Mornings are my favorite time of day. I’m kind of obsessed with reading about other’s morning hours. (Ooh, on that note, here’s a quick book recomendation: the book Daily Rituals is a fun peak into the daily routines of more than 160 of the greatest philosophers, authors, musicians, and artists from history….it’s a fun read!)

I’m not a full-time blogger; my degrees are in violin performance, so my bread and butter is teaching and playing the violin, and food blogging is a side hustle. Since most of my teaching and gigging happens in the afternoons/evenings and weekends, my morning hours are precious for getting all my blog-related work done. (I hesitate to even use the word “work” because it’s all just so darn fun!) 

Here’s a pretty normal morning routine for me. I live for these posts on other’s blogs, so hopefully it’s something you enjoy, too!

5:37 a.m: alarm goes off. 

I figured out exactly how much time I need to get out of bed, brush my teeth and wash my face, change clothes, and get to The Barre Code for a 6 am class. Haha!

When I’m not taking a morning workout class, I’ll sleep until about 6:30 or so. I love waking up early because I love those quiet hours of productivity. Once I got used to having those early hours, I got addicted to the productivity! Now if I sleep until 8 or 9, I wake up feeling kind of bummed that I’m just getting started on my day.

{also see: how to wake up early for workouts and love it}

6:00-6:50 a.m: barre class! 

Waking up early isn’t the easiest thing, but once I get to my barre studio I’m soooo glad to be there! Thank goodness those instructors are caffeinated, cause I’m sure not! My favorite way to start the day is by slowly warming my body up, then doing resistance training for 50 minutes.

I feel invigorated and strong when I’m done with class, so I’m ready to move on to the next thing and have a productive morning. If I skip too many morning workouts, I start to get in a slump and I don’t get as much done in my days.

7:00 a.m: back home, MAKE COFFEE. 

I always walk in the door, greet Storm (Nate’s still sleeping), and immediately turn the kettle on for making a morning cup of coffee. I need my coffee, haha!

We’re currently subscribing to MistoBox. They send a new bag of coffee every week, and it’s so fun getting a surprise package on the weekends to enjoy for the next 7 days.

Here’s a run-down of how I make my coffee. I usually brew on a Kalita Wave or an Aeropress.

7:15: quick shower, put on real people clothes. 

I usually don’t do hair/makeup yet, but I’ll at least put on jeans and a sweater so I feel semi put-together. I’m pretty convinced I’m about 10% more productive when I’m wearing real clothes instead of yoga pants.

7:30 a.m: alignment. 

This is some form of journaling/meditation/visualizing/reading. I usually spend 20-30 minutes doing something that just makes me feel good. I totally agree with Jess Lively that “alignment before action” is an important step. So, even if I’m busy and have a ton on my to-do list, I’ll try to spend at least a few minutes getting my headspace in order.

Sometimes it just means finishing a really good book I’m reading! But other days I’ll be more intentional about doing 10 minutes of mediation on the headspace app to get my  mind prepared for the day.

8:00 – 10:00 a.m: desk time. 

While I’m working, I’ll usually snack on something like a Siggi’s yogurt, a Kind bar,  a smoothie, or a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast.

I’ve been using Omnifocus to make my to-do lists and projects, so I try to start my day by opening that and tackling the next project. (LOOOVE this tool!!) The $40 price tag on an app is a little daunting, but I’d say that it has more than paid for itself in all the free time it’s created for me from the 3 years I’ve been using it.

A few things I’ll do during this time:

• Admin work for my teaching position (I run my own teaching studio, so I typically have some accounting/scheduling work to do.)
• Answering blog-related emails. It’s a never-ending pile!
• Brainstorming/writing new posts.
• Planning posts to publish on other social channels (Instagram and Pinterest are my two favorites!)
• Edit photos

That’s how I love to start my day! A workout, some alignment, a couple cuddles from my kitten, a kiss from my hubby on his way out the door, and then several hours of focus. AND COFFEE.

Happy Monday!

Kelsey

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