What I do everyday matters. Period. To remain consistent and maintain discipline, I’ve learned the activities and things I participate in on a regular basis is more important than what I do once in a while. I am fascinated with the habits of others, especially those I admire and in an effort to better my own routine, I’ve turned my gaze outward as a trampoline for inspiration. Recently I discovered a website called, My Morning Routine, where over 161 artists, writers, entrepreneurs, yogis and others offer a glimpse inside their morning routines.
I am particularly interested in whether what I do in the morning is the overriding factor in cultivating a more contented life. By excavating some of same questions other writers and people have answered it provided a blueprint to spot patterns that are vital to my morning routine and well-being. Here are my answers and I hope you choose to participate too:
1. What is your morning routine? I try to wake up early, at least an hour or two before my family rises. In this time, I head for a run in my neighborhood or choose to take time to write or read. Before I sit down at my computer to begin my work day, I’ve unloaded the dishwasher, made the bed and taken my daughter to school. My other companion at my desk? Always coffee.
2. How long have you stuck with your morning routine? I love routine. For the last 7 years I’ve been wedded to this particular way of shaping my morning.
3. How has your morning routine changed over recent years? When I was a practicing attorney, I’d barely have time for a shower or breakfast. Every part of my life felt like a flash of hurry. Since leaving the legal practice and giving birth to my little girl, my mantra is to interject more mindfulness in the morning. That means slowing down and savoring my environment.
4. What time do you go to sleep? I usually sleep between 10:45 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Through the years, when I’ve tried to sleep earlier I wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble falling asleep again. This bedtime seems to work best for me.
5. Do you do anything before going to bed to make your morning easier? I make my daughter’s lunch, glance at my calendar and make a to-do list of at least three items I need to complete for the next day.
6. Do you use an alarm to wake you up in the morning, and if so do you ever hit the snooze button? Yes. Sometimes, I will catch a few more minutes of sleep.
7. How soon after waking up do you have breakfast, and what do you typically have? I will probably wait an hour or two after I wake up to eat breakfast. Usually it is a bowl of oatmeal, accompanied by some fruit and nuts. When I feel particularly adventurous and naughty, I will treat myself to a cinnamon roll.
8. Do you have a morning workout routine? Yes. I try to workout, either via a run or an exercise class at the gym in the morning.
9. Do you have a morning meditation routine? I haven’t cultivated it in the past, but because my word of the year is pause, I am trying to implement a few minutes of meditation in the morning.
10. Do you answer email first thing in the morning, or leave it until later in the day? I tend to read my email first thing in the morning and respond a few hours later.
11. Do you use any apps or products to enhance your sleep or morning routine? No.
12. How soon do you check your phone in the morning? Too soon. I am actively working on trying to put my phone out of reach in the morning.
13. What are your most important tasks in the morning? My most important task is to understand the privilege of waking up and the gratitude of beginning a new day. I adore the quiet of the morning to ease into my routine.
14. What and when is your first drink in the morning? Coffee and usually 30 minutes after I am up.
15. What do you do if you fail to follow your morning routine, and how does this influence the rest of your day? Unease tends to creep up during the day if my morning routine isn’t going as planned. I am learning to embrace the interruptions and trying to handle the uncertainty with a more sensible perspective. Sometimes you have to let go in order to welcome the unexpected.
What about you? How does your morning routine influence the rest of your day? I would love to hear your answers.
Image: Arizona Sunrise by Mark Smith via Flickr.
Welcome! I am a lawyer turned freelance writer, essayist, and editor. On staff at Literary Mama and the co-founder and co-editor of the literary journal, The Sunlight Press, my essays and reported work have appeared in The Washington Post, The Lily, Saveur, Civil Eats, Brain, Child, ESPN and elsewhere. I am currently at work on a memoir on grief and culture and how it provides perspective on life’s ordinary graces. I invite you to appreciate the ordinary with me. I hope my daily practice of seeing the magic in the mundane helps you celebrate and find more of these moments in your life too.
