How you spend your morning defines how the rest of your day goes. It sounds like a cliche, but in fact, after many years of trying different things, I can now attest that this is absolutely true. Below, I’m going to share what my current routine looks like and what makes a morning routine optimal, so you can build a morning routine that works for you.
Wakeup: 4:30-5 am
My day starts with being (rudely) awakened by my little dog, Bruno. His technique varies—some days it’s a gentle lick on my cheek, other times it’s jumping on my stomach, or a loud bark right into my eardrum. I know, sounds unpleasant, but then I look at his cute face and all is forgiven. I fill his bowl with homemade dog food, then make the bed and get dressed while he eats before going on our morning walk for 20 minutes or so.
By the time we come back, I’m fully awake and ready to begin my morning routine. I really love the crisp morning air and quiet mornings, before the streets are buzzing with energy from the daily rush. This is my time to set intentions for the day, journal, and take a look at my planner and map out my day.
Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail: 6-7 am
Now that I’ve fully transitioned to working from home full-time, having a planner is critical to my organization and success. While I use it throughout the day to keep track of appointments, notes, and assignments coming up, I use my morning to get an overview of what’s to come and take this time to journal or write about anything on my mind. I find this a calming and meditative experience that helps get me in the right mindset to tackle the day. If I have an important meeting or task, I get myself mentally aligned for it early in the day.
Workout and Wellness Time: 7-8 am
I don’t generally have much of an appetite in the morning, so I usually just take my vitamins and medication with orange juice before I do some form of exercise.
I work out for 20-30 minutes, varying between weight training, Peloton classes, and my favorite, pilates (I use the B method by Lia Bartha). Right before I jump in the shower, I dry brush my body. This helps exfoliates my skin and promotes lymphatic drainage. I will wash my hair with the Together Beauty shampoo and Gisou conditioner, then wash my face. I have a few face washes in rotation, but my current favorite is the INKEY List Oat Cleansing Balm.
Beauty Routine: 8-9 am
Once I hop out of the shower, I wrap my hair in a towel. If I have meetings or somewhere to be, I will proceed to dry my hair with the Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer. If I don’t have any appointments, I let my hair air dry. Either way, I use a mix of Gisou honey oil and Gisou prep-me cream on my hair and either let air dry or before styling with the Dyson.
I keep my face simple. If I’m not using a prescription from my dermatologist, I use my favorite vitamin C serum, the SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic. I’ve been using it for over 10 years and haven’t found anything I like as much! Then I use an eye cream with the Dieux Forever Eye Mask. I like this because the mask is reusable, which saves me money and isn’t adding to waste in landfills. It’s also great because I can use it with any eye cream I choose—I rotate between the INKEY List Caffeine Eye Cream, the Isdin K-Ox Eyes.
After 15 minutes or so, I remove the eye mask, and depending on the day I’ll either apply makeup or just sunscreen. My go-to is the Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen, though I accidentally bought their Glowscreen one and I really like how even and glowy my skin looks.
Then I get dressed and it’s almost time to start the day!
Coffee to End: 9 am
My morning routine ends with a full cup of a Nespresso cappuccino—my favorite capsules are the ones from Colombia and Ethiopia. I also add lion’s mane in either powder or liquid form, as well as a dash of cinnamon for good measure. With coffee in hand, I feel energized and ready to tackle the day.
Why is a Morning Routine So Important?
Whether you’re conscious of it or not, everyone has a morning routine. But is yours setting you up for a good day ahead? If you wake up feeling rushed or on autopilot, chances are you’re not kicking off the day as well as you could be.
It’s important to build a morning routine because it sets the tone for the day. It’s critical to have some time during the day that is just yours— that is, uninterrupted time for you to relax, meditate, journal, whatever you need to do to start the day so you’re ready to take on everything that comes your way later.
How to Improve Your Morning Routine
Notice something missing from my morning routine? For the first few hours of the day, I don’t check email or social media. This used to be one of the first things I did. I stopped because social media would lead to procrastination and wasted time. Checking my email would suck me into other people’s priorities and derail my plans for the morning.
Figuring out how to build a morning routine isn’t as difficult or daunting as it seems. All you need to do is start small—rather than overhauling your entire morning routine, start by replacing one existing habit with a better one. After three weeks or so of consistently practicing the new habit, it should feel effortless. At this point, you repeat the process and introduce another new habit.
Lastly, be kind and patient with yourself. Things happen, and sometimes we will need to deviate from our routines and that’s totally fine too. After all, we’re human.
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