Your Morning Routine
 

I'm sitting on my bed in a towel with makeup spread out, 5 minutes until work officially starts.

What's your morning routine? Could you switch things up easily? How long have you had the same routine?

I start my workday off slowly and quietly. It takes me 1.5 to 2 hours to get out the door after waking up. I shower, dress, makeup my face and my bed, style my hair, and make breakfast. Sometimes I eat breakfast at home on the patio, but I usually eat my breakfast when I get to work.

I probably could get out the door in 45 minutes to an hour, but I don't want to. I don't like rushing in the mornings when I have go to work. I'd rather get up an hour earlier than needed just to have that extra time on my own. When I had a dog, I used to walk her in the mornings.

It's changed over the years. The older I get, the more time I want in the mornings. I've had this routine for about 12 years.

Yeah, I could switch things up. Right now I have a short commute to work. I'd switch it up if I had a long commute. I'd also change this routine if I worked from home. In part, I have a long routine in the morning because I'm around people during the day. The time on my own in the mornings is good for me when I'm around people during the day. On days when I work at home, I do the same things, but in less time.

I've been on medical leave for the past 12 weeks. I go back to work next week and that is going to real shake up my current morning routine.

Wake at 3:30 am
Pee and brush my teeth and hair
Throw my lunch and breakfast in my lunch box
Throw my clothes on and my boots
Let Skippy out to pee real quick
4am take off to work
4:30am arrive at work eat my breakfast
5am clock in and get a wiggle on

My morning routine has been anything by routine for a while. And I'm suffering from it. I find I do better with a routine. I work flexible hours, but my "core hours" are 8 AM - 3 PM.

My (ideal) morning routine:
5:05 AM - Wake-up, walk the dog, brush my teeth (<-I don't feel human until I brush my teeth)
5:30 AM - Get to the gym
6:30 AM - Home to shower, dress, make breakfast, feed the dog.
7:30 AM - Head out to for work.

My routine lately:
5:05 AM - Alarm goes off; I turn it off and roll over
6:30-7:00 AM - I sort of wake up and lay in bed checking email or playing games on my phone
7:00 AM (ish) - Get out of bed, linger in the shower, feed the dog and walk him
7:45 AM (ish) - Run out the door and grab breakfast on the way to work

First thing I do is let the dogs and cat out

Then I boil water for coffee and let that steep (French press)

If I'm doing something that day (work or play) I use coffee steeping time to prepare. Or I do yoga.

Usually I have breakfast (yogurt or oatmeal. Bigger breakfast if I'm off that day)

I like to do wash in the mornings so I can hang it out.

Some mornings, like today, I get out for a walk or hike with the dogs before work.

It takes me about two hours in the morning before I am ready to leave for work.

It could take less but I like to poke around and take my time.

I wake up at 6, kiss the still sleeping girlfriend, try not to feel jealous that she is retired and I am not, turn the coffee grinder/maker on. Go to the bathroom.

Coffee ready. Throw some egg whites in the microwave or have an Atkins shake.

Drink coffee, watch the news both local and CNN, read little on my iPad and eat breakfast.

An hour has now gone.

Time for a shower, wash my hair, brush my teeth and get dressed.

Sit with another half a cup of coffee.

Watch 5 minutes of Fox news (all I can stomach), grab something for lunch.

Out the door to hit the freeway.

Monday's are pretty good. I figure people call off sick because traffic is always light.

Traffic Tuesday-Thursday, sucks. Friday is a tad lighter. People take a day off or call in sick.

Depending on traffic, it can take 20 minutes or 45 minutes to get to work. :praying:

I wake up when I wake up, usually 6-7 am

Use the restroom
Feed the dog
Put the kettle on
Get the outside cats food ready
Feed the outside cats and let the dog out
Feed the fish and add water to the pond
Sit on the patio like this :| and wait for dog to finish
Add hot water to French press
Feed inside cat
Grab coffee and catch-up on news and social media
Get coffee and breakfast for my honey
Shower and run errands

My phone alarm is set for 6:15. If I need to wash and dry my hair then it's set for 5:30. This doesn't mean that I get up at 5:30 or even 6:15. I hit snooze a lot. I go to bed between 12 and 2. I wake up at 3 and may be up for an hour. When I finally get back to sleep it's time to get up.

