Morning routines are EVERYWHERE and always seem to be so perfect and fit so many things into such a short period of time. But what if you wanted some slow yet productive morning routine ideas before a busy work day? What if you wanted different ideas to feel like you’re getting things done but not sweating in your pajamas?
That’s where this list comes in!
These are all things I’ve seen, done, tried or want to do. We’ll never have enough time or desire to really get everything done in the morning. But if you’re able to get a few things done and mainly start your day without scrolling on social media, you’re going to feel SO much better!
I love being able to get a few things done in the morning while still having a slow and cozy start. Combining the best of both worlds has really changed not only how my day starts, but also how I feel throughout the day. And right now I’m starting EARLY for my job, like 3a work time early.
I don’t recommend this! I look forward to the day when I’m not getting up when others are just going to bed, but it’s helped even my crazy schedule. Just like how sleep is important, how you get up is important too.
This blog post is all about slow and productive morning routine ideas before a busy work day.
1. Slow Coffee
This can also be tea or matcha, but most of my people love to drink a cup of coffee in the morning! And if you’re rushing out the door, something as simple as making your daily cup can add in extra stress.
That on top of the no water you’re most likely drinking and no breakfast is going to cause that boost of caffeine to hit you even harder. Making the stress of starting the day even more prevalent.
So being able to slowly drink your coffee and enjoy it will start the day on a much better note all around.
There have also been studies and/or recommendations to drink your coffee 2 hours after waking for the optimal use of the caffeine. I haven’t personally done it because I just don’t want to wait that long. But I WILL drink a glass of water before. I notice that’s helped with my anxious morning start too.
2. Morning Walk
I understand not everyone lives where they’re safe enough to do this, but if you are or can drive to a park or better neighborhood, I highly recommend it!
I’m fortunate enough that our neighborhood is pretty quiet and also close to a nature trail we regularly walk on.
I also like to take my morning coffee with me on a quick walk down the block. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy or long, but getting a little movement to start the day just helped keep everything going.
3. Stretches
I don’t know about you, but at 30, my body is more sore than just my back. So to make sure I’m starting off on the right foot, I do a couple quick stretches that really help loosen everything up. It usually takes about 5 minutes and I do it while my coffee is brewing.
It doesn’t have to be anything complicated. In all honesty, I do a spine lumbar twist or supine lumbar twist, a deep lunge to a pigeon pose on each side, up and down dog, cat cow stretch and world’s great stretch. I do like 3-5 on each side and move on.
Helps to make sure my back and hips are loose and ready for a long day on my feet or sitting, and that the walk feels good too.
4. Meditation/Breath Work
This one is a new one for me and I’m still looking into it more. If I have more info to share I’ll be sure to update this blog post!
But even sitting down for 5-10 rounds of 5-5-5 breathing helps wake you up. And by 5-5-5 I mean breathing in for 5 seconds, holding your breath for 5 seconds and then exhaling for 5 seconds.
Even with all the exercise I do, getting deep breaths has always been something I seem to struggle with. And especially with my panic attacks in the past, practicing how to take calming breaths is just a great thing to have in your back pocket.
Not only does breathing help wake you up, it can also help calm you down. Because when you’re taking slow deep breaths, it makes the body believe that you’re in a safe space and don’t need to hyperventilate to escape.
So give this a try either in the morning or even throughout the day. 5-10 rounds is a couple minutes at most.
5. Tidy Up
I’m not talking about full on cleaning the kitchen and vacuuming the living room. I mean putting the clean dishes away, wiping down the counters, or even cleaning up the couch from all the blankets.
A little clean up and put away just helps not only the room feel better, but you personally as well.
There really is something to be said about your physical environment matching your inner environment. I know when I’m anxious and stressed I have zero energy to take care of anything other than feeding myself and maybe getting some sleep.
But, whenever I force myself to clean up even a few things, it really helps my mood and makes me want to do more things. It’s definitely a snowball effect with starting things off on the right foot.
And this doesn’t have to be an everyday thing. But the more you add it in as an option, the more productive you’ll feel starting the day.
6. Face Wash/Teeth Brush
Again, this may be a given especially the teeth brushing part, but if you put it on your list of things to do in the morning, that’s one more easy thing to check off.
When starting your day and wanting to feel productive, it’s better to have a simple list to accomplish rather than a lot of new things to add in.
Even on lazy mornings, if (for example) I’m able to make coffee, stretch, go for a 10 minute walk and brush my teeth, I feel so accomplished for the day! And most likely, I’m going to want to do a few more things since I’m already in a good mood.
