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{The wordy version: My Morning Routine}
In the event you are curious, and because this is great accountability for me, here is what I do most mornings these days (though the actual times will vary somewhat depending on the day):
“Think Cheerful Morning Thoughts,” is my motto
5:30 ∇ My sunrise alarm goes off. I spend the next five minutes internally arguing with myself about the merits of rising before dawn. It’s a good thing my phone isn’t in my bedroom, or I might be looking at cat memes right now, and I don’t even like cats but I’ll do anything to distract myself.
5:36 ∇ I’m in the kitchen gulping down water, which feels like an icy stream surging through my body and jolting me awake. It’s like I’m white water rafting while just standing there in my robe. Why can’t water taste better in the morning?
5:40 ∇ I was going to grab some coconut oil for oil-pulling, but got distracted with things like going pee, putting in contacts, getting ready for the shower, and helping my husband find pants. This is not a euphemism for anything; I literally put his work pants in the wrong place.
5:40-6:00 ∇ I like long, hot showers and I cannot lie. This is a Hair Wash Day plus shaving plus I think I fell asleep twice while standing up, so yes it takes 20 minutes and I am not ashamed. Be strong in the Lord and rejoice in water heaters.
6:00-6:10 ∇ All the lotions must be applied, I’m getting dressed, putting a few things away in my room, and also grabbing my phone from the living room charging station before heading back to the bathroom for makeup and hair. I drink another cup of water with religious intensity.
6:10-6:30 ∇ I get started on my first podcast, Pray As You Go, while I begin my skincare (not to be confused with Lotion Time) and makeup routine. I try to time it about the length of the podcast (11-ish minutes). After that, I switch to The Next Right Thing while I use my favorite wet brush on my hair, blow dry, and do a quick style. I’ll probably touch up with the flat iron before I leave for my doctor’s appointment in a couple hours.
6:30-6:45 ∇ Now that I’m properly washed and beautified (though I don’t remember till later I forgot deodorant, AGAIN), I pick up my trio of books (journal, GraceLaced, Savor) and begin “quiet time.” This terminology feels very 1998 but what else do I call it?
6:45 ∇ If I hadn’t fallen into bed in utter exhaustion last night and forgotten to pre-program my Ninja, I’d simply grab a cup and congratulate myself on being so organized. As it is, I take a moment to make my morning coffee and transition to writing time.
6:45-7:25 ∇ I coffee, I write, I think, I enjoy the sunshine (a strange anomaly not witnessed in these parts of late). Naturally, on days my shower and hair routine doesn’t take so long, I have more time devoted to this.
7:25-7:30 ∇ I wake the kids with this song, and we all transition to Phase 2 of Improving our Lives and Being Productive.
So that’s it! It looks pretty basic on the surface, but for a non-morning person like me, it’s taken a lot of adjustment over the years to arrive where I’m at now. I’m always open to tweaking as necessary. What about you? What do you do, first thing in the morning?
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
