A very simple early morning routine – how I get my alone time as an introverted, mum of two, who works full time
I love learning about other people’s routines – the things they do everyday to make them who they are. I enjoy absorbing all the nitty-gritty details and discovering new ways of doing things that wouldn’t have crossed my mind. In this same vein, I thought I’d walk you through my current morning routine.
I’ve had many variations on this morning routine in the past, but I feel like I’ve finally landed on something that’s simple enough to work most days, but fulfilling and satisfying enough that I feel like I’m getting what I need from it.
First thing’s first, let me mention a few things about me to help explain why I developed this morning routine:
I’m a morning person. I like being up early before the world is fully awake. By the end of the day, I am useless and am ready for bed at 9:30pm.
I’m an introvert. I need my alone time. Not in a nice-to-have-it-but-I’ll-be-okay-if-I-don’t get-it kind of way. More like in a I-will-have-a-meltdown and will continue having meltdowns if I don’t get it. It’s important for me to have time where I don’t need to interact with anyone and I can just be with myself. It fills my cup and is absolutely necessary.
I have two loud children (3 and 6 years old). Of course, I love them times infinity squared, but I need time away from them. This kind of relates to the introvert factor but, even more than that, I need time where I am not needed. If you are a parent, especially a mother, I think you will understand what I mean.
I have a full time job. Luckily it’s hybrid work, so I do get to work from home two to three days per week. But, even still – given the kids and the introvertness – I still like to have this morning time even on a work from home day. It allows me to focus on work during work hours and survive all the Teams meetings and interactions that occur even when I’m not in the office.
So, what does my simple morning routine currently look like?
I start my days at around 6:30 am
I even try to stick to this on weekends, unless I’m consciously trying to have a ‘sleep in’ (I say that with quotation marks because every parent knows that it’s near impossible to sleep in when you have kids. Maybe when they’re teenagers…).
As much as I’d love to have more time before my kids wake up, I’ve decided against waking up too much earlier than 6:30am – at three and six years old (with the six-year-old being the worse sleeper by far) – their sleep is still too unpredictable. I can guarantee a full night’s sleep maybe three nights per week, with the other nights involving one to two wake ups. This didn’t used to be such a problem back in the baby phase when they were still breastfeeding and I had all those lovely hormones to lull me back to sleep afterwards. Now, as soon as I’m woken up, my mind is straight into gear and I have trouble switching back off again. 6:30am is a reasonable time where, despite wake-ups and insomnia, I still get enough quality sleep to function okay throughout the day.
Exercise first thing (20mins)
This is a new arrangement that I’ve been trying the last couple of months and it’s been working really well. Before that I had been reading first and exercising second. But often, by the time I got around to exercising, the 6-year old would be up and the 3-year old would be calling from his room. I would try to continue on with exercise, but most of the time it was futile – they both have this attraction to lying down on the exercise mat! So, now I exercise first. What do I do? Normally, a shortish (20min) YouTube routine from: MadFit, BodyFit by Amy, or Yoga with Adrienne. You can read more about the various exercise resources I currently use or have used in the past, here.
Write in my 5-year journal (5mins)
I got this one from Mal Paper towards the end of 2021 and I’ve written in it almost every day since. There are only a few lines to fill in each day, so it’s very easy to do. Now that I can read the previous year’s entries, it’s been really fun seeing how much I’ve grown over the past year and a bit.
Read non-fiction (20mins)
Non-fiction wakes me up so I like to read it in the morning (I read fiction before bed and listen to non-fiction audiobooks when I’m on the go throughout the day). If you’re a bookworm like me, check out the book life nook.
A little writing (10mins)
This is something that I’ve only just started doing and I don’t really have too much time for it in the morning, but I figure even five or ten minutes to touch base with whatever I’m working on will go a long way. I know this from experience - which you can read all about here - although, still haven’t finished that manuscript! But I will get back to it at some point!
After I’ve done all of this (and sometimes a little before), there are cries of ‘Mummy’ and I know it’s time to wrap up my little routine and get on with the regular getting ready for the day kinda stuff.
So, there you have it, my simple morning routine as an introverted parent of two with a full time job. How do you like to start the day? Or end the day (if you’re more of a night owl)? Let me know in the comments below.
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