Rise and Shine! Introducing my Ideal Early Morning Routine
I’ve always been an early bird in spite of trying to force myself into a late night habit in my teens and early twenties. Silly sausage! These days I hit the sack most nights before 9:30pm and I’m usually far into my travels in Nod by 10:00. Occasionally a band or comedian will lure me out later but its pretty rare. My days of weekly clubbing are definitely no more.
If I sleep soundly I like to be up by 5am. Yes really! I remember how, in my twenties at the start of my accountancy career, I used to get up at the crack of dawn to study for my tax exams. It’s a habit that’s mostly stuck. In fact I encouraged a colleague way back to join me in doing something meaningful before work. He was a pistol shooter and proudly used to tell me the number of bullets that he’d made each day. Some people though are not convinced that early rising is their bag. ‘You get up at what time?’ they say incredulously.
But morning rising seems to have become a bit of a thing. The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod that advocates a rise and shine routine has sold two million copies. I’ve read it and can heartily recommend it for those who’d like to become larks themselves. The suggestions for activities in the book differ a little bit from my morning routine which has changed over the years. Here’s a little rundown of my lark-like history.
Redundant Morning Activities
First of all though I thought that I’d briefly share some of the things that I’ve done at the crack of dawn in the past. When I was working it was the only time of day that I could fit in an early morning jog. Nowadays my running is a little sporadic and is dependent on lack of injury, caring responsibilities. or gull attacks. These days, when I do venture out it tends to be a bit later after my first cuppa with the old man. Blog writing was another early morning activity for years. However in retirement it’s something that I can do at any time of the day.
Earlier on in retirement I got into the habit of doing puzzles from the New York Times, the Guardian and Merriam Webster websites. I made the excuse that I was brain training but found after a while these became tedious and addictive at the same time. I was also spending nigh on an hour an day on this pursuit that was holding less and less meaning. So I’ve cut right back. I was correct in my assumption that there are more edifying things that I can do.
At various times I’ve fitted in all sorts of course work or study programmes before everyone else gets up to disturb me. These come and go. The last that I did was at the end of 2024, a free 40 day online retreat lead by Lisa Natoli. I want to tell you that it comes personally recommended.
My Established Early Morning Routine
In the main I start with a lesson from the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. It’s a 365 day programme so this year I began on 1 January with a peer group to keep me on my toes. I’ll tag any reflective exercises onto the thirty minutes of meditation that’s been a regular feature of my morning for some months.
After that I write in my gratitude journal. Then I pick a card from a couple of oracle decks that I’ve merged. More often than not the answer that the angels, mermaids or dolphins tell me is highly relevant to my current life. Really!
Then I’ll do a bit of reading. I have at least three Kindle books on the go and aim to read a page a day from each of them but it’s often more. It’s amazing just how much I’ve absorbed by adopting my tiny reading habit. The books include the main text from A Course in Miracles (yes that one again!), another spiritual text (currently The Presence Process by Michael Brown) and something that’s educational. At the moment it’s The Glucose Revolution by Josie Inchaupse but this category can be a very mixed bag. indeed Occupational therapy, quantum physics and self improvement books have all featured.
Duolingo Spanish comes next unless it’s a Monday when I have a day off language learning. I’ll then catch up with any unanswered emails and contribute to my social media pages. It’s the boring stuff that I like to get over early as early as possible.
What’s New
Recently I’ve added in two news activities. One is exercise. At the moment I try to remember planking and stretching but I’ll ‘fess up and say that I sometimes forget. I’d like to resume skipping which I started a few months back. Unfortunately plantar fasciitis, a painful foot condition that comes and goes, has reared its head. So, for the time-being, jumping about is on hold.
I have been more successful in resuming my writing habit though. My long held dream of writing a book is taking hold. Each morning I have a target of 300 words. It doesn’t seem much but if I stick to this it adds up to work of non fiction every year.
Future Plans
You may have gathered that my morning routine chops and changes. Sometimes activities that I’ve done for a while are replaced by others. The meditation and gratitude practice has been relatively constant over many years.
So how do I see my schedule evolving in the near future? Well I’d love to do more exercise, of course, so I’m trying to up the ante gradually without doing myself damage. There are books on the ‘To Read’ list that I’d like to get my nose into and a few courses as well. However as the old adage goes, there are only so many hours in the day….or in this case between the time I awake and the time other members of my household demand my attention.
Disclaimer
This post contains links to companies and organisations just because I’m happy with the products or services that they supply or I’m spreading the word about what they do. There may also be affiliate links to Amazon for books and other items that I am personally recommending. If you decide to make a purchase from them, I might get a little bit of commission at no cost to you.