All my ex boyfriends had one particularly favorite part of me. “Your eyes are like stars”, “Your hair is so beautiful”, “I love your lips”. But, when I asked you what your favorite part of me was, you said, “That’s like asking me what my favorite slice of a clementine is. Or which petal of a flower is most extravagant. I cannot divide you into pieces and rate them- because I need all of them to make you”. I looked deep into your eyes as you caressed my hair, & I thought “oh my god you really are the one”.
So recently I got a bit obsessed by perfecting my morning and evening routines. Because I had a bit of a rough start to the year, I’ve been trying to focus on the little things and my routines have really helped to make my days more enjoyable.
I thought I would share my morning routine and some tips for waking up early, as I’ve had quite a few messages from people interested in how I wake up at 5am, so maybe it will give some of you some ideas for your own routines.
Tips for waking up early:
1. Get everything ready the night before so your morning is as easy as possible. I leave water in the kettle, my cup on the counter with a teabag already in it, I leave my clothes ready on my chair, my water bottle filled and my bag packed.
2. Get out of bed straight away. I do this by using ‘alarmy’, an app that makes me take a picture of something in my house before the alarm will stop sounding. I honestly swear by this, as by the time I’ve walked through the house and taken a photo, I’m awake enough to start the day and don’t want to go back to bed and snooze.You could also leave your alarm in another room, or somewhere difficult to reach. (If I skipped this step, I would probably not get up on 80% of days, but now I don’t struggle at all).
3. Similarly - don’t set a snooze button. If you know you have a back up alarm, you will use it.
4. Do something you enjoy for the first 30 minutes you are awake. You are far more likely to get up if you know you can watch Netflix / eat your favourite breakfast / journal / have a warm bubble bath than if the first thing you have to do is jump in a cold shower or do your homework …
5. Stick to the same routine every day. Do things in a certain order at roughly the same times. Making a habit is satisfying and helps you to keep track of time and not forget things.
My morning routine:
5: 00 am - Alarm goes off. To stop it I have to take a picture of my bath, so as soon as I’ve done this, I start running a bubble bath … then put the kettle on, brush my teeth and drink some water
5:00 - 5:30 am - I have my bubble bath with a cup of tea and watch youtube videos. This is mainly because my house is freezing in the mornings, so its a good way to wake up, warm up, and relax for the first 30 minutes
5:30 am - Get dressed, turn on my aromatherapy oil diffuser (usually with some ‘energising’ oils), check my planner, make my to do list for the day
6:00 am - Make/eat my breakfast - usually yoghurt with granola, oatmeal/porridge, or a smoothie
6:30 - Depending on if I’m leaving the house or not, I will either put some BB cream on or moisturise my face, brush my hair and pack the last things into my bag if I need to
7:00 - If I have university or I’m studying in a coffee shop I’ll leave the house at seven. If not I’ll probably watch some Netflix/catch up or do some journaling and start work a bit later
Honestly key to sticking to an early morning routine for me, is that nothing in my morning is stressful or rushed and I actually have time to enjoy it.
I want to know you
whether you’re afraid of sharks or spiders
death or love.
I want to know if it’s grammatical errors
that drive you crazy
or the people correcting them,
if you’re more comfortable
shaking sand out of your hair
or snow,
if you prefer coffee or tea,
bars or board game nights.
I want to know which of your friends
you’ve cried in front of,
if you’ve ever laughed chocolate milk
out of your nose,
or kissed someone you didn’t love.
I want to know you,
the you beneath the layer
of small talk
always kept
shined and smudgeless.
