I was listening to a podcast the other day about a writer. He was talking about his morning routine, and he said that the first thing he does in the morning, before he’s even opened his eyes, is grab a word processor next to his bed and write 100 words. Or 500. Or 1000.
When I heard that, I laughed.
I hope it works for him.
Because I will never do that.
Lately, what with COVID and working from home and stressful things happening in every corner of the world, my mornings have become increasingly important to me. I’ve discovered that I need time to recenter. To give my tired brain a break from constant stress and planning and working.
In other words, I need my morning routine.
Unfortunately, when you’ve got a full-time job, mornings feel scarce and hurried. So, my alarm goes off at 5 AM. Because at 5 AM, the world hasn’t started spinning uncontrollably fast yet. The sky is still dark, the stars are still out, and everything is still.
Except my cat, who has decided that if I am awake, it means I should be feeding her.
We compromise. I let her outside so she can slip about in the darkness and feel sneaky, and I get an hour of peace to spend in my bible and on my yoga mat. Yoga with Adrienne on Youtube has been my go-to lately. Her 25-30 minute videos are calming, challenging, and invigorating, which is basically everything I need in the morning. I might be a complex mixture of sleepy, anxious, grumpy, and scattered when I step on my mat in the morning, but by the time I step off again, I feel centered and ready for another day.
Which is good, because by that time, it’s light out, my husband is up and packing for work, and I have 30 minutes for a shower and a quick breath left before my me-time turns into work-time.
And once work-time starts, I have stories to tell. And plot holes to wrestle with and conquer.
And so, so much thinking to do. Sometimes, my brain hurts.
But before all those things start flying at me, needing attention and solutions and concentration, I have my mornings. Which, to me, will always be worth a 5 AM wake-up call.
What is your favorite morning routine? Tell me about them in the comments!
Ramblings of an Obsessive Bookworm 
Recently, I’ve been up and fully dressed at 6.30 am to be ready to greet my builders. So much for being self-employed and the slow peaceful routine of listening to the birds, peaceful cup of tea, shower and then doing some work, planning shows, writing this blog. Site meetings rule at the moment.
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