1-Shower
2-Sit on bed and apply makeup. I also inspect my eyebrows and search for any stray hairs. I'm a plucker not a waxer.
3-Blow dry hair
4- Pick out dress, shoes and jewelry.
5-Put clothes on and look in mirror.
6- Sigh. Take off dress and fling it.
7- Repeat 4, 5 and 6 as needed.
8- Style hair.
9- Perfume.
10- Change purse if necesary.
11- Search for glasses, keys and cell phone.
12- Grab something to take for lunch.
13- Double check for cell phone and head out the door.

This has been my routine forever. I don't like change. Change only happens when it's forced on me.

A lot of things vary. I don't start work at the same time every day and my kids routine changes a lot too and that impacts me.

Standards are:
Get up
Let dog out
Press "brew" on coffee maker that hopefully I remembered to set up night before.
Give treats to old lady cat who gets them every morning.
Let dog in.
If I'm cold, get back in bed with coffee and dog and check emails, read a little news, etc. If I'm not cold, sit out on the back porch with dog and do the same.
If kid needs to be up for something, shake her until I get a response.
Shower
Hope I picked out clothing the night before. If not, probably try on several things before I feel satisfied.
Hair and face time is pretty minimal- 5 minutes tops- that includes lotion and any perfume/oils I'll be wearing.
Fix food for us, or make sure my daughter is fixing food for herself.
Get the kid where she needs to go- right now it's working at a theater starting at 8:30am M-F.
Get myself back to the home office and prep for the work day- which hopefully was also done the night before.

Wake before alarm goes off at 5am
Shower
Meditate
Flip the switch to start coffee brewing that my honey prepares the night before
Drink liquid dairy product with a dash of weak coffee
Check email
Check Twitter
Check CNN
Check BFP
Pull together foods for the day to be consumed at the office, much of which has been pre-prepared and divided into plasticware
Put on the shirt on top of the pile
Put on the jeans on top of the pile
Slip feet in shoes
Pack up laptop to take to office
Drive to office about 15 minutes away and begin work at a quarter to 7am

I better be able to switch things up because in a few days I give up my liquid dairy product with a dash of weak coffee. <insert scared emoji here>

Regular Work Days (I'm on teacher summer break)
 

Alarm or I wake myself up b/w 5:30 and 6

Put the water on, grind the beans, make the french press coffee

Go back to bed with the coffee pot and mug and mess around online for approx. hour (best part of the day sometimes...love the quiet peacefulness)

Drag ass out of bed and get ready in about 15 mins (usually do the shower thing in the PM); if I need to do my hair tack another 15/20 mins.

Out the door by 7:30/7:40

The most important element of my morning routine is exercise!

If it is a work day, I will head out the door before doing anything else to do a few miles of jogging/walking.

On a day off, I will take the luxury of actually eating breakfast and drinking coffee before heading off on a much longer walk, or often hike in the mountains.

Everything else- clothes, make up, hair, etc- gets fit in wherever it can, depending on whether I get distracted with music or online! I don't really have a set-in-stone routine, other than the need to get out and move before doing anything else!

I am noticing a bit of a pattern in almost everyone's routine...

Coffee.

Am I the only one that it is not part of my routine? You know it's a bad day for me if it includes coffee.

And no, I don't drink something else for caffeine. In the mornings, it is almost always water or juice.

good morning~
 

up early thinking with coffee this morning..a soft rain was falling and the garden was weedy and very fragrant, the birds chirped hello songs..and made me feel better..making chili..i have all my (very) secret ingredients in it..it should be amazing...just sayin

I don't drink coffee. The only way I have ever liked it is disguised with sugar and dairy. That doesn't fit into my vegan diet.

I do drink iced tea. All that I drink is iced tea or water.

I have the noblest intentions for a morning routine; I truly do. However, the reality is more like this...

