Morning Routine: simple tips for a productive day

I started implementing my Morning Routine several years ago when I resumed The Inmediato back in 2018. I had irregular schedules and needed something to bring order, motivation, and productivity into my life. At first, I barely had any clients or perhaps, I'd accept some press work that I didn't particularly enjoy, so why bother getting up early, right? I mean, if you're starting a business and don't have much work, what's the point? It didn't matter if I got up at 6, 8, or 11. The first week was pretty chaotic until I got bored and realized I needed something more. Watching videos, more videos and even more videos on YouTube led me to the concept of a Morning Routine, and gradually, I started implementing it and getting up earlier.

Disclaimer I: It wasn't immediate. One day I'd wake up at 5:30, the next at 6:30, then at 8, then at 5:30 again. I bounced around until I got used to it.

Disclaimer II: It was all Skincare, 5 Minute Journal, Morning Pages, Duolingo, meditation, and exercise until Lani was born, and then, waking up at least 3 times a night made the routine disappear. I didn't wake up at 5 anymore, just at 6:45 to go to the office and as much as I could manage. Life was all over the place until a couple of months ago when I got back on track, and I'm really happy about it 💫 I love waking up early and having time for myself because afterward, between motherhood, work, clients, daily life, and taking care of the house, food, and laundry, forget it.

Morning Routine, what is it? 

It's a series of actions you take when you wake up. The idea is to create a routine that serves you physically, emotionally, and mentally to start the day off right. Is there only one? No, you can include whatever you want. For some people, there's no morning routine without exercise, but for me, well... not so much.

It's good because… 

You have a plan, you already know what to do when you wake up. 

Waking up early helps regulate your sleep cycle and sleep better. 

It takes you out of autopilot. 

It fosters discipline, goal-setting, and achievement. 

It allows you to think with more clarity and focus. 

The morning starts with you, it's for you.

 It helps prioritize your tasks and plan the day. 

Yes, it also helps with productivity.

My Morning Routine 

It's different for everyone, but I'll share my Morning Routine and explain why I do each thing, everything has its purpose and this might help.

Skincare + water

Why? I've had a skincare routine since I was 11 - yes, lots of pimples - and besides liking it, I'm already 35 and only have one face, so it's better to take care of it. My routine is very basic: micellar water, foam, serum, eye cream, moisturizer, and sunscreen. It doesn't take even 3 minutes, and then I drink water because nothing works well without water. 

Five-minute journal - gratitude diary 

Why? It's all very well to set goals and achieve them, but if we don't enjoy what we already have, it doesn't make much sense. Besides, there are things we take for granted that are small luxuries: like sleeping in a bed, being able to decide what to eat, having clean water, and our family's health, for example. That's what really matters. 

Croatian on Mondly 

Why? Because this semester I'm not going to university to study Croatian and I want to keep learning. At some point, I'll go back, but for now, I use this app, which also has a pretty basic free version with ads, but at least it has Croatian, unlike Duolingo (message to Duolingo: come on, you have Klingon and High Valyrian, what's stopping you?) 

Unit from some course 

Why? Continuing to learn is key. Some people listen to podcasts, read, or watch TEDx talks in their routine, I choose to buy 34783483 courses on Domestika when they're on sale and do a bit every morning. Plus, I have a Plus subscription, which gives you free courses and points to redeem for more courses. I learn a lot, step out of my comfort zone, and apply it to work. 

Morning pages 

Why? It's a tool proposed by Julia Cameron in the book The Artist's Way, which helps clear your head so you can focus on the things that really matter. It's 3 pages of uninterrupted writing where you put down your thoughts, worries, to-do lists, ideas, whatever you want.

I want to implement: exercise (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't), reading (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't), and meditation (I haven't done it since Lana was born).

For some people, it also includes breakfast, but around here, we have breakfast as a family, so I wait. For others, it includes going for a run, showering, etc., and for me, it includes as little noise as possible because if someone wakes up, it's game over. Is it difficult? Sometimes. Is it possible? Most of the time. There are suggestions, but no rules. The idea is for the routine to adapt to you, to what you want to achieve, and what makes you feel good.

If you have any tips that work, they're totally welcome. If you liked it, stick around because there are many more ✨cool things✨ coming up here.