Like many others, I spent a chunk of my twenties trying to “perfect” my morning routine. Being in the “productivity” YouTube space, I found myself absorbing too many videos talking about waking up at 5 am, going to the gym for 2 hours, and taking a cold shower (ugh).
While some of the learnings stuck and genuinely became useful, most of it just felt like an unnecessary challenge to live like someone “more successful than me”. I still do morning pages (almost) every day, but will I ever take another 7 am cold shower? When hell freezes over maybe.
I don’t regret trying them — they helped me discover what worked and what didn’t. But I do wish I hadn’t spent so long forcing a routine that clearly wasn’t mine.
One mindset shift that changed the way I look at prioritizing habits and routines actually came from Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” He says, “the key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” What are the habits and actions that actually bring me closer to who I want to be? What do I need to work on to move towards my goals? Now I try to look at my entire day’s schedule in this way, always asking the question: “what would it look like if I were to move purposefully today?”
If you’re curious, here’s how I’ve been spending my mornings lately. Not every habit happens every morning. I’m a lot kinder to myself about not completing everything on my list. Yes, I’m a believer that growth comes from consistency and getting out of your comfort zone. However, being disciplined and being kind to yourself are not mutually exclusive states. We can do both and still flourish.
What I need in my mornings to feel human
Wake up and get some sun
Being so for real, this one’s more of an “ideal scenario” rather than one I can always put into practice. Living in Canada, we typically wake up in the dark during fall and winter, especially being an early morning kind of girl.
To keep my internal alarm clock running smoothly all year, in the colder months I’ll set my bedside lamp to turn on when I need to wake up. I use Phillips Hue bulbs in all my lamps so I can take advantage of all the customization and automation features. They actually have a sunrise feature so you tell it what time you want to wake up, and it’ll slowly get brighter and brighter to simulate light entering your room.
During the summer, I’ll prioritize getting outside before anything else. It helps that I’m a dog mom and Mika needs her morning bathroom break anyways. I’ve been trying to make the most of that time and actually getting a walk in rather than just letting her out for a quick break.
Hydrate and nourish your body
I never used to be a breakfast girl and even now there are days where I’m just not hungry when I wake up. However, eating breakfast is more than just a way to fulfill hunger, it actually signifies to your body that you’re coming out of a fasted state and helps to regulate blood sugar and kickstart your metabolism.
Besides breakfast, I make sure I’m loading up on hydration along with my morning caffeine hit. This is also the time I take any supplements I’m currently trying. Right now I’m taking
Vitamin D
Ritual’s Stress Relief*
Ritual’s Synbiotic+*
Zync
*I do have a coupon code with Ritual if you want to try them out! You can use my link to get 30% off your first month. This is not sponsored btw. I’ve worked with them in the past which is how I have the code!
Morning reflection
Morning pages from The Artist’s Way was the journaling practice that shaped the way I journal now and although I no longer write 3 full pages each morning, I do journal daily on auto-pilot. While I still use my journaling practice to brain dump, I also try to be more intentional with the time and plan out any ideas, thoughts, or to-dos I’m obsessing over.
Not only does it help me clear my head but it’s a great way to keep track of what’s going on in your life. Sometimes I’ll even replace my morning journaling with writing in my commonplace notebook. Since I like to read a little in the morning, I’ll spend a little bit of time after catching up on my commonplace journaling and recording any thoughts I had about what I read.
Incorporate movement
At some point last year, I decided to retrain that nasty little voice in my head that’s always telling me “you’re not doing enough”. Not every day is going to be perfect and that includes my fitness regime. While I can’t say I’m proud of my current fitness habit, I do move my body daily which is a great start.
Movement for me comes in the form of walking, stretching, headstands (new skill acquired!!), yoga, mat pilates, weight-training, reformer pilates, and running. No, I do not do a workout every day. Yes, I would like to. We’ll get there.
After reading
’s article on exercise, it really shifted my mindset around why I want to work out. Over the years my reasons have spanned from fitness, health, aesthetics, stamina, and strength, but she brings up some less common benefits that I’ve never considered. Things like hormone regulation, brain function, and cellular communication which are all critical to our wellbeing but prioritized less. Would definitely recommend checking out that article if you haven’t yet. I’m already reframing my mindset around fitness because of it.How to pick what to do with your mornings
Your morning routine sets the tone for the rest of your day which is why it’s so important to be intentional with your time and activities. Rather than following someone else’s morning routine to a T, consider what you personally need to feel good throughout your day.
The key factors that lead to my decisions include:
Aligning with your goals. Are the activities you’ve chosen directly contributing to your personal or professional objectives?
Energy level check. Do the activities or tasks match your natural energy flow in the morning?
Time constraints. Are you being realistic about how much time you actually have available?
Impact vs effort. Are you focusing on high-impact activities that give you the most benefit for your time investment?
Personal preference. Are you including activities you genuinely enjoy to make the routine sustainable?
Current pain points. Are you addressing your biggest daily challenges through your morning routine?
Your mornings should energize you, not drain you. If certain activities feel like a struggle, maybe they’re not a right fit for your mornings. There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to how we spend our time. Each of us have different rhythms, energy levels, and goals so while 2 hour gym sesh, meditation, and ice tubs seems like a great idea, it just may not work for your body and mind.
How do you typically choose what to do in the morning? Is it a game time decision or do you have a set morning routine you follow?
Love this! Crazy coincidence that I literally watched your morning routine video an hour ago!! <3
Of course how much you can fit into your morning routine depends on how much time you have available, but I think another aspect is your environment.
Is your physical environment set up for success? If you need peace and quiet first thing, can you get that? etc etc