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Dolly Parton is promoting her collaboration with Duncan Hines, which has been in the works for a couple of years but was in such high demand at first that they couldn’t keep stock on the shelves. I’ve seen it at my local grocery store, so her baking mixes, including corn bread, brownies and coconut cake, are now available to the wider public. In a new interview with Country Living, Dolly revealed that she wakes up at 3am every day! A quick Google search reveals that she’s said this before, but it’s news to me and I wanted to talk about it. I love learning about successful people’s schedules and Dolly is goals on so many levels.
Want to know what’s going on in Dolly Parton’s kitchen? “Beethoven and biscuits,” the singer told us.
That’s right, the icon is an avid cook, and often listens to classical music when she’s mixing something up. That, and country music, or whatever she’s feeling that day.
“Sometimes I just like it to be quiet because my head is always full of music and people talking to me and talking at me,” Dolly tells Country Living over a Zoom call. “So, sometimes that’s a good time for me to be quiet. But when I want music I play some country music, some yacht rock, or some old classical music. Boy, there ain’t nothing like cooking a big old southern meal listening to classical music,” she says.
“I’m usually having my coffee and doing my spiritual things around 3 o’clock in the morning,” she says. “I do my readings and my affirmations and my prayers and all that. Then I’ll start drinking my coffee and make something to eat. Then, if I’m not having to go to work real early, that’s when I do some of my best writing. I usually have great ideas in the morning when my mind is rested.”
In between writing, she says she usually makes calls and goes through some paperwork if needed for the day. At first, I couldn’t help but wonder, who is picking up the phone at five or six in the morning? But if Dolly Parton was calling me, I’d probably pick up too.
“By that time, I’ll have my good breakfast and take any vitamins and medication. I take a bath, get dressed, and put my makeup on, and I’m ready to go. I can get more done before 7 o’clock than most people can all day.”
[From Country Living via Yahoo]
I really enjoyed the documentary Dolly Parton: Here I Am on Netflix. (Unfortunately it’s no longer available.) I was struck by how deftly Dolly navigated her career and struck out on her own in the 60s when there were so many barriers to women. She really is a sweet southern belle who doesn’t take no for an answer and just works tirelessly. Waking up before the crack of dawn must be a part of that, damn. I thought I got up early at quarter to five in the morning, but this is beyond. Dolly has said in other interviews that she gets plenty of sleep, for her, and that she doesn’t need much. There have been studies that show that some people don’t need as much sleep as the rest of us. Maybe Dolly has that gene mutation that makes her feel rested on less sleep. It would explain so much about her. Imagine being able to function on a couple hours sleep less a night. Over the years that would amount to so much more productivity. This woman is a national treasure and a force of nature.
Oh and her Pet Gala is coming to CBS on February 21. There will be performances and a pet fashion show! My dog and I will watch the hell out of that.
Photos credit: Tina Rowden/Netflix, Cover Images, Getty and via Instagram
I’m glad that works for her but getting up at 3 AM would run so counter to my natural circadian rhythm I’d die of cardiac arrest within a year, lol. I wonder when she goes to bed?
Happy she’s happy but I truly hate those “you have the same hours in the day as Beyoncé!” affirmations. No, we don’t. These celebrities have staff and staff to manage that staff and staff to manage THAT staff. They’re not worried about cleaning the house or paying the bills or dealing with a stressful boss or running errands or scheduling appointments or even cooking unless it’s something they enjoy or ANY of it.
So yeah, when you have people to handle all the daily maintenance and pesky details and other administrative detritus that takes up so much of the lives of us normies, I bet you can get a lot of stuff done. But then again, so could most anyone given those resources.
If I had help to do even one thing like laundry or clean the kitchen, I could get more things done. Even having small amounts of help is valuable to a busy mom. Imagine having a full staff of people. Yah. I could get a lot done if I could pick and choose what I wanted to do.
You’re so right. Most people don’t get to schedule their own work time. They have to work around other people’s schedules. She also never had any children to have to schedule in.
Dolly worked like a dog to get where she is – she wasn’t “given those resources.” We can look at her now, after she’s achieved her success and wealth, and say “oh sure, I could have done that too if I had half a billion dollars.” But she did it without starting with half a billion dollars and I’ll bet she did plenty of chores when growing up with 11 siblings in a one-room cabin.
