I’m an Early Bird who sets a 5:15 alarm (most days), wakes with that gentle buzz, rolls out of bed and downstairs to do some writing. After an hourish, unless I’m walking with a friend, I’ll head out in the dark to walk for 35ish minutes. Then home, make a single AeroPress cup of coffee, some sort of breakfast and puzzles (Wordle, Mini, Connections, Waffle). Maybe Instagram for a bit. Duolingo for at least 15 minutes after that.
Photo credit: Malvestida via Unsplash
Not every day is like that but most are. What about you?
Do you follow a routine? Let your body guide your wake time? Skip coffee and do juice or hot chocolate? Or is the morning a blur because you’re a night owl? What does the early part of your day look like? How do you start your day?
I clearly have some internal work to do, because all of your morning schedules are making me feel extremely unproductive! And now I am flooded with shame. Not really. OK, a little bit.
I am a night owl who gets up around 8:30am when the alarm goes off because the cat needs to be fed. Even 8:30am is a stretch .... I'd rather be in bed for longer, but I have to adapt somewhat to the world as it is.
I find that my energy is inconsistent day to day and I try to be gentle with myself on the days when my energy is lower. My husband always makes me a cup of very sweet milky decaf tea (I react badly to caffeine and can rarely drink it) and then I usually drink it on the couch while I get ready mentally for the day ahead. I eat a light breakfast because if it's too heavy I'll get sleepy again! I try to write first thing in the morning -- a few paragraphs on my current work in progress, no more than an hour at the computer. Usually I will have meetings scheduled around 11 am.
This is very different from my morning routine when I worked for other people. In my 20s I existed as a disabled person in a capitalist workforce that taught me to ignore the needs of my body. That led me to burnout in my early 30s and a whole lot of shame that was taking up space that was needed for other things. My pace is much slower now but I find that I get way more done when I honor my own circadian rhythms and needs! I am privileged to work for myself where I can start the day later and then work when I have the most energy and focus.
Oh I'm so glad to hear from you here, Allison! The idea that listening to our bodies benefits our best self--and what it costs us when we don't- is so important. But I don't always do that. Thanks for that morsel. Also: your "later" morning sounds like it means you have *way* more focus later in the day/evening. I'm more than a little jealous of that! Thanks for sharing.<3
I'm up between 6:30 and 7, depending on the season. I go straight for tea and my writing--first journal or morning pages, then novel. I have a recurring internet blocking session that's on every morning till 8 (thinking of making it 8:30). Breakfast is 8:30 or 9, depending on what my day looks like. If I don't get time to myself in the morning, I am a very unpleasant person to be around!
Ah, Julia! I wonder if you would wade in here with thoughts...mainly because I think of you as an anti-morning person! Sounds like things have shifted! Love the practice of an internet blocking session too. Thanks for sharing.
Maybe that non-morning vibe came from overplaying that I am not a 5am-er, which I will never be! But I suppose the other thing is I don't want anybody to know I'm up early, because I don't want to talk to anyone (including my spouse!) before 8:30 !
I am a morning person. Wake early. A cuppa to start the day. Catch the local news for 20 minutes. Do my Wordle, Connecitons and Spelling Bee all before 6:30. Usually try to start the day's tasks. Breakfast around 7:00 or so and that 2nd cup of coffee while making my lists of things that I want to accomplish during the day. Dog walking and moving on with my list.
Sounds like we have a very similar, predictable morning routine, Deb! I wonder how people who don't wake as early as we do start their day? Maybe with much more coffee??! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Coming from a rural/agri family sleep and idleness was not encouraged. My husband gave me a Winnie the Pooh quotation years ago, one which I don't always heed, "Nothing to do...nothing to do..What a Happy Thought". I have a ideal of what this means and celebrate it but I'm not very successful in practicing it.
I'm a little late to the discussion! After a lifetime of operating in a world that is fairly structured and confining, I tend to have an idea of how I would like to start my day that would be best for me and then flow with the day to day changes as they arise. I like to wake up around 5-5:30 but my frequent mid evening/early am awakenings don't always allow for that. I try to always prioritize enough sleep no matter what as I know that will help me manage the seas of the day more than anything else. Then if there is time, I love a 10-20 min yoga session, 10 min meditation, 10 min journaling, coffee (a must!), getting ready to leave the house, and then off for the day. Again, that's the ideal set up- in a non capitalism world, it would be within a 3 hour time period...a slow start to the day that allows a natural unfolding. Even writing it sounds so ideal and refreshing to me. Love this question!
