Establishing a Morning Routine
A couple years ago I got into a morning routine kick. I would wake up 2-3 hours before I started my self-employment work day and it was amazing. Then some health issues popped up and fatigue reared its ugly head. I couldn’t wake up early to save my own life (maybe Adam or my dog’s life but, I never tested this theory).
After investing in and become a patient of Dr. Kanodia‘s, I got my energy back. And I started waking up early again. So now I get to re-establish my morning routine and I thought I’d share so that maybe you’ll share yours. I’m always looking for other ways to fuel up, gain energy and start my day off right.
Taking Desh out is about the most important thing I can do in the morning or he’ll 1) hate me or 2) pee in our house. He always wants to run back in for treats or food so I made him pose for this photo but you can see he’s not entertained.
While I’d like to tell you that I wash my hair every day, I can’t because lying online is lame and people who know me will call me out. Since I don’t do it often, I try to make it feel like I’m at the spa. I turn on music, try new products and light a candle. Latherology, a local company here in Columbus, let me try out their shampoo and conditioner recently. They specialize in using essential oils in their products and you can customize. I chose jojoba oils and grapefruit essential oils for my mix. SMELLS AMAZING.
After showering, I tackle skincare (specifically my face). I’m obsessed with Glam Glow masks and have found some other products that work well for me. I went off the birth control pill back in May and, paired with a clean diet, have been happy with my lack of breakouts. I use Eipcuren (via the spa I get facials) for a moisturizer, Primally Pure’s oil cleanser (I’ll probably switch to the formula for oily skin soon) and Perricone MD for eye cream.
I’m the kind of person who has to check my email when I first wake up. I can actually relax MORE when I know what’s hit my inbox and what’s on my calendar for the day. But I don’t reply to emails until I get into the office. Instead, I try to read a book (for awhile, I was reading one per week) while I drink coffee. Usually in the Bulletproof style.
Makeup time! Podcast time! What do I do with my hair? What’s the temp like outside? The remainder of my time includes all of these things. I’ve been loving Code Switch lately. They talk about race and it’s awesome.
Before we head to our studio, we ideally clean up around the house because who wants to come home to a dirty house? Again, this is IDEAL. Usually we rush out the door so this is aspirational.
That’s it! What do you do every morning? I’d love to hear.
A Consideration
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Comments (8)
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Jolie
I’ve been very into prepping my morning coffee smoothie the night before so that when the bb gets me up at 6 I can just pop it on the blender! I usually spend the first 45 minutes of the morning feeding and dealing with Rhys and then setting him up to play while I pick up and get dressed. I agree, I always trying to pick up the house before I get started :)
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Sarah J Storer
Just started a new one, even though I’m a classic “not a morning person” (no time like the present to change all that!). I give myself about an hour to wake up (between 6 and 7 am), get out of bed, brush teeth/wash face and walk the dogs. I recently started giving them a full-on walk every morning (at least 20 minutes) and have noticed such positive benefits for both them and me.
Then I brew some coffee, and while that’s brewing, I take care of any pickup/dishes/cleaning needs to happen (but only for as long as the coffee is brewing, so it forces me to be efficient and speedy). I give myself the remainder of the hour to read, sip coffee, practice some gratitude and look at the day ahead and make sure I have everything planned and accounted for (even quiet/down/me time).
So far, so good! And the feeling of being fully awake with a positive mindset before I touch a bit of work might just be more satisfying than hitting snooze for an hour…maybe. ;)
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I really need to get into the habit of taking Desh on a longer walk. I know it would be good for both of us (just like you said). Of course I decided this right as it gets cold…ha!
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Oh man, I am not great at this at all. I’m jealous of how peaceful and leisurely your routine is, but if I had to do it for myself, I would probably skip TONS of it because I’m lazy. Skin care and daily makeup is just…not the top of my list.
I get up somewhat early so I can crank through as much work as possible before my toddler gets up for the day. I make myself a mug of chai and sometimes breakfast (sometimes I wait and eat with him) and set myself up on the couch with my laptop and generally get straight to work. A few mornings a week I ease my brain awake with my Feedly for awhile, but the most routine part of my morning is when the kidlet is up.
I want to develop some sort of creative habit and the morning seems like the best time to tackle that, but I haven’t quite decided what yet. I have a page-a-day calendar with origami models for next year, but I want to find something to do in the next two months until that kicks in.
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I will say…I don’t have kids! I know that makes a huge difference. I can relate, though. Sometimes looking at my email or starting work sort of “jumpstarts” me into the day but then I feel like I worked 20 hours by the time I go to sleep…
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Corey
I have that same card framed at my desk!