.ideal morning routine.

I am terrible at waking up.

can't wake up in the mornings on weekdays. wake up too early on weekends. can't fall asleep. can't stay asleep.

some weekends, I find myself bursting with energy and motivation, while others, I sleep the day away. I try not to feel too guilty about it because obviously, my body needed all that rest, right? especially if it had been a mentally / emotionally / physically draining week before. and I know there are other factors, like hormones or if I'm fighting off sickness.

however, I know it would be easier to track *why* my sleep fluctuates the way it does *if* I maintained a consistent schedule. (and I most probably would be able to sleep better.)

everyone's different, so for me, I'm a natural night owl. I love staying up late, as the nighttime creeps in and most everyone else heads to bed, there's a certain kind of creative energy that comes to me in these late night hours.

however, I can't sustain a life keeping these late night hours because I'm working a regular full-time job from 8 am to 5 pm.

I struggle with mornings and waking up on time to get ready for a full day. it's embarrassing running late all the time. the few times I've shown up to work a minute or two before I'm supposed to clock in, my coworkers have commented on, "oh! you're here early." -- actually, I'm just here on time instead of 10 minutes late. whoops.

here's to figuring out what works for me by writing this and then committing to keeping it for one month by posting it. I will post once a day for the entirety of october to recap the night routine and morning routine.

this post will focus on an ideal morning routine.

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OCTOBER ROUTINE CHALLENGE: MORNING

workday
6:15 am - day breaks: first alarm; snooze for a slow wake.

6:20 am - wake up: turn on the light (!!). sip some water. wake up.

6:30 am - yoga stretch: I found this video recently and follow along at half speed. a simple routine to follow and wake up to. after finishing this, get out of bed and continue with a few light stretches.

"5 morning stretches in bed | to energize and wake up" by meghan livingstone on youtube, published on aug 23, 2018

6:45 am - get ready: head out to use the restroom; brush teeth; wash face.

7:10 am - steady going: put in contacts. complete skincare routine & get dressed. do makeup.

7:30 am - get organized: gather items - water bottle, purse, any extra food or snacks for the day at the office.

7:40 am - head out: leave the house. enjoy a leisurely drive to work; no rush.

weekend
wake up when my body wakes up (which should be earlier, with consistency in my sleep schedule). yoga stretch; skincare; continue with day as however it's planned.

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there it is: something simple, attainable. look, I'll even have special exceptions listed because I know I'm human and can't maintain the perfect schedule all the time.

special exceptions will be early work mornings, travel days, lazy vacation days

I'll try my best to keep special exceptions to a minimum; stay tuned during october to see how it goes!

until next time,
emily renee