I used to think a morning routine was pointless. Don’t get me wrong, I love planning and organizing and productivity, but I never understood why having a specific morning routine would help improve that. Little did I know, I was seriously missing out on the benefits of a planned morning! I would wake up when my body was ready (within reason, as I did have to go to work) and do whatever I had time for. Every morning was different. And over time, I realized that I had to pick up extra things after work and after the gym because I didn’t have time to do them earlier. I found myself feeling ineffective and unproductive, even though I ticked off my to-do list every day. And I couldn’t figure out what was wrong.

Until I sat down and realized how much time I wasted in the morning. And holy cow, it was a TON. I woke up naturally at 6:00-ish but didn’t get up to move until 6:45! That’s 45 minutes I could be accomplishing something or starting my day off right! That’s when I decided I needed to build a routine that worked for me and optimized my days.

Here is what my routine looks like:

4:30am-5:00am – Wake up. The Hunky Engineer and I use an app called “Sleep Cycle” that wakes you up within a 30-minute period to try to be sure you’re getting up at the end of a sleep cycle. This helps eliminate grogginess first thing in the morning. It’s not always perfect, but I have definitely seen an improvement in how I feel when I wake up.

5:00am (or earlier, if the alarm gets me up) – Chug 1 full water bottle. I drink all my water out of shakers. The shaker below is by Katy Hearn Fit and I customized it by adding stickers from Buffbunny and Woo!

5:05am – Put on bathrobe/sweatshirt and walk to my office

5:05am-5:30am – Write. Currently, my writing consists of a responding to a page in “The Daily Stoic” by Ryan Holiday, journaling, and then my novel. Both my journal and novel are digital as they are much quicker, even though I prefer pen to paper. I get my pen to paper fix when I respond to a page in “The Daily Stoic.” I write directly in the book. I find my brain works best first thing in the morning, so it’s best for me to write right away!

5:30am-6:00am – Depending on how my workflow is, I’ll usually stop writing around 5:30am and switch to reading. However, if I’m on a great creative streak, I will keep writing.

6:00am-6:15am – Get ready for work. If I’m going to do my hair, I style it the night before. I also lay out my outfit the night before. This allows me to quick rinse my face and put on moisturizer (with SPF!), throw on a quick brush of mascara, and get dressed/accessorized.

6:15am-6:50am – Breakfast (egg whites with broccoli, onions, peppers), 1 bottle of kombucha for digestion, clean the kitchen, take out the dog, pack my work items in my purse

7:00am-7:10am – Brush my teeth, touch up hair/makeup as needed

7:15am – Out the door and on my way to work

I don’t have a perfect morning routine, and I definitely have read blogs and listened to podcasts where the creator has a great morning routine, but this works for me for now. Maybe in the future, when I’m used to it. I’ll adjust.

Also, in the warmer weather, I would walk my dog for 15 minutes before work as well. I love taking a quick walk in the morning with my dog. Moving my body in the morning always makes me feel ready for the day!

What does your morning routine look like?