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: