My Everyday Morning Routine

The way you start your morning has a big impact on how your day turns out. Start your morning wrong and it can ruin your entire day. Start your morning right and you increase your chances of enjoying a positive and productive day. Like with all habits, my morning routine has evolved over the years. I’m now happy with how I spend my mornings and feel that my daily habits are both enjoyable and manageable.

Obviously your morning routine will vary on how much time you have free between waking up and beginning your daily duties. I tried waking up at 4am everyday for a month to see how it impacted my productivity and working day, which allowed me more time to spend on my morning routine. I’ve never been one for rushing in the mornings. Whenever I have somewhere that I need to be, I always make the effort to wake up hours earlier so I have time to prepare at a leisurely pace. Admittedly, I still find myself rushing around at the last minute and I struggle to get anywhere on time. However, the thought was there and my intentions were good, no matter how it may have turned out!
 

Coffee

Every morning over the last 15 years has always started with coffee. As much as I try to stay out of the social media coffee cliches, I do see drinking coffee as a form of art. Rather than guzzling down endless cups of instant coffee throughout the day, I prefer to start my day with two small cups of fresh coffee prepared in my stove pot or in a French press. Every night before I go to bed, I look forward to my morning cup of coffee the next day. Actually, that’s another fine point – gratitude! Expressing gratitude over the smallest, everyday habits we enjoy is an excellent way to begin your morning positively. Personally, I find that I enjoy the experience of savouring that first cup of coffee in peace equally as much as I love the coffee itself! If you're using fresh coffee, here are my tips on what to do with the leftover coffee grounds.
 

Positive Words

Whereas I used to always start my mornings by delving into an inspirational book, I now find that any form of positive words will suffice. When I feel like reading I will. Other times, positivity might come in the form of an uplifting Youtube video or by watching fun stories on Instagram. I spent years waking up and reading inspirational mindset and business books, which although were insightful, could sometimes feel too intense and serious. I think it’s really important to start your day with positive words, but they don’t always need to be educational. Starting your morning with something creative or funny will put you in a good mood and set you up for the day ahead. Books or videos? I generally go with whatever suits me best on the day.

Light Therapy Treatment

I seemed to miss out on teenage acne, but it found me during my 20s. Imperfect skin plagued the better part of my 20s and you wouldn’t believe how difficult it is to combat. I didn’t think light therapy treatment would work at all and I didn’t like the idea of trying it either, but I am so thankful I gave it a chance. I don’t want to give false hope to anybody interested in using light therapy masks, but when I first started the treatment my skin was so bad that the mask wasn’t recommended to work. Hand on heart, it is the one thing that has visibly improved my skin and since using it, I’ve not experienced any breakouts! You can read all about light therapy, the mask I use and why I love it in this post here. I like to incorporate light therapy skin treatment into my morning routine to ensure that my skin stays clear and to prevent any unwanted breakouts in future.

Makeup

Applying makeup is part of my everyday routine. I’m more than happy to leave the house without any makeup on, but the process of applying makeup serves as a therapeutic and fun start to my day. Also, seeing as I work from home, wearing a little bit of makeup makes me feel more office-appropriate and ready to tackle my professional working day. Plus, I just really love those previous couple of artistic minutes in the morning! Putting on my makeup is the perfect balance of being creative, as well as doing something that will make me feel more productive that day. See what's in my makeup bag at the moment.
 

Walk Minnie

Last but not least, I go on a dog walk with Minnie before returning home to start my day. Even when the weather is bad or I’m just not feeling up to going out, venturing outdoors in the morning and getting some fresh air is something I just need to do. When you work from home it can be easy to let time and duties just pass you by. There isn’t really any need to get out of your PJs or shower or leave the house even! Yet, putting in just a little bit of effort makes the world of difference. I don’t recommend getting a dog, or any pet for that matter. if you don’t want or can’t have one. However, Minnie is great company and gives me that push to get up and go for a walk twice a day.
 
Listing all of this off seems a lot but actually, I can fit all of this in within an hour or so without rushing. What does your morning routine look like? If you want a breakdown of what my full working day looks like as a professional blogger and fashion stylist, read this post here.