Unconsciously hit the snooze button a few too many times until I awaken in a panic. Then run through the house clumsily stumbling about while trying to cram the most hygiene into the fewest possible minutes. Makeup? I used to bother about that, but now I start work far too early. I'm usually pulling on the last articles of clothing as I lock the door and then all the way to work one of two things happen:

1. If it's going to be a day where things go my way, I will know it because I'll hit all the green lights on the commute.

2. If I get stuck at every single light on my way in, it's generally an omen of what awaits, lol.

I get my coffee at work now usually, which is weird because I've always been a bit of a coffee snob. Now, it's just about good time management. And free stuff. And the coffee is sufficiently caffeinated and it's free. I don't like this morning routine because I don't believe it's the right way for me to live, but my schedule is crammed for the foreseeable future. On the weekends, it's better. :)

I feel like this is the right way to start the day. I just don't know how to get there. I guess I need to discipline myself to push through the exhaustion and just get up as soon as the alarm goes off.


Orema, (or anyone else who manages to get up early on a consistent basis) are you naturally a morning person or do you have a secret that you could share with those of us who have trouble getting up in the mornings? :)

I'm taking notes!

Yup, not a coffee drinker either! Someone said it smells much better than it tastes which is so true! And here I lived in a place where within a two block radius of 4th and Pine Streets there are FOUR different coffee joints! Three are Starbucks and the fourth is Ebar associated with Nordstrom's Department store!

During the work week:

Up between 5-5:30am.
Go to the bathroom
Brush my teeth
Put the tea kettle on (french press coffee)
Wet my hair (would have showered the night before) - put product in aforementioned hair.
Spruce up (wash my face, deodorant, cologne, etc.)
Make coffee
Check the world and local news online (likely just sitting in my boxer briefs and a t-shirt)
Login here for a quick read
Get dressed (likely would have set clothes out the night before)
Brush teeth again (after coffee)
Head out the door at 6:30am for the drive to work.

On the weekends:

Up whenever and do whatever (because that is what weekends are for) :king:

I am a morning person. I always have been. It is an unusual day that I don't wake up before my iPad goes off with "All Over the World" by ELO. (I used to use Mr. Blue Sky but changed it last week).

I go to bed early, around 9:30 or 10:00PM, read for 30 minutes and then lights out.

My GF is a late night person (usually 12:30AM) so she sleeps later in the morning. On weekends, I stay up with her but I still wake up around 6-6:30. I love that time. It is quiet and I can take my time waking up and enjoying my coffee.

I really don't think that you can make an early bird a night owl or vice versa.

I have been an early bird since I was a little girl.

I have never been a morning person. I like to ease into my day for the most part. My fam always said the only way I would rush out the door is if my house was on fire-- and they were not lying. I have just never been that person.

I think the key has been for me to discipline myself to go to bed at a decent time. Not at midnight or 1am and expect to feel "fresh" when I have to get up by 5:30am.

Also, I have never needed an alarm clock. Once my body gets used to a certain time I just get up then (even on the weekends). Not sure how it does it, but it always has even when I was younger.

I am not a morning person really, I get up when I have to go to work or do stuff before it gets too hot during the day.

I get up, go to the bathroom, shower, get dressed and drink a cup of coffee. Then off to start my day!

My routine is EVERYTHING in the morning. That only happened about 5 years ago because (1) I started going to bed on time, and (2) I developed some memory problems. My memory meds don't kick in until awhile after I take them, so if I don't have a routine in the morning, I just wander around and try to remember why I'm standing in whatever room, until they do.

• Wake up to alarm at 5:45 or 6:15 (this is the only variable - depends on if I have to wash and dry my hair)
• Take first med, get up, restroom
• Make breakfast, always Campbell's Cream of Tomato soup and whatever else is handy
• Take second med
• Eat breakfast and watch a half-hour show on Netflix, or half of a one-hour show
• Take out Tiny Dog and feed Diva Kitty
• Take rest of a.m. (pre-sorted) meds
• Shower, maybe wash hair
• Dry and style hair
• Deodorant
• Teeth
• Makeup and skin care
• Pre-selected outfit and jewelry (I select all my outfits on Sunday night for the week)
• Restroom again
• Leave for work at 8:45 a.m.
• Arrive in my office around 9:15 a.m., where I make a K-cup coffee, and am at my desk before 9:30 a.m. start time

It took me awhile to develop this schedule, and then I wrote it down and hung it over my bed where I would frequently refer to it. I don't have it hung up any more, but I do still have it written down in my day planner - where I write down everything (digital does not work for me). I also have a list for bed time; it makes getting to bed on time a lot easier.

