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
I’m obsessed with these posts too! Love it! You’ve got a great routine in place for productive mornings. My problem is I have started wanting even more time in the mornings, so I get up earlier and earlier, which is hard because I’m not naturally an early riser, but I love it when I make it happen! I don’t know about that Omnifocus app – I need to check it out!
I’ve done that too sometimes! Then I’m just soooo tired all day…. I’m still trying to find my sweet spot for waking up early.
It’s important to have a morning routine and yours seems on point. Love it when you share your personal life stuff!
I love this! It’s always so fascinating to me how people start their days and spend their time.
Reading this as I try to get motivated for the week…… I am a brand new blogger and LOVE seeing how other bloggers spend their time.
Hey mam! 🙋♀I really like your blogs.💖
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I start my day always waking up at 5 in the morning, I get up from my bed, say a prayer and go to the bathroom to shower, then I brush and shave my beard, after finishing I go back to my room to get dressed and put on the uniform, then I go to the kitchen to prepare and eat breakfast, then I go to my motorcycle to go to work it takes me 1 hour to get to the company, after arriving I do my job and work until 1 pm, which I went out for lunch and then I work straight until 5 pm, then I return to my motorcycle to go home, to receive my English classes that start at 6 pm until 10 pm.
I think you have a great morning routine and it is admirable, I think you have more time to do things and I do not feel proactive but it is motivating to be able to read a better routine than mine and I would like to be like you at some point in my life. From my point of view it is a good way to do the things you like or when there is no time at another time of the day. I can’t wake up early even though my alarm tries to wake me up, I don’t know how you can do it. I would like to point out that sometimes the morning is faster and that is frustrating. Thanks for sharing your routine.
I couldn’t agree more, Kelsey, when you say that mornings are your favorite time of the day. Don’t you think that it would be a good idea that together we plan an activity related to the theme of the mornings and the blogs?. Although many people think that early morning is something boring it happens to me the same as you, morning are those first hours of greater productivity. When you state that you are more productive when wear real clothes than yoga pants…. That’s not what i think, but i respect it. In my opinion you share a very nice and interesting routine.
I like her discipline to get up early and then exercise. It is difficult for me to get up early to exercise. I also need coffee in the morning. Her routine is a bit like mine, I also manage to feel more productive. love your routine, it is very healthy and productive, I change and adapt your expression “alignment before action” I believe that I will use it in my routine
I think there are several important things in this routine, one of them is getting up early, since the morning hours are the ones that yield the most and additionally it allows us to have a more open mind, although it is also important to sleep very well. I think it is important to have coffee in the morning because it has several benefits such as: it is an extra energy, it helps the brain, it contains antioxidants, it is an ally of the liver.
I would like to point out from the saying. “Alignment before action”, here we can talk about meditation or doing something we like to open our mind and sometimes clear the stress we handle.
Hi, I´m Sonia Mallely Torres Muñoz, in my view I think that she is very applied to achieve her daily goals. I disagree in that she leaves home without first taking a bath. I agree with getting up early since those are very productive hours and I don´t believe that you should feel guilty for the days you sleep a little bit more. I believe that the rest is fine.
Excellent routine!
Personally I think that you have shared a piece of your life with us and have given us reasons to do the same in the best way.
I believe that if we had discipline and morning routines like yours, we would be more active and healthy people in the morning.
Although many people think that mornings are boring, those of us who get up early and have a morning routine know that it makes the rest of the day and life easier when we have everything planned.
The routines are variable, but in my opinion I see yours quite well, especially the part where you say that getting up early makes the day “better”, I am a person who gets up early a lot whether it is necessary or not at the moment, it is a good habit that speaks quite well of the person, especially in the workplace but that is another issue, I am not someone who exercises a lot but I am glad that that gives you a certain “peace”, have a nice day.
Hi, I’m Monica, in my opinion I admire your routine and the discipline that you have every day, I would like to have a little discipline in terms of a sport routine and discipline in the schedules but it is difficult for me to get up early and play sports.
I think it is a good lifestyle, personally I think that it is not always also good to have the same routine every day. In the same way I congratulate you for being so disciplined