Dana Perino’s workday consists of three parts: consuming news, reporting news and analyzing news. Yet she still finds time to take a breather from the news. It’s almost a mandatory part of her job as a FOX News Channel anchor. She knows when to lean in and when to lean out.
She may not have known exactly where she’d end up after getting her graduate degree in public affairs reporting, but she saw herself as being visible. “I couldn’t do what I’m doing now if I hadn’t done all the other things: worked on Capitol Hill, met a guy on an airplane, married him, lived in England, moved to San Diego, moved to Washington, D.C., worked in the Justice Department, moved over to the White House, came to FOX and moved to New York [City],” she tells SUCCESS. “None of what I’m doing today would’ve been possible without all of that.”
We sat down with Perino in New York City to find out what her weekdays look like now that she’s very visible as a co-host of the most-watched cable news show.
4:45 A.M. | PRAY FOR GRACE
Since Perino doesn’t have the luxury of waking up with the sun, she opts for the Hatch Sleep app, which uses lights to get her up before dawn. “I love mornings. I think that’s my natural disposition but also because [of] my family: We’re ranchers,” she says. “The first thing I do is have a quiet moment of meditation and prayer…. I ask for grace and mercy…. I start the day with that intentionality.” Then, before she even turns on a light, Perino scrolls through news compilation emails for domestic news, Middle East news, editorials and op-eds. “I wish I had time to read hard copies. My favorite thing to do is have a hard copy of the Wall Street Journal on Saturdays,” she says.
5:30 A.M. | WORKOUT
Forever a multitasker, Perino has a Peloton in her Manhattan apartment so she can exercise while she digs deeper into the day’s headlines. “I can do a 20-minute ride and 30 minutes of weights. And then I’ll check my phone,” she says. Three podcasts that Perino manages to pack in before the sun even rises are The Daily Punch, The Headlines and The Daily. “I listen at 1.5 speed,” she says.
6:30 A.M. | SHOWER
Her morning shower is part of the disciplined routine. “My husband makes my mushroom coffee. I have coffee while I scroll through the websites: Fox News, Daily Mail, Drudge Report and National Review as I look out over the Hudson River.”
6:45 A.M. | THE RUNDOWN
Like clockwork, at 6:45 a.m., Perino gets on a call with her America’s Newsroom co-anchor Bill Hemmer and her executive producer for a rundown of the two-hour live show. After that wraps, she leaves for the studio. “I have a car service, so it’s only a 10-minute drive. With my long workday, I couldn’t do a long commute. I wouldn’t be able to do this work,” Perino shares, “and I love my job.”
7:45 A.M. | CONNECT
Right when she gets into the office, Perino has her favorite part of her day. “My assistant and I have a chat about all kinds of things… when it’s just the two of us in the office. That’s when I have breakfast: Qi’a with berries and a splash of almond milk.”
8 A.M. | HAIR, MAKEUP, COFFEE
Perino’s hair and makeup team works together to get her camera ready in less than 45 minutes. “I’m uncomfortable with this much makeup, but I know that, on camera, I look my very best,” she admits. “Then, I grab another coffee.” By 9 a.m., she’s ready to wake up the rest of America with the news she’s had on her mind since 4:45 a.m.
11:15 A.M. | EXIT THE BUILDING
After the morning show wraps, Perino has a break until she’s on the air again for her evening show. She uses that time to walk away from the studios. “I have a 2:30 p.m. private pilates appointment at Columbus Circle. It’s about a 20-minute walk or I can take the subway. On other days, I have ballroom dancing lessons. I get exercise, and I get off my phone,” she says, even though she uses the time on the way there to listen to more podcasts, like Ruthless or The Ben Shapiro Show.
4 P.M. | FORMING OPINIONS
“The thing about The Five is that it’s a different show [because] you’re giving your opinion. I’ve learned how to do news in the morning and opinion in the afternoon. It’s a balancing act,” she says. So, in the hour leading up to that, Perino’s asking herself (and others) how to report, analyze and opine on the issues of the day. After a quick hair and makeup touch-up, she’s on the set of The Five at 4:50 p.m. “When I was the press secretary (for President George W. Bush), nobody ever cared what I thought personally. I hid behind that, speaking on behalf of the president,” she says. “But now I’m live on the air. And I work at a place where I’m not going to get canceled or fired for anything I say. Ever.”
6 P.M. | HOME
As soon as she can, Perino heads for the comfort of home. She’ll either walk or take the car service. “I wash my makeup off. I do some sort of stretching—there’s a new app called STRETCHIT, and the stretches are only six or eight minutes long,” she says. By the time she’s done, her husband Peter has made or ordered their dinner. “There are so many things to do at night, and I have FOMO, but I know that time goes by very quickly. And I have so much I want to do…. But I only go out one weeknight a week.”
7 P.M. | TV HOUR
The relaxing hour between dinner and bedtime has just two unofficial rules: It is only one hour, and it can’t be the news. “I have to be very disciplined. So Peter and I watch together. We just finished Landman,” she said.
9 P.M. | LIGHTS OUT
When Perino finally goes to sleep, she means it. No middle-of-the-night scrolling, no checking for breaking news and no early-hours brainstorming for the day ahead. To stay true to that, she has a timer on her phone that kicks her off Instagram. “I have a time limit so I’m not tempted to buy something or watch dog videos,” she says.
When the weekend finally rolls around, that’s when Perino, Peter and their beloved-by-all dog, Percy, can truly unwind. Usually at their beach home in Bay Head, New Jersey. “I save all of my book writing for the weekends. I’ll have great mornings with Peter and Percy on Saturday and Sunday. And then usually from noon to 4 p.m., I’m upstairs writing.”
Perino’s brand-new book, I Wish Someone Had Told Me…, is out now.
Photo courtesy of Fox News. This article originally appeared in the September/October 2025 issue of SUCCESS magazine.