M-F it is pretty much the same every day weekends are more free form
-Alarm goes off at 3:30a
-Hit the loo
-Let the houndies out
-Heat the water for tea
-Unload the dishwasher
-Let the houndies in
-Make the tea
-Sit on the edge of the bed and play with my phone while the tea steeps
-Sip said tea and stare out at my garden in a daze
-Clean up pee pads in the bathroom (the little dog has bladder issues)
-Mop the bathroom floor and put down more pads
-Make sure my brother has everything he needs for the day while I am gone
-Pack work food (I cook for the week on the weekend)
-Shower
-Hair and makeup
-Check my appointment calendar for what meetings I have coming up that day
-Stare at clothes in closet waiting for the best work outfit ever to make itself apparent, wear something less spectacular if that doesn't happen
-Wander the garden for a bit to see what is what with my plants
-Drive to work, it usually takes about 30 min
-Make a pot of tea for my desk, usually at my desk around 6ish
-Look at my to do for the day and my appointments
-Sip tea and enjoy the silence (no one is in yet)
-Answer emails and get going on my day

When I was in high school I had to get myself up every day and take a city bus to school. My
Dad married a woman who lived a bit away from my high school, and I didn't want to change my senior year when we moved. I had to set my alarm clock across the room so that I would have to get out of bed to turn it off.

My morning routine NEVER varies, even if I have to be somewhere early, as the pets have to be taken care of before I do anything for me. If my routine gets thrown off, then I forget my pills or something equally as important as I stand in the middle of the room wondering what to do with myself.

Hey, Smiling ... Just seeing your posting. I am a morning person and love getting up before dawn, have been doing it since I was a teenager when I would get up to make breakfast for my father. I go to bed early. Usually around 8pm and am asleep by 9. I often wake up around 2am and cat nap till 4am. The later I go to bed, the later I get up, so I make a point of going to bed early. And, I don't have children at home—that would change everything. With children I would get up later and go to bed later (to keep an eye on them).

coffee for sure...
femme up ...

sit quietly... get online news...
study a lil bit on khan academy...art history and bio right now...
read something that inspires me...have "principle centered leadership" next to me right now... ( s. covey )...

write a heartfelt email to hym...
ask a question of myself...not looking for an immediate answer but somehow it finds me over time...

read some useful and a lil useless fb stuff...

femme up a lil more lol...
get in my truck... listen to NPR ...

step out into my day...staying in the moment...
grateful...
so very much to be grateful for...

I drink herbal tea in the morning, sometimes I have juice too, however I always have water.

I've been getting up early my entire life. More often than not, I am up before my alarm goes off at 4 am. I give myself an hour for breakfast, and playing solitaire. Sometimes I'll grab some fb time. Half an hour for getting dressed, personal hygiene, and preparing for work. Then I am off to work, I either walk or take the bus.

Like Liam, I start my mornings with water. I add lemon juice and cayenne pepper to it. I seldom have coffee and when I do it's decaf. I have too much energy for caffeine.

Something else ... I've gotten up early most of life, with the exception of when I was first married. My husband and I would party all night on the weekends and get up at 5pm to start the day.

And before I was married, I was a sex worker for a number of years and even then I was able to get up early and go to bed relatively early—I worked the businees crowd during the daytime hours. Getting up early is just something that's always worked for me.

I too am a morning person. When I was a runner, that was my prime running time even (or especially) in the summer. My whole mind and body just thrived on those runs or swims.

This thread is like a big "Well, do that again; you even belong to a gym and pool that opens at 5:00 AM" to me. There's no good reason why I couldn't make that a routine again and get ready for work at the pool. It just takes organization and non-laziness. Even a goal of a few mornings a week to start is good.

