7 Things That Make Me Love Mornings
Mornings can have a bad reputation. They’re tied to feeling exhausted and rushing around, scrambling to get things together before work/kid dropoff/whatever is on your to do list. But I personally love mornings. It’s without-a-doubt my favorite time of the day.
Here’s the thing - I think if you approach the start of your day with a little bit of intentionality (not necessarily a full-blown plan or strict routine), it can make all the difference in the tone for your day.
So here are the 7 things I incorporate into my mornings that help me kick off the day feeling both peaceful and productive. Let’s dive in!
My Sunrise Alarm Clock
In my effort to get the heck off my phone more, I invested in this sunrise alarm clock so that I couldn’t use the excuse of “Well, I need my phone for my alarm clock.” I’m sure there are fancier ones out there, but this one was only about $40 and I love it. There’s a variety settings of sounds/lights/etc., allowing you to completely customize it to the wake up experience you want.
I have mine set to gradually get brighter starting 10 minutes before I’d like to wake up and my alarm sound is…wait for it…BIRDS CHIRPING. I cannot imagine a more peaceful wakeup. Sayonara to the jolting-glaring iPhone tones!
Simple Skincare
I know keeping consistent skincare is important. I also know that for me to find consistency, I need simplicity. I invest in skincare products that are a little pricier, but are completely nontoxic and really easy to use. In my vow to simplicity, I also stick to one brand: Primally Pure.
My morning skincare is really as simple as this:
Splash some warm water on my face 3 times (I don’t know why I landed on 3, but it’s become ritual…haha!)
1 pump of Primally Pure Serum (currently using the Plumping Serum, but they have Clarifying and Soothing ones too)
Use the Primally Pure Gua Sha on my face
- just wrote more about gua sha (and other skincare hacks) here! She’s the one who got me hooked on gua sha to begin with!
Overall, I’m happy with my skin. I’d rather spend money on expensive skincare than makeup - because with better skin, I can likely get away with less makeup anyway. That something I wish I’d embrace earlier, and plan to instill in my daughter. Invest in your skin first.
The real game-changer for me was gua-sha. My face is way less puffy. I think my jaw line and cheek bones are much more defined since using it. And it feels like a little face massage.
Meditate
I know, I know. Meditating is so “woo woo.” But it’s become really helpful for my mental health. I’m working on regulating my vagus nerve (the main nerves of your parasympathetic nervous system which controls flight/fight/freeze responses). Meditating and breathwork are part of it. Apparently, humming works on that too!
I subscribed to the Calm app a year ago, and I really enjoy how the platform has a few different “daily” meditations that are less than ten minutes. It was as easy as opening the app, seeing the four different daily meditation options and picking one. I don’t think I’ll be renewing it for another year for cost purposes, and I feel confident I can find free guided meditations on Spotify or YouTube. Or I may even trust myself to do it unguided at this point.
But I do think subscribing to a guided meditation platform is really helpful when starting meditation.
Journal
Hand in hand with meditation is journaling. I can probably just do one or the other, but I like doing both. If I had to pick one though, it would absolutely be journaling. There is something so cathartic about putting pen to paper. Capturing memories. Processing thoughts.
Some days I will write a bunch of pages on things I’m feeling. Other days - most days, really - I like to copy the 5-minute-journal framework where I list:
3 things I’m grateful for
3 things that will make today a good day
A little quote/affirmation/word of the day.
At a bare minimum, I’ll just do things I’m grateful for. There is literal science out there that correlates the practice of gratitude with increased happiness.
Curious on the perks of gratitude? Here you go! PS: This is from a free online class on Coursera. I took it in 2020 and I loved it! It taught me so much that I still implement in my day to day life. If you like to learn, definitely check it out :) Can you tell I miss being a student?
Elite Morning Bev
I personally am a big coffee girl. At minimum, I need 2 cups every morning. I always had skipped any sorts of creamer because of ~health and calories~, but I recently discovered NutPod Coffee Cake Creamer and I am addicted. It makes my coffee taste EXTRA DELICIOUS. I’ve decided that the first sip of the day should always be a GOOD one.
So if you like tea, start with your favorite flavor. Add honey if you love it. If you like water, add in fresh squeezed lemon. Elevate it. Romanticize it.
High Protein + High Fiber Breakfast
And lastly, breakfast. I never, ever skip it. It’s my favorite meal. With breakfast, I do always aim to have something high in protein (30g) and high in fiber. I find that when I do this, I avoid cravings and snack binges through out the day. My go-to is oatmeal! I’ll add protein powder and 1 Tbsp of PBFit for protein. I’ll add 1 Tbsp of chia seeds for extra fiber. And I’ll top with some sort of fruit for more flavor and nutrients - usually blueberries because I’m lazy and you don’t have to cut those up at all!
Last little rule: No phone for the first entire hour of the day!
Okay so I do rely on my phone for my Calm app meditations currently, buuut after that I try to set my phone down and not check it until after the girls are at daycare. It helps me start the day with a present mindset, and I like that it means I’m present with my daughters at the start of their days too. I don’t get sucked into work emails or texts or salesy emails or social media scrolls. It’s just one hour. We all can do this.
I hope you find something from this post that inspires you to add a little something to your mornings. And maybe it’s none of the things I mentioned, but other things that feel good to you. That’s really what matters. Knowing what is going to set yourself up for success. To end this post, I’m sharing a short playlist of songs that I love to listen to while getting ready in the morning - a lot of it is inspired from movie or television show openings. I’m sure you will recognize a few…
Thanks for reading friends! Wishing you all many good mornings to come.
My morning routine is my elaborate pour over coffee routine. Black coffee with a splash of milk or half and half. Done!