I’m a morning person and always have been. It’s a blessing and a curse: I’m up early and ready to take on the day, but I’m also asleep by 10:00pm on most nights. I’m the most productive in the mornings, both at home and at work. So I guess being a morning person is more of a blessing than a curse.
One reason I’m so productive in the mornings is that I have a really solid morning routine. It took several years for me to get it down and get comfortable with it. But once I had it down, I’ve been a morning machine ever since.
My friends (and some family) usually give me a hard time about being a morning person. In college, I always aimed for earlier classes so I could have the rest of the day to work, study or do whatever else I needed to do.
Everyone should have a morning routine to help make mornings easier.
If you’re not a morning person, and if you’d like to become one, the first step to making that happen is to develop a solid morning routine. If you have a solid routine, then you’re more likely to have a good day. To help you along the way, I’m sharing my morning routine today, as a source of inspiration and guidance.
The Night Before…
First, I lay out my clothes for the next day, especially during the week. It doesn’t take long, but it saves me an extra 10 minutes of valuable sleeping time. I also check my alarm and make sure it’s set to go off when I need it. I recently started using the “sleep” feature on my iPhone as my alarm; it’s much more pleasant than my obnoxious beeping clock.
In the Morning…
Once my alarm goes off, I wash my face and put in my contacts. There’s something really energizing about cleaning my face that helps me wake up even more.
Next is the most essential part of my mornings… coffee. I’m obsessed with my Keurig and my obscene collection of coffee mugs (but obscene in the best possible way, of course). I keep a variety of coffee, and I usually mix it with stevia, flavored cream and a little almond milk.
Once my coffee is ready, I pack my lunch for work and make breakfast. Sometimes I’ll only pack a couple of snacks and let myself eat lunch out with a coworker, but by bringing my own food, I save money and I eat a bit healthier. My breakfast usually includes berries and a protein or carbohydrate (scrambled eggs or oatmeal), but sometimes I like a good breakfast sandwich.
If I have any posts to schedule or emails to send (that aren’t work-related), I’ll use my breakfast time to get those planned out. It usually doesn’t take that long, and it’s an easy task to cross off my to-do list before I go to my job. This is also a good time to think about what I’ve got on tap for work and make sure I’m prepared for what’s on my calendar.
Oh, and Maggie Kitty eats her breakfast when I eat mine. She’s on her own routine.
After breakfast, I get dressed, fix my hair and makeup and wrap up everything at home. My hair and makeup routine is pretty simple. I don’t do anything fancy with my hair, usually just straighten to tame it from overnight and throw it in a half-up with a barrette. And I think I use 6 makeup products on a daily basis (if you count perfume and hand lotion).
If you’re wondering if I make my bed every day, I don’t. Part of the reason is that my bed is situated against my bedroom wall and it’s kind of a pain to make it day in and day out. I usually adjust my blankets so nothing gets overly wrinkled. I don’t mind a messy bed, as long as it’s not too messy!
Before leaving for work, I make sure Maggie Kitty is set for her day: food, water, clean litter box, toys, etc. If she’s a good kitty, I leave a few treats in her food bowl. She doesn’t like long days by herself, but she’s always extra happy when I come home.
The last part of my morning routine is to make a cup of coffee to take with me. I know, I know… all the coffee.
My morning routine is not perfect, and I’m always looking for ways to make it better. I’d love to add some stretching and brief yoga to my mornings, as well as drinking lemon water before my coffee. It’s supposed to be good for you. Maybe it’ll get me to drink less coffee?
What’s your morning routine like? What tips do you have for developing a morning routine?
