Getting Back to Early Morning Productivity
My house has always been a morning household. Ever since I was little we were always up and at it super early. My mom commutes around 5 to 6 a.m. every day, I’ve never seen my father sleep-in ever, and I just adapted to their lifestyle growing-up.
Plus the school system I went to always started on-the-early side of most school districts, therefore I was at high school before 7 a.m. every single day.
That doesn’t even account for the fact I woke up at 5 a.m. to take a shower daily because it wasn’t until Senior prom came around that I finally learned how to prevent my curly thick long hair from becoming a mess at night because I learned from my Junior prom hairdresser that you shouldn't wet and condition on the day of using heat products.
I remember distinctly as a child being at sleepovers, or even the one vacation I went on with my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin to Disney I was always up super bored in the a.m. Plus this was before I had any personal electronics, so entertainment was limited. And I was starving for breakfast because I’ve always been a breakfast person.
I wouldn’t say I’ve never not been a morning person throughout my life, but I think my levels of morning have certainly adjusted. I learned how to adapt to my college schedule a bit more, and finally learned how to sleep-in at times.
I mean I did work the 7:30 a.m. shift at Starbucks last year four days a week and absolutely loved being done by 5 p.m. most days. Even in Disney, I always tried to get the morning shifts because I cannot be active at night functioning. So its not like I became an all-nighter all of a sudden either.
However since Disney and coming back home, I’ve made an intention to not only be up early, but to be productive early even when I have nowhere to go.
The key for me is making something for breakfast and coffee whenever I’m up. There’s no point in waiting till 8 or 9 a.m. when your body needs fuel to function.
I’ve been loving heading out on my morning walks nice and early to get those 10,000 steps in right away as right now it's my primary source of exercise. I do know however that as the mornings get chiller I’ll be moving those walks to midday unless I happen to get one of those treadmills or desk treadmill which I’m really hoping for. I certainly do not do the cold.
I’m also working on finding a routine that includes self-care and setting me up for success. I want to get better at remembering to fill out my daily sheets with goals, meal plans, and my personal thoughts of the day. I’m making a habit of making my bed each and every morning, and I want to work on improving my non-exist skincare routine.
I’m hoping to get better at putting my contacts-in versus my glasses, since I see much better with them and genuinely prefer them. Plus, I want to improve my confidence with makeup by getting more consistent with putting it on.
With so much work from home days, the little things can certainly get lost in-life, but I think it’s important to do things that will help you feel your best throughout the day even if it requires waking-up a bit earlier.
I will say being productive early certainly puts me in an afternoon slump at times, which is something I can work on improving with adding a bit more food within my day. I know this will give me the energy to add-in an afternoon strength or dance workout as well. I really love adding movement into my day. Hydration, and well caffeine, is also key for staying alert, awake and productive.
I do find that by waking-up earlier, I have more time in my day, feel better about myself and am productive early-on allowing more time for evening relaxation. I really want to get this habit down before heading off to graduate school since I know I'll need long days to accomplish school, work, my blog and personal self-care routines.
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