Last updated on 5 January 2018
I wouldn’t consider myself an early riser. Nor am I the kind of person who bounces out of bed (working on that one). I do value a positive and present mindset before I embark on my day. To achieve this, I need two things – good habits and a cup of tea. Even if I need to race out somewhere, I’ll be looking for my cup of tea as soon as practical.
My morning routine still needs some tweaking, as there are (not so good) habits I’d like to change. Here’s a typical morning for me:
Alarm goes off between 6.15am and 6.30am. Hit the snooze button twice (bad habit).
Fight the urge to have a look at Instagram (travel inspiration and good vibes), Facebook and email. I’m trying to go without ‘screen time’ in the bedroom.
Get up, put the kettle on, feed kitty.
While the tea’s brewing, I’ll make my breakfast. In summer, I’ll usually have muesli with a dash of honey, greek yoghurt and seasonal fruit. In winter, I’ll usually have oats with fruit on top.
Pour tea, then take breakfast to the breakfast table in the kitchen.
While eating breakfast, I’ll either read the junk mail, a book, or catch up on my ‘for fun’ blogs on Bloglovin.
While still drinking my tea, I’ll write in my diary. Whatever thoughts I have in that moment.
Shower and dress.
Make the bed.
Now, depending on whether I’m working at home or in the office, I’ll either read a bit more in my reading chair before going to my desk, or I’ll grab a snack, ensure my journal and phone are in my handbag and I’m off.
If I have the car, I’ll drive to a train station. If I don’t, then I walk to the nearest train station, about seven minutes away. Trains are every 15 minutes during peak hour.
On the train, I’ll check Twitter, maybe LIS and PD blogs in Feedly or read a book.
I don’t enter my work world until I’m either on the train or at my desk at home. A morning routine establishes a boundary or a buffer. The book I read on the train is a ‘personal/ professional development’ one. I’m currently reading ‘The Creative Habit’. I’ll have another book I read for chilling out at home.
On the weekends and time permitting, I like to have breakfast on the back deck with my fiance. I’ll read a book (then write) while he reads The Weekend Australian we have delivered every Saturday. No doubt the routine will change once we eventually start a family. 🙂
The key to a positive and present mindset in the morning is to try not let anything demand your attention straight away. My morning routine is about what I want to do and how I like to spend that time. It is not about reacting and allowing something else to take that time away from me. I choose to have a morning routine that’s for me and sets me up with a mindset that helps me ‘take things as they come’ throughout the day.
Loved your #blogjune Day 3 post, Alisa. So nice to read about a morning cup of tea in a typically coffee-fuelled world 🙂 A very nice practice. Every piece of your day made sense. Really interesting to reflect on it in a context of mindfulness and busy-ness and boundaries.
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PS When you have kids, my advice from experience is to aim for just achieving one or two goals a day — My single (achievable : )) aim each day was just to get the day’s nappies washed, onto the line and off the line dry. Folding them could wait for another day but was a nice bonus if I achieved it as well !! I recommend that you build your cup of tea in there somewhere !! : )
Thanks Cherie! After writing the post, I started to wonder what parts of my routine might change – would I need to get up earlier to have my cuppa? Or will I grab whatever opportunity? Though in saying and thinking about this, children are still a few years away yet. Setting one or two goals a day sounds like a plan.