I Never Believed In A Morning Routine Until I Started One

Challenging but rewarding.

For many years, I’ve been reading countless blog posts and watching Youtube videos constantly about having a morning routine or being a morning person. I still do. There’s just something about this that makes me click on them.

To be honest, I read and watch them for entertainment as the content is pretty much the same. This isn’t in order but this is what it is — make your bed, meditate, go through your to-do list, exercise, don’t check emails right after you wake up, plan your day, set your daily goals, and so on.

Please tell me I’m not the only person who reads and watches content like this…

I’ve never been a morning person nor do I have a morning routine. The moment I get out of bed and wash up, I do what my gut tells me to do — which is usually watching Netflix or scrolling through Instagram, looking at beautiful Photoshopped pictures. Before I know it, it’s past 4 pm and my plan to exercise at 8 am… Nah, I’ll just do it tomorrow.

It all started when I made a choice right before the pandemic. Which is quitting my job and making a career change. After months of being a sloth and a couch potato, I knew this can’t go on any longer.

So I challenged myself by having a morning routine.

Since having a morning routine is new to me, I decided to not bombard my mornings with 10 different things to do and just start with a few:

How I Start My Day

On most days, I’m up by 6:30 am. That’s when my morning routine starts.

1 30–45 minutes exercise. I’ve also always wanted to work out and since fitness videos are everywhere on Youtube, I really have no excuse. Blogilates has a monthly calendar, all I need to do is to be disciplined and follow it. For a lazy bum like me, I’m doing good so far!

2 Coffee is next. I have never tried functioning in the morning without coffee. It’s simply become a habit now to make coffee after exercising, before taking my shower. It just feels good having something warm to sip on as I start on my work.

3 A shower. If you noticed, I make coffee before my shower. Yes, it is a little weird. Even I think so. But I like my coffee warm by the time I start work and not have to worry about burning my tongue when I need a huge sip. I also change into clothes that I wear to work right after my shower to get into work mode.

4 A very simple skincare routine. When I mean simple, it’s simple. Just eye cream, moisturizer, and filling in my eyebrows. Doing all that while watching probably 10 minutes of an episode of Weeds. This relaxes my mind and prepares me to start on work right after I’m done.

Then I begin my day, which is usually around 9 am, or earlier.

It’s All An Experiment

I’ve been waking up as early as 6 am for the past several months. This really is one of my achievements and I intend to improve on it.

Initially, it was a struggle because like a lot of people, I have a complicated relationship with the snooze button. Oh, how easy it is to just tap on my phone screen and have another 10 mins of sleep. Then when I’m fully awake at 9 am, I am full of guilt.

So I did what Dr. Jeff Brown suggested to change my snooze habit — get to bed at a reasonable time and place my alarm (my phone) across the room so I’d have to get out of bed to turn it off. Instead of walking back to bed, I head towards the bathroom and start my day. Getting up is not a problem now!

Next, I intend to make a to-do list more consistently and having it a part of my morning routine. I’m also working on planning my day better and making daily goals.

“Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential.”

― Winston Churchill

I started this morning routine challenge for myself by trying out different things and finally figured out what works for me. Sometimes I stay up late and can’t get up early enough to exercise so I exercise in the evening instead. And that is totally fine! It’s my morning, I am the boss of my morning.

How Is It Going So Far?

I love having a morning routine.

I love getting up early and feeling so fresh. I love being able to start my day at 9 am or sometimes, earlier. I love how I’m so productive in the morning. All I need to do now is plan my mornings better — I’ve got Udemy courses to catch up on, writing on Medium and my personal blog and more.

After years of reading and watching morning routine content, I never thought I’d have one myself. And these bloggers/Youtubers are right, I do find myself more productive and as I keep improving on it, I’ll be more successful and happier.

I don’t expect myself to be like Tim Cook who wakes up just before 4 am or Bob Iger at 4:30 am, that’s way too early for me. Everyone’s mornings are different, it’s all about finding the right one for yourself as long as it makes you happier and more productive.