I have found, indeed, that a morning started right makes the day work much better. If I am rushed, disorganized, or crashing from hunger, forget it.

This, henceforth, is my picture of a great morning:

6:00 Wake up, read something inspirational, gratitude and joy journal, stretch
6:30 Gym for a run or swim, followed by my reward of a hot tub soak.
7:15-8:00 Get ready for work at gym; once at work mentally calm and center myself and eat the light breakfast I already packed in my bag (vending machine stuff is not breakfast).

I need to be my best self for myself, my family, and my students who are looking to me for a role model.

Morning Routine
 

Jump out of bed in the dark, then turn on the local news and read social media for a few minutes. I make coffee and food, clean up the house, shower, dress, and start my day.

Sometimes I throw the nurff football for the kitty.
Morning love notes make for a happy day. :)

:gimmehug:


:playingcat:

4:45 am:
Bring coffee to Mr. Jenny, put on exercise clothes, walk dogs, make bed, straighten living room and kitchen, take out trash

5:30 am:
kiss Mr. Jenny goodbye
bath/hair/makeup

6:15-8:15 am:
write/study

8:15 am:
change into dress and heels, put on jewelry, perfume, etc., pour coffee into travel mug and put water and grounds in coffeemaker for tomorrow, set timer, Turn up AC to 77, put dogs into crates

8:30 am:
get in car, call Mr. Jenny from driveway to tell her I am about to be on the road

Workdays.....


-open eyes at 5:30am
- think "ugh!"
- walk like zombie to put coffee on
- shower
- drink coffee and play online
- walk dog
- get dressed for work and do bathroom stuff (brush teeth etc)
- gather my things and more coffee and head out the door.
- drive
- park
- texting
- go into work


Quite exciting isn't it? ;)

I wake up, look around me, blink a few times, say "Thank You", start my day.

I grab the paper, read the obituaries, and if my name isn't there, I'm good to go:glasses:

I have done it ;). Second morning of my "perfect morning" picture of rise, inspiration, swim and get ready for work.

Even though "go to work" for a couple more weeks means "walk into my home office and switch on computer", I've been using this time as a kind of dress rehearsal for the real thing-refining my bag, timing (including mock driving to work from the gym), that sort of thing.

I refined the routine, also. I added music, exclusively upbeat or rocking tunes. Whatever makes me bop in the seat or even shake it in the bedroom :). I added a site of inspirational quotes to my morning reading. I had to eliminate all news sites and anything political (including the election thread on this site). If that makes me out of touch, oh well. This has begun something deeper than the original question, at least for me.

I feel nothing less than a crusade for taking radical care of myself emotionally, spiritually and physically. This is very different than how I operate.

You know how you paint or redecorate a room, and then the rest of the house is "ugh"? I thought, well, if this "positive things only" movement benefits the morning, what's up with watching Maury and the like in the afternoons with that parade of dysfunction and stress? Why does lunch break down to a fistful of cookies? Dinner ordered from a box? And we won't talk about my sleep habits. I already know that my ADHD self needs order and beauty in my home. When the house is messy, I'm messy. I have some work to do.

Convicted again. I can't tell my students about being their best selves and then go home to Chips Ahoy, trash TV and a growing archaeological dig of laundry in my bedroom (with its unmade bed).

Maybe self-care is a ever growing project, with no time that you fully "get it" but rather you evolve to deeper layers. So rather than beat myself up, maybe it's more caring to say "It's just now that you're seeing the dust on your soul; forgive yourself, grab a rag, and go to work".

Yoga and coffee are my least variables in my morning routine...

Most days I'm coming home after a 12 or 14 hour shift. On those days it's coffee then yoga then breakfast.

On my days off, like today, it's yoga while coffee brews and then breakfast.

Then it'll be music while I clean (I'm feeling for Chopin today) and today I may make an early lunch so I can head out for a good hike with the dogs.

Routine
 

Work mornings - I get up at 5:00 am, make coffee to go, pack breakfast and lunch to go, shower, dress, feed the kitties and head out the door in 50 minutes to catch the commuter van.

Weekends - get up around 8:00 am lounge around for a couple of hours make a big breakfast, shower, dress, and run errands.