nuggets of confirmed, reportable information. The second big lesson was coming to terms with the fact that live TV isn’t always going to be perfect, and often it’s not. These days when I have interviews or moments that don’t go as planned, I get over it somewhat quickly. A respected colleague once told me that every next segment, next hour, and next day are all new chances to start again. In this business, your skin gets tougher as the years march on!
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
There’s no doubt in my mind that while talent has gotten me through many doors, kindness is what kept me in the room. It’s the personal trait I’m most proud of — and the trait I respect most in others. My face might be the one you see on air, but news is a vast team sport. The people behind the scenes are the ones taking care of you, making the big decisions. In this business, a successful career and ascension is much more likely to happen when your team enjoys working alongside you and wants to see you succeed. Additionally, curiosity is crucial to bring to the table if you plan on doing well in this industry. Often, I think the best interviews are born simply from asking the questions you genuinely want answers to — and the questions everyone at home watching is wondering as well. Lastly, I think I’ve learned to set boundaries for myself with work that are advantageous, not only for myself but also for my team and our viewers. News is an extremely demanding industry, and over the years, I’ve learned when to say yes and when to pull back and say no in order to bring the best version of myself to work every single day.
I’m an author, and I believe that books have the power to change lives. Do you have a book in your life that impacted you and inspired you to be an effective leader? Can you share a story?
I’m an avid reader, and I can’t imagine a world without the escape that books provide. I do credit one book with giving me the courage and gumption to kickstart my job in television news! I had just read Hoda Kotb’s first book, “Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee”,, Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee, where she described having this newfound, fearless mindset after surviving breast cancer. She wrote that that fearlessness empowered her to ask for exactly what she wanted — to be Kathie Lee Gifford’s co-host during the fourth hour of the Today show. I can vividly remember being in a job I didn’t love and deciding to reach out to KTEN News in Denison, Texas, which ended up being my first stop in TV news. There were no openings, but I figured I’d take a chance and tell the news director I’d love to be considered if there were any positions on the horizon. Two weeks later, I was in his office interviewing. During the interview he divulged he had a reporter position and a separate weekend anchor position open. I told him right there in his office that I wanted both and asked him to make them a hybrid role for me. He hired me on the spot and gave me both jobs.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
My current focus at this juncture in life is wholly the four-hour newscast I co-anchor each day. I hope we make the show look easy and smooth on air, but the reality is that it takes a monumental amount of preparation, research, and teamwork to host that amount of network news on a daily basis. Anchors are required to be thoroughly read-in on the day’s headlines and their guest interviews, ready to challenge and fact-check on live TV. I think outsiders would be baffled by the amount of work that goes into every show.
OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. This will be intuitive to you but it will be helpful to spell this out directly. Can you help explain to our readers why it is important to have a consistent morning routine?
A consistent morning routine is fundamental because it dictates the rest of the day. I learned a long time ago to set aside enough time — before the workday starts! — to tackle the things that bring me joy and peace. I notice on the days when I skip self-care routines and rush straight into work that my entire day feels hectic and incomplete. When I take the time to focus on myself and fill my own cup, I’m able to give myself more fully to family, friends, and work. I am confident your readers would feel the same if they created the same space for themselves.
Can you please share your optimal morning routine that can create a positive trajectory for a successful, effective, productive, and efficient day? If you can, please share some stories or examples.
My alarm clock goes off at 1:30am during the week for work, so my morning routine looks a lot different on weekdays versus weekends. But my optimal morning routine is always one that allows me ample quiet time spent reading, moving, and meditating. Even on my weekends, I wake up before the sun so that I can have that slice of solitude that only comes in the early hours before the rest of the world rises. I often kickstart my routine with a cup of coffee and then read my daily devotion, which lends me perspective and an attitude of thanks. Once my husband wakes up, we head out for our “Coffee Walk” where we have alone time to talk and stroll the neighborhood. From there, I’ll often incorporate a full workout either on our Peloton bike or at the gym. Movement is medicine for me, and I’m continually amazed by how much sharper it makes me feel physically and mentally. And on mornings where my body is telling me to rest, I incorporate heat therapy in the sauna and steam room — a practice I have revisited multiple times a week for 15 years. When I incorporate these practices, or at least a hybrid of them, my entire day ends up being happier and more productive.
Speaking in general, what is the best way to develop good habits? Conversely, how can one stop bad habits?
I believe developing good habits is all about consistency, especially on the days you don’t want to do them. It’s also helpful to remind yourself of all the reasons the habit is important to you and what you’d miss out on if you were to skip it. I’ve made health, fitness, and nutrition pillars in my life, but there are certainly days I don’t want to put in the work; however, I practice these habits because I know the payoff is advantageous for me in a multitude of ways. The name of the game is repetition to the point where you look forward to the habits and your day doesn’t feel complete without them. With regard to eliminating bad habits, I am not a fan of the cold turkey method. Depending on what the habit is, I believe implementing small changes and slowly scaling back is less of a shock to the system and increases your chances of parting ways for good!
Doing something consistently “day in and day out” can be hard. Where did you get your motivation from? What do you use to motivate you now?
Revisiting your routine, patterns, and good habits can be hard to keep up with on a daily basis, but it’s easier to stick to them when I envision what my day would look like without them. For example, on days I don’t want to work out, I remind myself how much better I feel afterwards, how much sounder I’ll sleep that night, and of the years I’m adding to my life by remaining active. Once I tell myself those things, it becomes much easier to exercise. If I’m tempted to skip my morning routine, I remind myself that I’ll have no time to myself that day if I don’t get it in. My motivation comes from a lot of different people and places in my life — my husband, who always encourages me to be the best version of myself; my family, who wants the best for me; my colleagues, who I’m constantly impressed and motivated by; and our viewers at home, who deserve the best out of each newscast we put on for them.
What other resources would you suggest to our readers?
I don’t know about resources, but I’d encourage your readers who are trying to create morning routines and habits to sit with themselves and brainstorm. Write out all the things they want to continue, the habits they need to quit, and the practices they want to introduce into their lives. Who do they want to be? What does that best version of self look like, and what are the things they need to do to get there slowly? I often sit with myself and check in on how I’m doing and recalibrate from there, if needed. I would also encourage your readers to talk to friends, family, experts, and people they’re inspired by and see what their routines look like! They might just pick up a few ideas they’d never considered.
Ok, we are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Wow, what a question! If I could inspire a movement, it would just be a kindness movement — especially as we head into an election year. It’s remarkable to witness all the good that can come from a few words or acts of kindness. I would challenge people to offer compassion and grace throughout their days, even when (and especially when) it’s not reciprocated from others. I always remind myself of the saying: “People will forget what you said; people will forget what you did; but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I live by that.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them. :-)
If I could share a meal with anyone in the world, it would be after cooking it alongside Ina Garten! For years I have watched her Food Network show “Barefoot Contessa” and collected her cookbooks. As a foodie myself, I’ve long adored the way she’s made cooking and entertaining simple yet idyllic. She instilled in me at an early age that gathering around a table with family and loved ones is the good stuff of life. I’d love to talk with her about everything from food philosophy to taking career risks to marriage!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Your readers can follow my work online in a few different ways. My work at the network can often be found online at newsnationnow.com and also on social media. I often share my work and interviews on my own social media platforms across Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Viewers are also able to download our NewsNation app and stream “Morning in America” live every day!
Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.
