Daily Telegraph Sydney Power 100: High-performance secrets of Sydney’s most influential people including Michele Bullock, Matt Comyn and Gina Cass-Gottlieb

From exercise to cooking a hearty meal and binge watching some thrilling TV, to refereeing rugby, here’s how Sydney’s high performers stay on top.

Sydney’s elite have revealed what they do in their personal lives to stay sharp – and switch off.

The insights have emerged from exclusive interviews for The Daily Telegraph’s Sydney Power 100 rankings, which will be published this Thursday.

Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn said some of CBA’s top brass share data on their rest and exercise as part of their pursuit of peak performance.

Asked whether he had ever had a chat with a direct report about the need for them to get more sleep or exercise, Mr Comyn replied: “Not so much exercise. Sleep? Absolutely.

“Part of the job of a leader is to worry about, you want to make sure that your people are performing at their best, you want to make sure that, especially during times of stress, you’re checking their welfare and making sure that they stress sleep is one of those really key, if anyone’s feeling overloaded or burnt out or worried, sleep tends to deteriorate.”

CBA CEO Matt Comyn speaking at the AFR Banking Summit. Jane Dempster/The Australian.

Comyn rides a stationary bike at home because he’s too busy to get injured in a crash on the road. He also swims and runs.

Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock said “exercise is really important.”

Ms Bullock said she is at the gym by 6am every day of the working week, either running or doing weights.

She also said “I try to make sure that I go home and I give my dogs a walk and I have dinner with my husband (and) I try to take weekends as well to catch up with some friends.

“Otherwise, you can just spend your whole life just constantly thinking about work,” Ms Bullock said.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairwoman Gina Cass-Gottlieb said she relaxes off by cooking and binge-watching thriller TV series.

“When you’re chopping something, you have to stop worrying about the last issue that you had. You need to focus on what you’re doing. And also I just find it creative,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.

RBA Governor, Michele Bullock can be found at the gym every day at 6am. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Her favourite recent thriller series was The Diplomat on Netflix.

“I thought that was fantastic,” she said.

News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller also said he loved to cook – and referee rugby union.

Michael Miller unwinds by refereeing at Randwick Rugby Club. Picture: www.ricmacphotography.com

He said that during games he has to have complete focus and ignore his Apple Watch if it is vibrating.

“I feel like I’m giving back,” he says.

Premier Chris Minns said staying off the booze helped him be as close to 100 per cent as possible.

“I found that that’s been pretty good, and I just try and do a little bit of exercise every day. Not so much for not so much for physical health, more for mental health,” Mr Minns said.