Mornings

I’m a morning person - I have been as long as I can remember … I’m also that kid who needs sleep or has trouble functioning (read I’m emotional, I have trouble managing my filters etc. etc.). So late nights have always taken more out of me.

I also like routines in the morning - so does my papa … The more time I spend with him the more I’m reminded that he’s a creature of habit and doesn’t like his routines disrupted … It's like having an early warning system for my future self.

Don’t misunderstand … I’m a routine girlie … I love a routine … LOVE! I just don't want to become so fixated on it that if I’m or it’s disrupted it becomes a problem … Or I become grumpy. 

I have a friend who is a night owl … I know - such an unlikely pair. What I like about mornings - I suspect she likes about her nightly routines … I like the quiet, the time to connect with myself, and while I need routines to start my day, I suspect she needs them to end hers.  I don’t know if she needs endings but I do know that I need beginnings … I like feeling like I’m setting up my day. In my mind … It's one of the reasons we’re friends … While on the surface we are different, our motives are similar, what drives our behaviour is aligned … 

My mornings were feeling too chaotic so I recently asked ChatGPT to tweak my mornings … 

I’ve been living with my new routine for a couple weeks now … It’s what I needed … Exactly what I needed. 

I have four buckets - that’s all - but I love the idea of buckets. They give me flexibility - depending on where I am, what’s going on in my life, what I need on a given day/in a given week I can adapt. They essentially act as guardrails … providing a framework for my mornings - which utterly aligns with how I think and function. 

The buckets are simple: 

1. Wake my body; 

2. Wake my soul; 

3. Wake my mind; and

4. Step into my day.

Each bucket has various items under it - not a checklist, more like recommendations. 

Wake my body: 

This is where I move - whether it is stretching, strength … I define it based on my needs. It’s also where I hydrate, shower, sauna, eat … It’s essentially all the things that nourish my physical self. I will say, I completely appreciate that ChatGPT included my coffee here … It’s less that I need a coffee to start my day and more I enjoy a coffee as a start to my day - especially that first sip. 

Wake my soul: 

This is where I remember who I am … What I’m grateful for. I ask questions that are meaningful to me at the moment - what would it look like to move through my day without hiding? What would it look like to move through my day knowing I can do insert the hard thing? 

Wake my mind: 

This is where I orient myself. What element(s) will drive my day? Water, fire, earth? What does that look like practically? Am I learning something new and am dedicating 30 to 45 minutes to that? Some mornings it’s just reading, some I’m listening to a podcast, some I’m creating a plan for tackling a project or program I’m working on. 

Lastly, I step into my day.

This one is both the hardest and easiest bucket. This is where I ask myself “what is today’s stone?” Which is really - what am I adding to what I’m building today? Some days it’s a skill or a competency (read something within myself) … Sometimes I’m executing or creating (read writing a blog post, creating content or executing on the action plan from above. Some days I don’t know - that’s when it’s hard. I have to be open to seeing ideas as I go through my day … Sometimes they come while I’m in meetings, sometimes while I’m eating, or out with friends, or driving … I need to be open to the random ideas that pop in my head and lean into curiosity about the how when they appear. 

This new routine gives me structure - which my brain needs/likes/appreciates. It also allows for flexibility … which I need. I’m noticing I’m starting my work day calmer, more focussed - which was ultimately the objective behind making the change. My mornings feel less like a checklist of “to do’s” and more intentional - more like an investment into myself. 

I realize morning routines are not for everyone - some people prefer these after work, before bed etc. My mind processes better early in the day - I prefer moving as a start to my day.  I prefer to use my evenings for social outings, reading, errands … Sometimes I work on insert the thing … My point? I prefer to keep evenings open … I did move my cleaning from my mornings to my evenings.  Breaking the cleaning into smaller pieces still works better for me and keeps it manageable.  While I liked cleaning in the mornings - it was creating too much chaos to the start of my day. Moving it to the evenings is actually working better.  I had to play with the where in my evening … I’m finding the adding it to my cleaning up after dinner is currently the best place … it doesn’t add significant time and I’m already in a cleaning mode … Keeping the micro cleans in place frees me up on the weekends and continues to keep cleaning from being this big thing that needs to be done … keeps it from feeling overwhelming and keeps my place fairly clean all the time - which is how the time investment stays low. 

Routines are meant to evolve over time … My day to day is ever changing … My routines need to adapt to that, adapt with me … I like that this routine provides a framework and not a checklist because it allows for flexibility within each of my spaces … If the buckets need to change over time … they can do that too … 

My favourite part of the morning is that my day starts by asking me to sit with “before the world tells me who it needs me to be, spend time remembering who you are.” That statement keeps me grounded, keeps my choices aligned with my values, my goals etc. It’s a small thing that at the moment is creating some big ripples in my life … And I do love a ripple.