So if a quick face wash and teeth brush before heading out the door for your busy day is what’s going to set the day off right, do it!
7. Small Work
Now this is for my small business owners. If you have light work or simple tasks to do, I’d recommend doing them in the morning. And there are some limites I recommend when it comes to this.
First, you want to make sure it’s super easy or isn’t stressful. If you’re in a creative field, maybe this is where you focus on doing art, making more fun designs, editing a couple pictures, or planning your next project.
For me, it’s writing my blog posts. At this point, I’ve done all the prep and the writing is the fun part! That or I’ll create a few pins for Pinterest and that’s always a cozy creative process that just needs to get done. Then all the admin and “work” stuff gets done during the day when I’m starting.
Second, don’t make it a must do. If you know yourself and starting work in any kind of way is going to make your work days even longer, then don’t do it. You can still have a productive start to your day without adding in work.
I gave this a try and had to mentally remind myself that this was just “extra” fun stuff. I had plenty of time set aside and carved out in my schedule to get writing and creating done. This was just to see if I enjoyed it.
I’m more creative and inspired in the morning too. So getting some stuff done before my bakery job helped me feel like I was making progress on something I wanted to do long term.
So if you have something fun to work on in the morning, I’d highly recommend at least trying it, IF you have the right mindset about it.
8. Reading
This can be a tricky one! I’m the person that will binge a book and be thinking about it non stop until I can read it again.
This is why I don’t recommend reading before bed either, but here’s where it can be beneficial.
If you’re reading self-help or inspirational books, continued education or cozy fantasies, then I feel that’s something you can commit 10-15 minutes to if you want. Again, if you can control yourself to stop when the timer goes off, then read whatever you like! I, unfortunately, do not have that kind of control and will continue to read and then be running behind on everything else.
Related Post: Book Recommendations To Escape The World For A Bit
You can check out the above post if you have control, otherwise I’d recommend saving those books for your afternoon or evening hobbies. Much better time to dive into things!
9. Cozy Hobby
Having something simple and cozy to do when starting the day just continues with the fun and productive start to your day. It can really be whatever you want for any length of time.
I really enjoy doing a crossword puzzle in the morning. It’s just simple enough to lazily do while listening to music and drinking my coffee.
Related Post: 5 Simple And Lazy Adult Hobbies To Start Trying
And make sure it’s a hobby for YOU. What I mean by that is to differentiate this from a money making hobby or the small work I share above.
It’s so easy to get pulled into the side-hustle and money making side of hobbies. You can and should have something that’s JUST for you, brings you joy or comfort and doesn’t require performance.
Something simple and casual to keep the slow and productive morning routine going.
10. Devotionals
If any kind of faith is important for you, the morning is a great time to read your daily or devotional time.
In all honesty, I used to go through my devotionals every single day for years. Currently though, I’m struggling to find something that fits me. My relationship with God and a higher power has changed over the years, but it’s still there. And currently, all that I’ve seen in the Christian space hasn’t been calling to me.
But! If that’s something you want to start getting into or just make more time for, adding it to your new morning routine is a great start!
11. Continued Education
I love learning and as we get older, it can be harder and harder to carve out time to keep learning and growing. So even 10-15 minutes in the morning for whatever is on your heart to learn about can be a great option!
Whether it’s learning a new language and working through that, going through courses or programs you purchased, or even starting a documentary you have on in the background or watch for a few minutes each morning can be a great start!
I also like listening to different podcasts on certain topics. So this could also be done on your morning walk, during stretches, or just be the focus as you get ready for the day.
But if it’s on your heart to keep learning and challenging yourself, then I strongly encourage you to add this in!
12. Call Representatives
This may be a strange thing to add in, but hear me out! No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, you’re going to have some thoughts and feelings about what’s being talked about, voted on and put into place. Things that affect you and those you love can feel scary when it’s going to harm or exciting when it’s going to help.
Call your representatives and tell them!
This may seem like a daunting task and I completely get it! Not just for making a call, but what do you even say?
I use and recommend starting with 5 calls. It is left learning, but you’re able to put in your zip code and get the phone numbers of your house rep and senators. If goes off of different topics, breaks down what it is and then gives you a script at the bottom to use when you call.
You can pick and choose what to talk about and it’s updated pretty regularly. Plus, if you don’t want to talk to someone, calling before hours guarantees that you get to just leave a voicemail.
So if this is something you’ve been wanting to do but just don’t know where to start, I’d recommend this.