Ooooh, I love how intentional your mornings are, Holly. The idea of a "natural unfolding" feels delicious and absolutely foreign to me! Thanks for giving me something to dream about.
I clearly have some internal work to do, because all of your morning schedules are making me feel extremely unproductive! And now I am flooded with shame. Not really. OK, a little bit.
I am a night owl who gets up around 8:30am when the alarm goes off because the cat needs to be fed. Even 8:30am is a stretch .... I'd rather be in bed for longer, but I have to adapt somewhat to the world as it is.
I find that my energy is inconsistent day to day and I try to be gentle with myself on the days when my energy is lower. My husband always makes me a cup of very sweet milky decaf tea (I react badly to caffeine and can rarely drink it) and then I usually drink it on the couch while I get ready mentally for the day ahead. I eat a light breakfast because if it's too heavy I'll get sleepy again! I try to write first thing in the morning -- a few paragraphs on my current work in progress, no more than an hour at the computer. Usually I will have meetings scheduled around 11 am.
This is very different from my morning routine when I worked for other people. In my 20s I existed as a disabled person in a capitalist workforce that taught me to ignore the needs of my body. That led me to burnout in my early 30s and a whole lot of shame that was taking up space that was needed for other things. My pace is much slower now but I find that I get way more done when I honor my own circadian rhythms and needs! I am privileged to work for myself where I can start the day later and then work when I have the most energy and focus.
Oh I'm so glad to hear from you here, Allison! The idea that listening to our bodies benefits our best self--and what it costs us when we don't- is so important. But I don't always do that. Thanks for that morsel. Also: your "later" morning sounds like it means you have *way* more focus later in the day/evening. I'm more than a little jealous of that! Thanks for sharing.<3
It's a great, thought-provoking prompt! I appreciate the thinking it allowed me to do.
thank you for joining in the discussion!
I'm up between 6:30 and 7, depending on the season. I go straight for tea and my writing--first journal or morning pages, then novel. I have a recurring internet blocking session that's on every morning till 8 (thinking of making it 8:30). Breakfast is 8:30 or 9, depending on what my day looks like. If I don't get time to myself in the morning, I am a very unpleasant person to be around!
Ah, Julia! I wonder if you would wade in here with thoughts...mainly because I think of you as an anti-morning person! Sounds like things have shifted! Love the practice of an internet blocking session too. Thanks for sharing.
Maybe that non-morning vibe came from overplaying that I am not a 5am-er, which I will never be! But I suppose the other thing is I don't want anybody to know I'm up early, because I don't want to talk to anyone (including my spouse!) before 8:30 !
yep, probably! haha. Brilliant!
I am a morning person. Wake early. A cuppa to start the day. Catch the local news for 20 minutes. Do my Wordle, Connecitons and Spelling Bee all before 6:30. Usually try to start the day's tasks. Breakfast around 7:00 or so and that 2nd cup of coffee while making my lists of things that I want to accomplish during the day. Dog walking and moving on with my list.
Sounds like we have a very similar, predictable morning routine, Deb! I wonder how people who don't wake as early as we do start their day? Maybe with much more coffee??! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Coming from a rural/agri family sleep and idleness was not encouraged. My husband gave me a Winnie the Pooh quotation years ago, one which I don't always heed, "Nothing to do...nothing to do..What a Happy Thought". I have a ideal of what this means and celebrate it but I'm not very successful in practicing it.
I feel that, Deb! Me neither.
I'm a little late to the discussion! After a lifetime of operating in a world that is fairly structured and confining, I tend to have an idea of how I would like to start my day that would be best for me and then flow with the day to day changes as they arise. I like to wake up around 5-5:30 but my frequent mid evening/early am awakenings don't always allow for that. I try to always prioritize enough sleep no matter what as I know that will help me manage the seas of the day more than anything else. Then if there is time, I love a 10-20 min yoga session, 10 min meditation, 10 min journaling, coffee (a must!), getting ready to leave the house, and then off for the day. Again, that's the ideal set up- in a non capitalism world, it would be within a 3 hour time period...a slow start to the day that allows a natural unfolding. Even writing it sounds so ideal and refreshing to me. Love this question!
Ooooh, I love how intentional your mornings are, Holly. The idea of a "natural unfolding" feels delicious and absolutely foreign to me! Thanks for giving me something to dream about.