this should actually be titled ‘how i (ideally) start my day’. many personalities online forget to mention that the ~routines~ and other things they post are actually just the best-case scenario for how their best days go…
that being said, this is how i start my day when i wake up feeling refreshed and don’t snooze my alarm too many times! on a good day, this will take about an hour total. if i’m having a slow day it’ll take about an hour and a half.
disclaimer: i am FOR SURE a morning person. i enjoy making the most of my mornings and try to make them last as long as i can.
- wake up softly. soothing alarm music. i don’t check my phone right away. i sleep with my phone on airplane mode, which helps SO much. i don’t take it off of airplane mode until i’ve been awake for at least 30-45 minutes. try not to snooze my alarm.
- morning pages. when i have plenty of extra time in the morning, i try to do morning pages. this is essentially brain-dumping any thoughts, excitements or worries that are swirling around your head, on to paper to help lighten the load of your head and start the day with a fresh headspace. i notice a huge difference in my anxiety level and my ability to focus on days when i take the time to do this. the original creator of morning pages says it must be three pages, but i just do however much it takes for me to feel content and feel like i’ve gotten everything out. it’s also a great practice if you want to get into writing!
- yoga flow. next step is to do a quick 5-10 minute yoga flow! one of my favorites is a short tibetan sun salutation. it’s super quick, wakes up my body after i’ve waken my mind up. if i have some extra time, i add a few stretches in, as well as reversing the flow of blood, kinda like this (which everyone should try to do once a day!).
- food time. i actually don’t drink coffee! i usually try to have a glass of water in the morning before i eat. once i’m done with writing + yoga, i’ll make breakfast for myself. most mornings before work i make a fruity smoothie – sometimes it’s with berries, sometimes it’s banana/peanut butter/chocolate.
- book time. then, i’ll drink my smoothie while i read! some people might think i’m crazy for making time to read in the mornings, but it really helps me feel like i’m making the most of my whole day when i fit it in. i don’t end up reading a ton, usually around 10 pages or one chapter or so. right now, i’m re-reading eat pray love.
- skincare + makeup. wake the face up! my ‘skincare’ routine in the morning is usually just washing my face with cleanser, then moisturizing my face. then, i put on a bit of makeup because makeup makes me feel good!
- clothes. if i’m acting like an adult, then i’ll have my outfit picked out the night before to help make my morning easier. that doesn’t happen as often as i’d like, though…so then, i’ll pick out my outfit and get dressed.
- pack lunch + bag. when i’m not feeling lazy, i make my lunch in the morning. this is honestly one of my least favorite parts of the day – i HATE packing my lunch! i like my food to be fresh, so most days i make it the morning of instead of night before. then i pack up my work bag + my gym bag.
- head out the door. say bye to the fam, run out the door!
- probably forget something, run back in. most mornings i end up forgetting something in the house…from socks, to my water bottle, to phone, to keys – there’s always something!
- turn on a podcast + drive. one of my favorite parts of the day is listening to podcasts as i drive. i have so many podcasts that i rotate between, and i also co-host a podcast for my full-time job, the aquademia podcast, all about sustainability + seafood.
i know that these steps might seem SUPER unnecessary and way too complicated to some people, but once i started working full time, i hated how little free time i had outside of work. this made me try to find time to make the day feel more like my own, instead of the whole day revolving around work. my mornings were the easiest way to expand upon my day and make me feel like i have more free time in my day, allowing me to fully take advantage of time outside of work.
again, this is an ideal morning to me – i end up doing all of these steps probably 2-3 times a week. morning pages + reading don’t always happen, but i always feel so much better when they do! it’s taken me about a year to get this ‘routine’ down, and i love it. i look forward to getting out of bed in the morning because of it. i’m all about trying to figure out ways to make myself more excited to get out of bed, because that helps the mornings go so much more smoothly.
what’s your favorite part of the morning?
mad meandering 