How Jenna Bush Hager juggles 'Today' show, book club: Reading, 'designer coffee,' this ritual
In a weekly series, USA TODAY’s The Essentials, celebrities share what fuels their lives.
With all the plates that Jenna Bush Hager has in the air, it's no wonder she clings to her calendar.
The daughter of former president George W. Bush and Laura Bush co-hosts “Today with Hoda & Jenna” with Hoda Kotb; leads her Read with Jenna book club (which just revealed its February pick, "Good Material" by Dolly Alderton, Monday morning); and has her own production company, Thousand Voices, in partnership with Universal Studio Group to bring books to the big and small screens. On top of that, she and her husband Henry Hager are raising their three young children: Margaret "Mila," 10; Poppy, 8; and Henry "Hal," 4.
"I try to just make sure I stay organized because otherwise things can't get done," she says.
Bush Hager, 42, spills her secrets for keeping things on track, shares why she loves reading so much and reveals how therapeutic cleaning can be.
Jenna Bush Hager's morning routine begins with these beverages
Bush Hager starts her day with a large hot water with lemon and ginger.
"I have three children, so there's lots of sicknesses running around my household," she says. The morning show host also turns to coffee for a boost.
"I wake up really early, so I feel like I am powered definitely by coffee."
"Usually, it's just coffee with almond milk or oat milk. But every once in a while, I allow myself a 'designer coffee,' which is what my husband calls them."
Jenna Bush Hager book club picks keep her reading
"I've lost my Kindle once and it was a real nightmare of a moment for me," she says. "I left it on the airplane."
The avid bookworm reads at least an hour a day and can get "a little panicky" without a title. Bush Hager launched her book club in 2019 through the "Today" show. Each month she selects a read, which she says on average requires her to sift through about eight books to find a winner.
Books are a way for Bush Hager to unwind. "It's my comfort; it's my passion.
"There are some days I just need to feel like I'm going somewhere else. There are some days where I want company, but mainly it's what I've always loved to do.
"I cannot go to bed if I don't read. It puts me to sleep. I feel like my parents gave me that. Because they read to me every single night before I went to bed, and I do it with my kids, too."
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What's active breathwork? 'If I skip, I'm very agitated,' Jenna Bush Hager says
Bush Hager performs active breathwork each morning as a form of meditation on her way to work.
"It's something that if I skip, I'm very agitated," she says of the practice in which focus is placed on one's breath. "It activates your nervous system, and it helps energy move. I think it's hilarious that even in my meditation I'm active, but I find it to be the most beneficial for what I need.
"I try to do that first before I look at our notes for the day – before I open any apps or whatever it is – because I feel like I'd rather be grounded before I let the outside world in."
This 'wild, wild clean freak' loves her Dyson
Bush Hager describes herself as "a wild, wild clean freak. It's something that I inherited from my mother."
Running her Dyson vacuum helps restore sanity amid the chaos. "During the pandemic, my Dyson was my best friend," she says. "It got me through a lot of tears and crumbs and three children eating every meal at home, doing the show from home. So when I'm stressed, I put on music and I vacuum. It's my greatest pleasure."
Taylor Swift, Luke Bryan, Garth Brooks fuel Jenna Bush Hager's house (through these speakers)
Bush Hager says her home is often filled with music, thanks to the Sonos music systems throughout her house. She and her children share a similar taste in music for the most part, "except for some songs that they've been listening to of late," she admits.
They listen to Taylor Swift and Luke Bryan. "Sometimes when (I put on) Garth Brooks radio, they're like 'Who?'
"And that's a little disappointing. I'm trying to train them to understand their roots.
"But we always have music on in the house," she adds. "I feel like if I'm grumpy or tired, the easiest way for me to change my mood is to put on music, light a candle and dance around."
This interview was edited for length and clarity.