Oh I love these questions! I’ve thought about getting up early for a few years now, but never quite made it happen until the past few months. I finally became a person that gets up at 5:30 am to write, and it’s made such a difference. Not just in writing, but in my whole attitude and morning. I still get interrupted by little ones but I try try try to get this time in. Even if I don’t write, just 30 minutes of quiet with my coffee and reading feels like a meditation. I might answer these too on my own site- it’s something I’ve really been thinking about lately. xoxo
I’d love to hear your answers, Alisa. So lovely to hear you are waking up earlier and that you can identify a difference in your morning and attitude. I think it is so helpful to have that me time, especially when raising younger children.
I really enjoyed this post, Rudri, and it’s come at a perfect timing since I just wrapped up my work deadlines and am trying to rebuild a calmer daily life. I’ve been living the way you described your past as a lawyer – no time to shower or even eat. My daily routine has been unhealthy, which then sets the tone for the rest of the day and even night, and the cycle continues. I want and need to banish the idea that I need to jump right into work first thing in the morning (checking my iPhone before my eyes are even fully open, turning on my laptop before I’m out of my pajamas…). I love the routine you have right now and I feel inspired to make a plan for more mindful mornings from now on.
Cecilia,
I hope you find a routine that works for you. Perhaps you can implement small changes when work isn’t as busy? Starting with one small change seems to be a manageable way for me to tackle habits and then slowly building on that foundation works well in trying to establish a new routine. Good luck! xo
Morning is my favorite time of day – or I should say the most important time of my day. I’m a morning person, usually up of my own rhythm by five. That quiet time, coupled with my morning cup of coffee is my ritual. You know, we’ve all heard about setting the tone for our day or creating our day, but I recently read the idea of sending love ahead to your day and I, well, love that idea. Send love out ahead of yourself into your day – like an energy that you can follow and stay close to and be aware of. Isn’t that nice?
Oh, wow, Barb. The sending love ahead to your day is a great ritual. I adore the idea of following that thread throughout your day, especially when irritation or uncertainty creeps up. Thanks so much for sharing this wisdom. I think I might add this dimension to my morning routine.
What a fun glimpse into your morning! I am decidedly not a morning person (my default is night owl, with insomnia to boot) but having a child negates my tendencies. So, the pattern is that I wake with her and my husband and start the day accordingly. But it is a basic routine. Shower, pack lunch, drive her to school, and then return home for coffee, writing, volunteer efforts, etc. One thing is clear for me: the attitudes/moods of anyone I cross paths with for the first 1-2 hours I’m awake will largely define how the course of my day goes. I think it’s why I tend not to talk to too many people early in the day. 🙂
In my twenties, I loved the night owl life, but I can’t seem to stay up as late in my forties.
You bring up an important point about mornings – it is essential to identify what works for you as much as what doesn’t work for you – I think it’s wise to avoid certain conversations/people if you know it might impact your day adversely.
No, morning routine does not dictate my day. Working for myself I am either working at my client’s office or at home. Living in London transport woes can mean you lose an hour of your morning and I do not let that affect the productivity of my day. If I’m working at home breakfast is more relaxed possibly following a run or the gym and the day is more productive without the office interruptions.
Welcome, Bryan!
I am glad to hear the uncertainty of your morning commute doesn’t necessarily influence your productivity. It’s great knowing that whatever may occur at the start of your day is something you accept and you tend to work around it, instead of letting it inhibit you. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Mm.. a cinnamon roll. I love that you allow those sometimes.
I don’t have a great morning routine. Although I suppose I do have one, at the same time each day. Lots of grumbling, though! I’d love to sleep until 8.
I read email first thing and then answer them later in the day too.
I cannot lie – I love those cinnamon roll days. I think if your mornings still translate the way you like without a routine, it’s great.
Also, with younger children at home, sometimes it is harder to capture consistency.
I begin my day with thoughts of gratitude. I drink my coffee and check my emails before taking Daniel to school. Four to five days a week I walk in the morning for exercise. Thank you for sharing.
Ayala,
What a peaceful way to start your morning. I love that you incorporate gratitude at the beginning of your morning. This exercise probably helps promote mindfulness all throughout the day.