This! She started working before she turned 10. She was performing at the Grand Ole Opry when she was 13.
She never had children of her own, but raised a few of her nieces and nephews. She’s also the oldest girl (4th child) in a family with 11 children – she did plenty of chores and child rearing in her lifetime.
She’s not scrubbing the toilets in her house anymore, but she almost certainly was when she started her career.
For real. I totally get what people are saying, I’m trying to write a book while working and running an old house and it’s not easy. However, I can attest to her East Tennessee upbringing for instilling a serious work ethic. My family has a farm in East TN about an hour away from PigeonForge. My grandma and her siblings are about 10-15 years older than Dolly and they all used to get up at 3am to start chores and such before school during the school year and before the heat in the summer. For better or worse, Appalachian people worked their damn tails off so I’m not surprised getting up at 3 seems normal to Dolly. When I go visit my great-uncle, no matter how early you get up he’s already up and dressed and cooking you breakfast before you make it downstairs.
I think everyone has different sleep patterns. I fall asleep at midnight or 1 am, and the time between 9 pm and when I go to sleep is the most creative period of the day for me. I usually wake up at 7 or 8 am and it takes me a couple of hours before being really ‘awake’ and functioning. Never been a morning person unfortunately.
I’d be a zombie if I was supposed to wake up every day between 3 and 6 am.
I’m an early bird and prefer to get up early. I am at my most productive during the first half of the day. It’s all downhill after that lol. But I will say that while I think it’s admirable how productive she is – especially at her age – she is also rich. She doesn’t have to worry about grocery shopping, laundry, commuting, etc. And that makes ALL the difference for most people. It certainly does for me. I wish I had more time to do things I would like to do but I don’t. I work 40+ hours a week.
What time does she go to sleep!?!?! If she’s going to sleep at 8 pm or 9pm, then this makes more sense to me. I just can’t imagine fully functioning from 3 am with only 5 hours of sleep. I know some people need less sleep but I…..am not one of them, lol. I also tend to sleep like crap so I think if she’s getting a solid 5 hours of sleep, thats probably more than I get in a night, so maybe it evens out.
Quotes from a previous interview: “I don’t require a lot of sleep,” she said. “Three to five hours I can work on. Five hours I like to get. But usually I’m between three and five. But usually, if I’m on the job, I’ll take a little power nap.”
I feel sick at the idea of only three hours of sleep, LOL!
I do love a good power nap though.
#1. Staff.
#2. No kids.
#3. Are we really going to start a competition about sleep?
I can’t take much more of any celeb. Geez.
Look, Dolly is a terrific person, I like her.
But, IMO, since 2018, every year has become more difficult. Stress, illness, cost of living, the entire political situation on & on.
Wealthy celebs are just getting more out of touch.
I feel ya. Same.
I feel you @JaneS, I think many of us on here do.
One day, when I’m Dolly’s age, I will be retired. Kids out, job over, and it will be just me and my creative thoughts and energy. I can relate to her making the most of the morning while the rest of the world sleeps. I get up at 5am now just so I can exercise, parent, work full time, and have time for my side project- fit it all in. I’ve learned to love those precious early morning hours, there’s something mystical to it.
Looking forward to one day feeling the stillness of those dark morning hours by choice, and not because I have to.
As much as I love and admire Dolly, I am 100% with you on this @JaneS. I am already so overworked, overwhelmed, and exhausted from all the things I need to do just to keep my metaphorical boat afloat. Reading things like this doesn’t inspire me to want to “do more.” I’m already doing too much.
That said, I do pop by Celebitchy when I can as an escape, so I guess this type of celeb bragging falls into that category!
First, I so admire Dolly Parton!
Second, I seem to naturally wake up at 4:30/4:45 am no matter what time I got to bed. When I’m on my game and hit a 5:30 am workout class or get right up and start doing stuff, I’m so energetic and productive til around 1 pm. When I’m not (ie the past 6 months) I’m still up at 4:45 but lounge in bed drinking coffee and reading something silly til 7, when I need a nap, walk the dog, and feel slow most of the day.
I am in the UK but I would watch the heck out of the Pet Gala. Bring it to Europe, Dolly! We have a severe lack of doggie fashion and award shows over here.