Switching up my morning routine

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While I don’t consider myself a grumpy person in the morning, having the alarm clock go off anytime before – let’s say – 7 o’clock is cruel. I start work at 7 a.m. and my alarm usually goes off around 5:45 a.m. (thank goodness for short commutes – a long drive to work would kill me). Unless I am not taking a shower in the morning, I need about an hour to get ready and head out the door. I really try to stay in bed as long as possible in the morning. I often hit the snooze button for a couple of times.

Last week, in an effort to practice some self love and do something that will positively impact me daily, I decided to work on my routine and incorporate some small rituals. I know that I have a much better start into the day when I leave myself enough time to get ready and factor in some extra time in the morning to do something enjoyable, instead of rushing out the door.

Here are a few things I changed about my morning routine to make it less stressful:

1. Stop hitting the snooze button. As much as I want to turn around and cuddle into my blanket , when my alarm goes off, it doesn’t really avoid the inevitable. I still need to get out of bed. So, instead of dragging it out, I am trying to get up right away (because honestly, it only gets harder, the longer you wait).

2. Take a shower in the morning whenever possible. Sometimes, when I go to the gym or just decide to take a shower in the evening, I don’t feel like taking another one in the morning, BUT I feel so much more fresh and awake if I do. So, I am trying to make it a ritual to take a shower every morning.

3. Have my first cup of coffee at home. Since I am the first one in the office in the morning, I usually make coffee right when I get to work. However, I really enjoy taking some time to have my first cup of coffee. We have this awesome programmable coffee maker that I get all ready to go at night and when I get out of the shower in the morning, the coffee is brewed and fresh coffee smell is greeting me. Great good morning feeling right there – BAM.

4. Eat a small breakfast. I know, that should be a no-brainer and I actually love breakfast (it’s my favorite meal of the day!), but during the week, I used to leave for work without any breakfast. I think eating a small bowl of granola and fruit will help me jump-start my energy. (I also try to drink a big glass of water along with my coffee to get the hydration going, as this is such a difficult thing for me.)

5. Spend 15 minutes relaxed on the couch doing something fun. After I get my cup of coffee, I settle in on the couch for 15 minutes and do something fun while sipping my coffee. Sometimes, I just listen to the world outside waking up. Sometimes, I catch up on my Twitter feed. Sometimes, I just browse through a few pages of Real Simple or jot down a few ideas for my blog. All this helps me to start my morning with an extra deep breath and some inner focus, before I head out the door.

 

What’s your morning routine like?
Do you stay in bed as long as you can
or are you making time for yourself in the morning?

  1. So, the big question is whether your week was better after incorporating these changes (which I love, btw)?!

    My morning routine is wake up at 5:00 to take care of the dog. At 5:30, I take care of myself (shower or get dressed for a run). At 6:00, I say goodbye to Sweets (who leaves for work) and wake up Gavin, get him dressed, feed him breakfast and get things together for daycare. We’re out the door by 6:50 (if all goes as planned). On days I work in the office, I drive Gavin to daycare and then head to work. On days I work from home, I walk Gavin to daycare, go for a run (or to the gym) and shower. I usually start work around 8:00am, which is a far cry from my 6:30am start pre-child!

  2. Usually the dogs get me up, but today we all slept in until 9:00! I couldn’t believe it! Jack and I think we need a vacation from our vacation!

  3. Okay. I’m thinking that I might be your real twin. Your sister and I might have been switched at birth. I know that is quite the strech since we have different birthdays and were born on different continents, but still.
    I’m loving this Fierce Love you’re giving yourself. So proud of you!

  4. Today I hit the snooze button for three hours. Hazards of working at home.

    Needless to say, I could take away some lessons from this post.

  5. I need to start a better nighttime routine because I’m a pro at mornings now. :) I just love my mornings and making sure I have plenty of time to prepare for the day.

    Generally, on gym/run mornings, I wake up around 5:30 to get my workout in and then come home to get ready. I like to take my time so it takes about an hour, including taking my dog on a longish walk before I leave.

    Nighttime, though? Oh, I need to work on winding down better!

  6. I KNOW I should make time for myself in the morning – but I value my sleep entirely too much. The alarm goes off at 5:45 – I hit snooze three times – get out of bed at precisely 6:04 am – wash my face, brush my teeth, brush my hair, and get dressed by 6:30 am – when I wake Topher up, get him dressed, make his breakfast – and am out the door by 6:40 am. My “me time” is during my lunch breaks at work, or after Topher is in bed.

  7. It’s so important to remember to do little things for yourself when you work all the time! A couple weeks ago I had to realize that I needed to change up my routine as well, and I made sure that I had some extra time for breakfast and reading each morning- it helped me a LOT. Great post!