I’ll be honest and say I didn’t call all of May after I got back from vacation and was just trying to get my schedule and goals in place, but I’m back to daily morning calls and it makes me feel like my small little voice might be heard somewhere.
Start with what you have and are currently able to do.
Phone calls are free and DO make a difference.
Friendly Reminders
Start Small- add and adjust from there (1-3 things at most to start with)
The goal with a morning routine is to start by getting up earlier to make time for this. You don’t need a lot of time when you first start out. The earlier you get up, the more you can get done. But if you don’t have a lot to start with or how to best structure it, it’ll just be a waste of your time and you’ll fall back asleep.
It could be as easy as getting up an extra 30 minutes early to make some coffee and go for a walk down the block and back.
Or put the clean dishes away and do a few stretches.
Even just washing your face when you would normally run out the door is a great start!
But start with 1-3 things ONLY for at least 3 weeks. After that, decide if you want to add more and what that would have to look like.
Keep in mind, the earlier you get up, the earlier you need to go to bed.
Progress > Perfection
The goal is to try. Whether that’s getting up early enough to do the one thing you want to do 5 days out of the week, or the fact you did it at least once when you did nothing before.
Change takes time. I always plan on having to force things for at least 2 weeks before they become a little easier. And by easier I mean there’s only 1-2 days that I want to just skip everything compared to fighting myself every morning.
The goal isn’t to keep up with everyone else online that’s doing a massive or perfect morning routine, but having a morning routine that works for YOU and helps YOUR day.
You may find that some things don’t work out well for you in the morning, or you don’t look forward to it.
Adjust and move on. Don’t dwell on what isn’t working, focus on what IS and how you can keep bettering your life by staying consistent with it.
My Current Morning Routine
Like I said, currently I have a part time job that has me starting work at 3a, so I’m getting up at 1a.
Before you decide to get up in the middle of the night as well, ask yourself! If you have a typical morning start-time job, what’s 1-2 hours before that? Try getting up then and not when I am.
That warning aside, here’s how my morning “typically” goes:
- 1a wake up
- Go downstairs, use the bathroom, pick a calm playlist to start my morning and go to the kitchen. I drink some water and take a couple vitamins (one of my goals is to get a multi and omega 3, but I need to prove to myself that I can keep taking the supplements I already have before getting more. So right now that’s a bottle of Calcium I got from my aunt and Vitamin D3 I got last year). Then I do some breathing exercises for 10 rounds just to get in the routine.
- 1:15/1:20a make coffee
- While my Keurig is turning on, making my cup of coffee and reheating for the next one, I do a couple stretches. After my stretches I head outside for a walk. Yes, I’m walking in my neighborhood at 1:30a and I know that’s a luxurious privilege. I feel relatively safe on my street and only see 1 car at most in the morning. I do have my phone with me and it’s about a 15 minute walk at most around the block.
- 1:35/1:40a I start writing
- This is where I’ve found the most time to write my blog consistently. I can’t rely a lot on myself after work. My days can go from 8-10 hours with little warning if we have more prep or work than expected. Plus, I workout after work and sometimes I want to be a little lazy about it and not go fast. So the morning is the best time to get a lot more writing done. Usually it’s at least 45-60 minutes.
- 2:15/2:20 call my reps and get ready
- I used to call my reps daily, but after vacation recently I’ve enjoyed not seeing the world burn every day. But getting back into it to feel like I’m doing something, I make my calls quick and leave a voicemail (surprise no one’s in the office at 2a!), make coffee and tea or flavored water for work, get dressed, brush my teeth and head out the door.
This has taken a few months of trial and error to get to this point, but I honestly look forward to my mornings now! Do I still fall asleep on the couch on my days off sometimes, yes. And sometimes I really don’t want to do anything or it’s raining outside so I’ll just do a my few stretches, watch some YouTube and do nothing.
I still feel good with something to start my day, but I feel my best when I’m doing the above routine.
It’s chill, it’s cozy, and it’s productive while still being in my PJs.
This blog post was all about slow and productive morning routine ideas before a busy work day.
Hope you found this blog post helpful with some realistic ideas on how to start your morning in a slow and productive way, while also seeing how you could make it all fit together.
If you’re looking for a midweek reset if you find this on a Wednesday, check out How To Reset Your Week When You Feel Behind On Everything.
Want to add a cozy hobby to your morning routine? Check out my 5 Lazy and Simple Adult Hobbies to Start Trying.
Otherwise thank you so much for tuning in, follow me on Pinterest and join the newsletter to stay updated on more helpful content!
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