Morning Routine, Schmorning Routine
Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash
You know those people who get up at 5am, have their coffee quietly before their kids wake up, go for a workout and a shower, do a meditation and maybe even read a book, all before arriving at the office?
I am NOT one of those people. People often think, or suspect, that I am one of those people because time management and productivity are my favorite subjects. But I am decidedly not.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against those morning routine people. I think what they are doing is great. If you enjoy and find value in a morning routine I could not be happier for you (and maybe I’m even a little envious). There are plenty of articles out there that would lead you to believe that having a comprehensive morning routine is essential for success.
But for those of you, like me, who do not find mornings pleasant and who cannot imagine waking up before you absolutely have to, I want to let you know that you’re not doing it wrong.
Just recently I was interviewed on a podcast about my morning routine, and after I described my (very brief) routine, the host asked me, “But what about reading, and exercise and all these other things that successful people do in their morning routines?”. And I replied that I do those things, but I don’t do them in the morning. My morning routine involves preparing as much as I can the night before, so that I can sleep as late as possible in the morning.
So, what are people talking about when they are talking about morning routines?
Usually morning routines involve some combo of the following:
Getting ready (brushing teeth, getting dressed, showering) + getting your kids ready (if you have them)
Exercise
Breakfast/coffee/tea
Calm (meditation, or sitting in quiet)
Written word (journaling or reading)
The goal of the morning routine is to set yourself up for success. But I think it’s a fallacy to believe that we have to do all this in the morning and that these things must be done at the same time everyday, to have the most impact.
I’ve talked in the past about how understanding your chronotype can help you figure out how to optimize when you should do things, and I think that the morning routine (or lack thereof) is a part of this self-knowledge. When you should do these things is personal to you, your circumstances and your constraints.
For many people, especially parents, the mornings are often the most frazzled part of their days already. Adding exercise, meditation and journaling into the mix before 8am just doesn’t seem feasible.
I want you to know that setting ourselves up for success doesn’t mean we need to do these things at a particular time. Instead, let’s give ourselves a little more leeway and flexibility, choose which components of a “morning routine” we want in our lives, and then intentionally make time for those things, regardless of time of day.
If you’d like mornings to go more smoothly, but don’t want to have to wake up at 5am to make it happen, here are some suggestions:
Decide which components of the classic morning routine are important to you, and then figure out how you’ll work them into your schedule:
Getting ready (brushing teeth, getting dressed, showering)
These really are the essentials, so I’d suggest you keep these as the bare minimums for your morning routine :) . But, you could shower at night, pick out your clothes at night, etc.
Exercise
Does morning make sense? Or is there a gym near your office and you could go at lunch time? Or how about after work? Or after your kids go to bed? My husband used to go to the gym at 11pm because it was less crowded then. Maybe you can start biking or walking to work and turn your commute into your workout.
Breakfast/coffee/tea
Do you prefer to have coffee/eat at home, or when you get to work? Think about how you can streamline the process; set out everything for coffee the night before. Batch process breakfast (overnight oats, make and freeze waffles, etc.).
Calm (meditation, or sitting in quiet)
Could you do this on public transit, or walk to work without listening to earbuds? Could you spend 5 minutes quietly sitting on your front stoop, or in your car around the corner from the daycare before you pick your kids up after work? How about taking 10 minutes for yourself at bedtime, before you turn off the lights?
Written word (journaling or reading)
Could you listen to audiobooks as you do chores around the house? Or as you exercise? Keep a lightweight journal in your bag so that you’re always ready when the mood strikes? Make sure you have the Kindle app on your phone and read during lunch?
Do as much as you can the night before:
Pack the lunches (or better yet, have your kids pack their own lunches the night before)
Set out your outfit (and your kids’ if they are not dressing themselves yet)
Shower
Pack your workbag/purse
Find the shoes and put them by the door
If you’re interested in my morning routine(s), here they are:
My Current (Self-Employed, Work from Home) Morning Routine (15-20 minutes)
Wake up
Make coffee (and maybe unload the dishwasher) while my kids eat breakfast
Brush my teeth, put on earrings, get dressed
Walk into my home office and start work
(When do I do the other stuff? I read almost every night before bed, I exercise (and shower!) after work and before cooking dinner, and I keep a journal and a book in my bag at all times.)
My Previous (FT Office Job) Morning Routine (15-20 minutes excluding commute)
Wake up
Make breakfast for kids and (unload the dishwasher) while my kids eat breakfast
Brush my teeth, put on earrings, get dressed
Take public transit to work (and read for pleasure on the ride)
Make coffee at work