Becoming a Morning Person ... Trying, At Least

I'm far, faaaar, from a morning person. You don't have to know me well to know this. In college, my dorm's breakfast/lunch (in the building's basement) ended at 2pm, and I'd often miss it. A few weeks ago, Brian was on the phone with my cousin and his wife, who live in Australia, at 7am, and they asked how I was. He said my alarm had just gone off, and everyone on the phone agreed a storm was brewing. And, the kicker of all stories: I've been with the company I work for for three years. A new teammate was joining last spring, and I asked when she'd be in on her first day. My boss said "8:30, so before you!" And I told him that while I'm never early, I'm always in the office by 9 (or, you know, at 9). He said "That'd be good, if we started at 9..." Long story short (after checking with HR, our employee manual and surveying, oh, everyone...), it turns out our office starts at 8! And I had no idea. For years I've been going in at 9. He said he never felt the need to correct it since I'm obviously not a morning person. So embarrassing!

This year my New Year's resolution was to have a better morning routine, and with a few little changes here and there, I'm seeing some progress. It's nothing major, but I've realized that's key. Little changes and small goals are the only sustainable way to do it.



The first thing I did was remove most electronics from our bedroom. The number of cords underneath my bedside table has driven me nuts for years, and I finally did something about it. I now keep my laptop on the living room credenza, with its charger in a drawer, and keep my work laptop in my backpack. I keep my iPad in the kitchen, and, most importantly, charge my phone outside the bedroom in our entryway. If something else has to be charged (the wireless speakers on our dresser, a camera, iPad keyboard), it has to be charged in the den. This change hasn't come easily, but I feel so much more energized not scrolling social media right before bed or checking my emails with my eyes half closed in the morning.




For years I refused to keep my phone somewhere else with the excuse that I needed it as an alarm. This small, battery-operated alarm clock forced me to change that. I love how sleek it looks, that it only shows the time if you touch a button (no bright light) and, the best part, doesn't have a cord.

I really want to be the type of person who goes to the gym before work, comes home, does her hair and makeup, wears a trendy outfit and is in the office by 8. But I'm not. And likely will never be (I missed 2pm breakfasts, guys). I was trying to meet that standard, and knowing I wouldn't, had given up on mornings completely. But a few months ago my friend Jessica told me she savors mornings. She wakes up, makes her favorite coffee, gets ready, catches up on email and freelance work and feels energized before leaving to work. Inspired, I've been giving it a try, but in a way that works for me.




In the morning, before I get dressed, I either make a cup of coffee with our remarkably easy and delicious Nespresso (with the perfect steamed milk) or a big glass of fresh squeezed orange juice with our powerful citrus juicer. I truly look forward to either, and the thought of enjoying them in no rush gets me out of bed. Then, I want to be the kind of person that makes a healthy, hearty breakfast (what I really want to be is the kind of person that has time for an outside run and shower, too), but I'm not, so instead of I've made it a priority to have breakfast items I enjoy on-hand (like these homemade pop tarts). I should probably sit at my desk (posture, productivity, blah, blah), but I take my breakfast to the couch and knock out some freelance/blog emails from there before packing my lunch, gym bag and getting dressed for the day.

These are little changes, and if you saw me running out of the house, late as always, you wouldn't be convinced I've made any, but I'm getting somewhere. I don't think I'll ever fully be a morning person, but I'm savoring those early quiet hours, and doing so is making the rest of the day feel a little more quiet, too.

How do you make the most of your mornings? Do you have any strategies that help make mornings easier?

(This post was sponsored by Wayfair. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Make the Most.)