Who Cares About Morning Routines?

I don’t know why anyone cares, but here’s what my morning routine looks like.

5:30 a.m, I’m always awake. Always. Sometimes I’m awake at 4;30am but I stay in bed until he coffeemaker goes off.

5:30 – 6:30 a.m: I sit with Maggie on the couch, have coffee, and either read, check email, do some editing or watch videos. It’s usually my only “downtime” during the daylight hours and I’ve learned to enjoy it.

6:30 – 7:30 a.m: Shower and walk Maggie.

7:30-8:00 a.m: Make breakfast–usually boring oatmeal with blueberries, organic almond butter and cinnamon. Or I have yogurt, fruit and a piece of toast with almond butter. FYI I love sliced apples dipped in yogurt. I feel that not enough people know this is delicious

ARE YOU BOARD YET??? I mean all that above is true and my day goes on nonstop from there, but why does it matter? It doesn’t. But all over the internet, “successful” people are telling us their morning routines as if it were life-changing information.

As my adorable and very bright 3 year old grandson would say, “That’s so silly.”

The only morning routine that matters is the one that works for YOU. Copying someone else’s morning routine by making the same exact green juice they choke down each day won’t suddenly make you super successful. But it will also make you sad that you didn’t slice up fresh, crisp apples and dip them in smooth creamy Yoplait yogurt instead. Trust me, it’s much better then pureed spinach. Anyway, morning routines are, at best, a structure in which to manage your time to achieve all your goals. If you want to tone up and drop weight, then sure, structuring in time for exercise and a healthy breakfast makes sense–but only if it’s doable for you. Not everyone is a morning person. Some people can barely find their way out of bed to the coffeemaker. They’d be downright dangerous on a treadmill before noon.

We all look for shortcuts, but in the end, what matters is focusing on our goals, and figuring out how to take steps each day to get there in a way that works for us. Maybe shutting off the internet and doing the thing–exercise, or in my case, writing–is the real tool that will get us to success.

And back to my routine for a moment, I’m more a morning person by nature, and I tend to do a fair amount of things in the the day. Partly that’s because I’m a card-carrying control freak and I can’t live in chaos. I know this about myself, so I structure my days in a way that keeps my life running somewhat smoothly and doesn’t drain too much of my energy. Doing that then frees up brain space, and energy, for creativity. I also have Rheumatoid Arthritis, and have learned through experience how to maximize my limited energy. But all this is just what works for me.

Other folks can thrive on chaos. I’ve seen it and marveled at it. I’m actually in awe of people who can do it. If they tried to live my structured life, it would suck the joy and creativity right out of them in about three hours. My morning routine is not just useless to them, its actually damaging. And the reverse is true; if I tried to live their lives, I’d be too anxious and tired to be creative.

That’s all okay. Know yourself, know your goals, and go do it!

Okay, tell me about your days. Do you like structure or do you thrive on being a free spirit who embraces a little chaos?

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