  8. I get up at 5:15 or 5:30. I rarely hit snooze because I broke that habit years ago… But it’s tempting to hit snooze some days! Anyways, it takes me about 45-60 minutes to get ready. Then I made breakfast (either toast or eggs) and sit down at my computer, drink coffee, and read blogs until 6:40 when I leave for work. I need that time in the morning to read blogs as it’s a calming way to start the day! And I can’t access blogs at work, so it’s nice to get a little reading/commenting in before work!

  9. I am a total snooze whore. I hit the snooze button several times every morning. This is definitely an effect of living alone, because when I shared a room in college, I NEVER did this, because I knew it would be so rude to my roommate! This is rough.

    But you’re so right. It gets harder and harder to get up the more you snooze. I’m never as awake as after my initial wake-up. I really need to work on this! Thanks for this inspiring post. Hopefully i can switch up my routine soon, too.

  10. I haven’t thought about revamping my morning routine in a while, but it definitely could use it. I’ve been hitting the snooze bar and skipping breakfast far too frequently.

  11. I wish my espresso machine would make my coffee for me every morning!! :) I love breakfast, too… but I can never find the time to get my bum in gear and make it before I leave the house!! =P

    Xoxo, Sarah
    https://nobodyputssarahinthecorner.wordpress.com

  12. This sounds like such a healthy morning routine (not necessarily just physically but in terms of sorting your head out before you leave the house, heh). Recently, my morning routine has been: Hitting the snooze button up to TEN times, then having 30 mins to get ready, i.e. 10 mins in the bathroom, 10 mins to get dressed, 10 mins for random running around (i.e. “CRAP, where is my cell phone”, “I really should take the trash downstairs on my way out”, etc.) So I usually leave without breakfast or sitting down even for a minute, and then eat something on my way to work.
    This way I get to work as early as I’m allowed to start (8am) which is good but meh… it doesn’t seem like a good routine at all.

  13. I love having time in the mornings, so I get up about 1 1/2 hours before I have to leave for work or whatever. I make coffee, have a big breakfast with granola and all kinds of fruit and drink about a liter of water. then I do whatever I feel like, watch some tv, check e-mails.. I just love having time to really wake up before leaving the house.

  14. I bet those little changes make a huge difference!
    I stopped hitting the snooze button when it broke, haha! And I never got a new alarm clock, so now I get up even before the alarm goes off, because I always wake up right before it does. I am always the first one to get up, prepare lunch boxes and breakfast, take a long shower and then go wake up Leonie. After she and the hubs have left the house I have my first cup of coffee before heading out to work as well. Less stress and besser gelaunt! haha
    Happy weekend xxx

  15. I’m not a morning person at all, but there are some mornings when I wake up naturally, earlier than my alarm, and it allows me to have a nice relaxing morning. Those are always the best days!

  16. our routines are somewhat similar, haha. i’ve tried to cut back on my snoozing and just get up. and i always make time to hang out on the couch and enjoy the news and some cereal after i take my shower and i get to lounge in my towel. it’s a thing. and i highly recommend it, haha.

  17. It’s good that you are enjoying your mornings more now!

    I usually shower at night. In the morning, I get up and have coffee and go! I eat breakfast once I get to work. I am not much of a morning person!

  18. I am super lucky this semester because my earliest classes are 12 and 1. That means I don’t need an alarm.. However, I like getting up and doing stuff in the morning or else I just feel tiered all day..

  19. I am SO bad with the snooze button and the alarm clock. I have such a horrible time getting out of bed in the morning. I literally will stay in bed as long as possible in the morning, to the point where I’m rushing around like a madwoman to get ready and skipping over things that I deem take too much time… like putting on makeup or eating breakfast.

  20. Sounds so similar to mine – minus the coffee timer. I started breakfast last year when starting to diet. The downfall I have is the me-time on the sofa, I always get to late to work cause I relax (watch TV – currently Glee re-runs) too much :) On the plus, our house is quite remote, so when the temperatures are getting warmer, I could just sit outside with a coffee.

  21. i love this. i’m totally IN! as of tomorrow, no more snooze for me! i have started making a cup of coffee at home and drinking it in the car on my way to work (out of the mug you have me <3 ) but i still feel rushed most mornings and don't have time to prepare s/th for lunch sometimes. i love the idea of relaxing on the couch for a few minutes in the morning though so i think i'll start that, too. :)

  22. This is such a good idea! I love the idea of getting out of bed right away and taking time to relax and have some me-time before work. I think I’d really benefit from that too. You’ll have to let us know how all of these changes work out for you a few weeks from now!

  23. I’ve come to realize that the amount of times I hit the snooze button negatively impacts how awake I feel when I finally get out of bed. It’s like I coax myself into this half-awake state that I can’t shake even after I get up. That said, I love at least one snooze.

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