My Ridiculous Morning Routine
...It suddenly makes a lot of sense
This week ended up being pretty low key because my son got sick, and then I got sick, and we’ve been homebound since Wednesday. I continue to believe the worst part of having a sick kid (once they’re mainly okay), is the waiting for your symptoms to start after you’ve already shuffled around your whole life. Just really adds to the “fun” of the already-stressful-not-enough-time-to-do-it-all the holidays already brings. Thankfully, my son is already on the mend, and I’m sure my body is grateful for the extra days of rest during what has been an incredibly exhausting year.
Some other highlights this week:
-I saw The Holdovers and May December last weekend and both were brilliant in their own ways. It was inspiring to see so many very STRONG performances. May December’s POV was truly brilliant writing. Kudos to Samy Burch!
-My screenplay is coming along (67 pages!) and I started soft-breaking my new pilot. I feel so grateful that this is my career, and I’m trying to hold onto that feeling as opposed to the feeling of dread of not having a paid job yet.
-Hanukkah started last night! Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate!
-Taylor Swift was named Time’s Person of the Year with Striking Writers & Actors apparently being the runner-up. Here’s my thoughts on that:
-The biggest revelation this week was finding out my mom took a Time Management course in college. If you know me, you can understand why this discovery makes a lot of sense.
I’ve been thinking a lot about my own routines and rituals, and how a strong morning routine has been instrumental to both my productivity and mental health over the years. Since we’re only a few weeks away from 2024 (how the hell did that happen?), there’s no better time to start new routines.
Here’s what my morning usually looks like:
-I typically wake up between 6-7am and immediately fight the urge to scroll on social media. Instead, I open my email app and delete all the junk. Unless something is really urgent (aka, my SC days when I woke up to pages that had to be put out), I wait to respond until I’ve had my coffee.
-Once I’m out of bed, I brush my teeth and if I can afford it, I spritz some toning spray on my face to wake my ass up.
-Next up, is what I refer to as my “morning routine” which consists of making and drinking a cup of lemon water with Himalayan salt (and local honey, if it’s allergy season), giving my dog a treat, and feeding him, feeding the fish, and starting the coffee-maker.
-From there, I meditate and stretch. My meditation consists of Kriya breathing for about 2 minutes (3 cycles of slow, medium, and dragon breathing), a body scan, and affirmations. Stretching is: 3 cycles of cat cows, 3 cycles of circular cat cows, neck circles, shoulder circles, seated hip circles, seated twist, cobbler pose, seated forward fold, happy baby, extended splits, twists laying down, and finally an anxiety-release exercise.
-Once my body is woken up, I make an espresso (and pour a splash of cream in it… YUM) and then I journal for 10 minutes. Sometimes I’m journaling about petty shit, sometimes I’m writing a to-do list, sometimes I’m figuring out story problems, sometimes I’m recreating a dream… just depends on what my brain feels like that day.
-Next comes revising my to-do list, or making one. Then, since I’m an astrology bitch, I check my horoscope on The Pattern and use that to create an intention for the day, which is what I name my to-do list.
-Finally, I take my meds (allergy and anxiety pills, bbs!) and take a shower. If my son isn’t up by then, I wake him. If he’s already up, I put on PBS kids for him and get back to my routine.
Guys, I know… I’m a freak, but this is what works for me and I’ve done a version of this almost every week day for the past six years. Plus, now I can officially blame my mother’s time management course as the source of all this.