My Morning Routine

I am a morning person. I’m not sure I always have been though. I have memories of my mother trying as hard as she could to wake me and my brother up. She’d shake us, scare us and at some point she turned to letting me have some sips of coffee at 11 years old because she just couldn’t take it any more – hence, my major coffee addiction. Ah yes, fond memories… me waking up for school…getting in the shower and… softly falling back asleep. The sound of my mother (she’s a main attraction in these memories) banging on the door, screaming at me that I’ve been in the bathroom for 45 minutes…simpler times.

Now I am up like a whip (most days.) I love having me time before the rest of my day begins. It took me a while to “perfect” this but I’ve made amazing progress and now, if I start a day without this ritual – it 100% effects me.

6am **I set my alarm for 5:45…still working on not giving in to the snooze.

I’m always curious what people’s “first thing they do’s” are. The first thing I do is not washing my face…. It’s not drinking a large glass of lemon water… it’s not brushing my teeth… it’s feeding my cats. That’s right. My cats are all over me in the morning for food. I can barely even turn the kettle on before feeding them.

So! 6:00am – feed the cats.

By 6:05 the kettle is on for my french press. I’ve gotten very used to making french press coffee in the morning. Some days I’ll have Nespresso (but damn those pods are expensive.) Once the kettle has stopped boiling – I pour it over the coffee grounds and let it sit for 5-10minutes. During that time I meditate.

6:10 – 6:20am
I had the hardest time working meditation into my daily routine. That’s where the french press comes in. Actually having to wait for my coffee to brew is the perfect excuse to work in a meditation. It’s different every day. Sometimes it’s 3 minutes, sometimes 5 (usually) and sometimes 10 minutes. I use the Headspace app. I highly recommend it. Do yourself a favor and pay for a subscription. Trust me – it’s worth it and will hold you accountable.

6:20 – 6:45am
Around this time is when I journal. I’ve been journaling since I was a kid. If you want to learn more about how journaling can transform your mental health you can read my recent blog post here. I usually journal for 30 minutes. It’s a way to clear my head, get all of my thoughts down on paper and center myself for the day. With coffee by my side, of course.

6:45 7:15am – Cook & Eat Breakfast
I switch up what I eat for breakfast all the time. Especially on days when I’m running vs a rest day. When I’m running or going to the gym I need to eat something light but “filling.” I don’t want it to be so light that I get hungry while I work out, but I don’t it so filling that I get cramps. It’s a real battle. Normally what I eat is a home baked protein muffin, oatmeal or an egg white omelette. Sometimes avocado toast. Also it needs to be quick!

7:15 – 7:45am – YouTube and get ready for the gym.
I’ve gotten into the habit of watching a lot of YouTubers lately. It’s been the best form of motivation for me. You can find some of my favorite YouTubers in my last post here. If I need a push to get out the door to the gym or a run or even just inspiration to be productive for the day – YouTube is where I go. So I normally play it in the background while I’m getting dressed for my workout.

8:00 – 9:00am – Gym, Run or a Walk
My gym opens a 8 and I like to be get there right on time so I can have a nice, hour long work out. My workout split right now is running 3 days a week, walking once a week on my rest day and then gym it up 3 days. Yes – my gym is still open during the pandemic. We have to schedule appointments to workout though so that there are only so many people in the gym at a time and every one is fully masked. On my rest days I go for a nice long walk. On my run days it’s usually somewhere between 3-5 miles during the week. 8-10 miles on the weekend.

9:00 – 9:30am – Get ready for work
I’m lucky that my gym is on the corner. Therefore I have plenty of time to get back home and get ready for work. Yes – while we’re all working from home and it’s super easy to just throw on sweats, I have been trying to genuinely get ready for work. I just feel better when I throw on a pair of jeans instead of a pair or PJ’s. I don’t always put make up on but – I do feel more put together when I do. It depends on my mood. All together though, it takes me about 30 minutes to get ready for work. By 9:30 I’m plopped down at my desk and ready for the day.

So this is my current morning routine. I’m actually trying to adjust it now so that I get up at 5am instead of 6 because I’d rather blog in the morning. I feel a lot more creatively charged in the morning than I do in the evening. At night I just want to relax. I’m sure this will also change quite a lot once I’m going back into the office, but no need to worry about that now. We’re still a ways away from that.

So, what’s your morning routine? I’m weirdly obsessed with knowing how people start their days. It’s probably the most watched type of videos in my recent watches on YouTube. Let me know in the comments!

Self care, self flare.

xoxo

Kelz