Sleep

Six months of the year, I’m on a plane, so I save time by taking night flights and sleeping in the air. I get jet lag, so I keep melatonin spray by the bed: two puffs, and I’m back to sleep. At home on the Caribbean island of Necker (I bought it when I was 28), I rise early at 5.30am after seven hours’ sleep. I keep away from blue light and screens for two or three hours before bed. I’m a good sleeper and have fantastic dreams – I’m well-behaved in real life, but misbehave atrociously in my dreams.

Eat

I’m mindful of my diet; it would be foolish not to be. If there’s healthy food around me, I’ll eat healthy food. Breakfast could be porridge, fruit salad and green juice. I don’t diet – I’m 6ft and my weight hovers around 178lb – but every year I do an extreme physical challenge, Strive: a mountain trek, a 2,000km bike ride, then a climb. By the end of it, my body’s where it was when I was 24. I’ve stopped eating beef to try to reduce the amount of cattle eating the rain forests.

Work

I work hard and play hard. I’m lucky, because I work from home, so my main office is a hammock. I’ve tried to find a pleasant environment, so work doesn’t feel like work. I encourage flexibility in my employees, because it makes them more productive. I suspect people get as much done at home as in the office.

Family

I’m fortunate to have been with the same lady for 42 years, and that’s held our family together. We’ve got two children and four grandchildren (three and under) and, working from home, I’ve probably spent more time with my family than most fathers. Now I work with my daughter, who runs our foundation. My mother, who is 94, spends a lot of time with us, too.

Fun

I love to say yes and hate to say no, and that results in a lot of fun. I generally spend from 6am until 9am doing fun things to benefit my body such as tennis and kite-surfing. On Necker, we have a wonderful collection of wildlife: 400 flamingos, lemurs, giant tortoises, scarlet ibis. I’m aware I’ve got an extraordinary life, which I would not swap. George Clooney was asked if there was anybody’s life he would swap with and he said he’d love 24 hours in my shoes. My wife said, “Done. It’s a deal, as long as it’s the full 24 hours!”

• This article was amended on 30 July 2018. An earlier version said Branson’s wildlife collection included giant horses, rather than tortoises.