I read a post about what successful people do before 9am and it was almost perfect. I wish I had such a perfect morning…
My perfect morning would go something like this. Get up by 5:00am feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, get in a short run or a bit of exercise and then have a healthy breakfast. A quick shower followed by a drive to office for a productive day. Doesn’t that sound perfect? But the reality is nothing like that.
Why? Because I have a 4 year old son. It is true that if one sleeps a full sleep through the night with proper REM cycles, then only 6-7 hours of sleep is sufficient. But in my life (as with any parent), that is not entirely the case. My night sleep is interrupted and so when I do get up at 5:30am, I am not rested, but groggy and badly want to hit the snooze button and crawl back under the sheets.
But most of the days, I drag myself out of bed and go down to the kitchen. (I am only human and occasionally, I give in to temptations of the bed). After a quick prep for my son’s lunch and breakfast, I run to the bathroom to address the morning ablutions.
There is always a bit of suspense to see if I am able to finish my shower before my son wakes up…and most of the times, he is up before I have finished my routine. So there I am yelling “I am right here, baby” and hurriedly wrapping myself up in a towel and scooping him up in my arms. After the customary morning love and kisses, I take 2 mins to get dressed in some combination of pant and a top. I sometimes get yelled at by my sister on my complete lack of color coordination or fashion sense. But at 5:50am (give or take) in the morning, I could care less for either of them.
I then take my son downstairs and then start his morning breakfast routine. At about this time (which is around 6:00am – 6:10am), my husband wakes up and I can hear him getting ready. By 6:30, my son has at least finished his milk, changed into a new set of school clothes, and brushed his teeth. My husband takes over as I kiss my son goodbye and after a few necessary hugs, I exit the house. By 7:00am I reach my office and start my work day. And by 9am, I have already given 2 solid hours to my job (which I feel very good about). Also, since rarely people come before 9am, I don’t normally have any meetings during that time.
The above is my every day morning routine or close to it. Every once in a while, I will have a blissful sleep and when I wake up in the morning at 5:30, I feel energized. But I think, for that to be a constant, I need to wait for a couple of more years.
What is your routine before 9am? Is it what you wish it to be?
