Here’s to the most anti-academic post of all time: my ultimate morning routine. It’s not cool in my world to hustle or be overly positive – especially at the crack of dawn(!) – but I’m sharing my morning routine nonetheless because I believe the first minutes of your day set up your attitude for better or worse.
Top tip: try a new morning routine every month to continue to challenge yourself.
This post is all about the ultimate morning routine.
6:00am: Splash cold water on my face. Take some ice cubes and gently rub over my face to wake me up. Dry off my face and, as it continues to dry, brush my teeth and mouthwash. Then I apply Aveeno face oil and massage/contour my face and neck. As I’m doing this part of my morning routine, I’m drinking ice water with mint leaves that I prepared the night before and kept on my bedside table.
6:10am: Do meditation for approximately five minutes whilst holding a yoga pose to open my hips.
6:15am: Make breakfast and coffee. Lately, I’ve been making oatmeal with a slice of chocolate mixed in, plus a shot of carrot turmeric juice on the side. I make my coffee, but I don’t drink it for a couple of hours to keep my cortisol levels as low as possible. I tend to place it in the fridge and have it as an ice coffee later.
6:30am: After I’ve eaten breakfast, I journal for about five minutes. I write anything, with pen and paper, that comes to mind. I have an assigned notebook that also contains my to-do list for the day – I use it for all my written notes. Through journalling, I get to be a little creative first thing whilst also getting any negative ways of thinking out of my head as much as possible before the day starts.
6:40am: Once my food has digested a little, I set a timer for 7 minutes and do a chest and ab workout on my yoga mat. When I say a chest workout, I do press ups and/or planks to tighten the muscles around my chest, and do something simple like ab crunches to strengthen my core. When my core feels strong, it definitely makes me feel ready to handle the challenges of a PhD and being a journalist.
6:50am: Depending on how much time I have, I might spend a few minutes playing my violin. I don’t always get to it (I also don’t wanna wake up my neighbors), but most days I get 5-10 minutes of a rehearsal in. Violin is my flow state: I play with a small group of violinists once every other week, and I love getting to those rehearsals prepared and practicing in such fun company.
7:00am: I’m more of a morning workout person, so I really try to get one in before my work day starts. If I don’t, I don’t have the level of positivity I need to navigate academia, teaching, writing, and researching…! My workouts vary a lot (I think they should to keep the brain stimulated) from ballet on pointe, to running; to hot yoga. Going for a walk can be a workout – I do that at least once a week as a workout. My goal is a minimum of 25 minutes of movement per day. This is a really doable goal for anyone.
Post workout: I shower, scrub down my thighs and arms (I have keratosis pilaris and gently exfoliating my skin in the affected areas helps smooth out any rough patches), then I dry off and apply lotion to my legs, chest and arms, and oil my face again.I make sure to put sunscreen on my face and neck, as well as below my elbows and hands. Then I do my make up (no foundation, just a little concealer and eye make up), do my hair, get dressed, and I’m ready to go. OH, and I almost forgot… I do all this whilst listening to a self-improvement podcast — some self reflection is a great way to start the day.
This post was all about the ultimate morning routine.
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