5 Reasons To Get Up & Get Out Every Morning

Did You Know? “Shanghai residents also place a premium on breakfast time, with 80% eating at home — higher than any other city surveyed — and 66% talking to each other during their meal.” (via)

I’m all about a good schedule these days.  Spending plenty of mornings in a rush to make it to my 1^st meeting OR weekends unscheduled for open ended “fun”, left me feeling like I could be doing more w my precious time.  I’m still tweaking how I want to schedule my weekends, I’ll report back on that soon – but for now we’re discussing mornings.

You’re either a morning person or you’re not.  Am I right?

I am NOT a morning person.  When I had terrible anxiety, my morning routine required Yoga.  I would wake up however early I needed to in order to make sure I could start my day w uninterrupted Yoga.  This was an absolute MUST in order to survive, & I highly recommend it for anyone that is really struggling w anxiety daily.  Check this post (here).

Although I still do Yoga, it’s not necessarily something I need to get done in the morning.  Instead, 1 of 2 things has been happening. Either I wake up scrambling to get wherever I need to be, on time & in one piece OR  I wake up & start working right away without “getting ready”.

Both of those wake up calls are not ideal.  Waking up & rushing out the door left me feeling like I was starting my day behind schedule & needing to catch up.  On the other hand, when I got straight into work, I would scramble when it was time to get dressed & leave the house.

As much as I hate mornings & waking up early, I knew I had to make them better.  This is how my morning coffee idea started.

No matter what’s on my schedule for the day, I make enough time to get coffee in the morning.   Usually 7am, but earlier if I have to.  I make sure I have at least 30 minutes of “free-time” while I’m there.

I’m sure you’ve all heard how much money you can save by skipping your Starbucks in the morning.  That $3.00/day can add up!  Well, I challenge that argument.  My morning coffee is an investment.

5 Reasons You Need To Order Your Morning Coffee at the Coffee Shop:

• Schedule The Day: I like to make my schedule in the morning, when my brain is fresh.  For a while I was writing out my schedule the night before, but would forget it by the time I was rushing out the door in the morning.  Now, when I sit down w my coffee, I write out all the things I want to get done that day.  Everything is fresh in my mind & ready to be executed, on time.
• Calm Before The Storm: This is my favorite reason for coffee in the morning.  Emails, texts, phone calls haven’t started flowing yet.  This quiet time helps set the tone for your entire day.
• Makeup & Clothes Done:  I remember wishing my high school had school uniforms because the effort behind putting together an outfit every morning was painful.  This is true as an adult. Especially when you have a mundane day & you just need to get out the door.  But an outfit can give you energy all day! If it’s something you’re feeling good in, you’ll have a good attitude.  Having your outfit on, makeup & hair done, and being out the door by 7am?  This is an accomplishment in itself & takes the whole ordeal off your plate for the rest of the day.  I noticed even on days when I’m working from home & likely won’t see anyone else – this is MAJOR.
•  A Perfect Date: If you don’t have a partner, you can set up a morning coffee date w a friend.  Or your dog, or yourself.  I’ve dated Bernice before & it was just as special as having my morning coffee w Wafiq.  Here’s the thing, when there are no emails buzzing or phones ringing you’d be surprised how easy it is to connect w someone else or even yourself.  I love having my morning coffee w Wafiq, it’s turned into our favorite date & we get to do it almost every day for under $10.  The quiet before everyone else is awake & out the door,  makes our morning date extra enjoyable.
• Investment: Isn’t a coffee date more affordable than a dinner date?  By a fucking long shot.  For dating purposes alone, I’m on bored w the $3.00 morning coffee expense.  But if you don’t like that reason, having a morning coffee routine pays off in other ways.  I’m up early, ahead of everyone else, sending/receiving emails.  I’m making my schedule as efficient as possible, and w a clear mind.  This approach to the day pays off.  Without my morning coffee, I don’t have that jump start & good head space.  The $3.00 coffee is a small price to pay for the big reward.

Ok, those are all the perks of going out of the house to get your morning coffee.  I highly recommend taking the time to stay off electronics for at least 15-30 mins every morning.  Enjoy the coffee, enjoy your date, enjoy people watching, enjoy your peaceful morning mind.  Physically write your schedule or a few notes for the day, w paper & pen.  That’s it!

Whenever I miss my morning coffee routine, I can’t wait to start my day over with it.  And yes, I try to do this 7 days a week, including weekends, but that doesn’t always happen.  Try it & let me know if you feel the same type of efficiency as I do with this type of schedule.  You’ll see!

I’ll really be living life when I can get myself awake early enough to do yoga BEFORE leaving the house for my morning coffee.  EEEEk, one can dream.

Have a great week & be thoughtful

Xx

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