What morning routines help you feel your best for the day?

[VividHare]

For example, what do you do in the mornings? What do you eat? Meditation or exercise? I'm looking forward to all your suggestions.

I no longer work and I am at my best if I can have a couple of coffees in bed while I read the newspaper, look and FB and answer emails. I can’t do this every morning but I definitely feel discombobulated when I don’t.

Following with interest!

I went through a period a while ago of getting up before anyone else, and doing a short yoga / stretch session. That was nice.
I like a slow wake up, tea in bed is my favorite.
i like the idea of going to the gym or out the door for a power walk with the dog before everyone wakes up.. not sure I’ll ever be that person but maybe this thread will inspire me 😁

Forgot to add another thing I used to do which I felt did make a difference was to make my own electrolyte drink and have that with warm water from the kettle before drinking anything else. I saw an elderly Japanese woman do it and was in excellent shape - you mix a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, some honey, a pinch of salt with warm water and mix. It’s quite nice to have first thing before tea etc.

Food and drink wise I like a black coffee followed by a Green tea. But I always start with a big glass of water and take my medication. I find I really need a pint of water first thing.

Food wise- I really try and get three serves of either fruit or veg at breakfast. It depends on what I feel like but I try and make sure I eat either three serves of fruit, natural yoghurt and nuts, or if I feel like a savoury breakfast I will have boiled eggs and a salad of cucumbers, radishes, tomatos, lettuce and olives often with a dressing made of tahini and lemon juice. I don't usually eat lunch so I try and front load with some good fruit and vegetables first thing. Today I have a leftover salad that also incoudes avocado, blueberries and almonds so I am about to get up and boil two eggs and eat that.

I drink too much wine so have been trying to just have a cup of green tea on the go for the entire day instead.

Bach Before 7 on Radio 3 breakfast with a coffee in bed. I’m clearly not the only person who relies on it because when they changed presenters recently there was a lot of reassurance it would stay. Just a beautiful moment of transcendence before the day really gets going (no small children thank goodness).

Cup of tea
Play with pets in bed
Do NYT puzzles in bed

Then I am ready to start my day.

I feel my best when I get to 6am bootcamp or a 6am 5k run. I do like slower days too when I can have a coffee in bed with my husband but we have a child who doesn't leave us alone so it's not as relaxing as it should be 😂

I get up wash my face brush my teeth put in earbuds and do yoga to music for anything between 20 min to 1 hr (10 min in a pinch). Then I start my and everyone's day. I used to write morning pages, that was brilliant, but 3 pages take me half an hour. Afterwards I kind of have breakfast on the go while packing lunches and making other's breakfasts. I try to take the bus early so I can walk 1/2 hour to work (wake up at 6, work starts at 9).

The idea of having time to do something wholesome in the mornings is lovely. I’m following this with interest. I find that if I get up a little earlier even on the weekends makes me feel more in control of the day but I never do it, because I love sleep too much!

I enjoy a couple of games of scrabble with the computer. It keeps my mind sharp

Just be careful of the enamel on your teeth.

2 coffees wake me up. I usually drink a glass of cold tap water beforehand, as the kettle boils. ☕️
Doing the mumsnet puzzle guess word anchors my day 🤓
Then eat some overnight oats, such as: plain oats, milk or yogurt, diced fruit like apple and blueberries, a blob of honey or peanut butter, or sometimes a pinch of raisins. 😋
Then last but not least, after the school drop off, I usually walk the dog, and that sorts me out 🐾
@VividHare

Water and get some daylight on my face before going online.
Tea.

A glass of water with my vitamins first thing as I wait for the kettle to boil, then a black coffee.

I do intermittent fasting so I don't eat until 12pm but I like breakfast food so I will quite often have that for lunch and I really enjoy kefir yoghurt, mixed nuts, chia seeds and berries with a bit of maple syrup. It makes me feel like I'm getting loads of goodness in as my first meal of the day.

Doing my skincare is something I really enjoy. Just cleaning my face and putting on vitamin C serum and SPF after brushing my teeth but again helps me feel set up for the day, I'd feel weird if I didn't do it!

When I wake up earlier than I need to at the weekend and can't get back to sleep I always leave DH and DDs in bed and go out for an hour's walk or on my exercise bike if it's dark or raining and listen to a podcast. I feel SO much better doing that than if I'd just laid in bed.

During the week, I try to go for a dog walk before work. I don't like getting up too early so this is all I can squeeze in the morning without feeling tired for the rest of the day. On the weekends, a nice slow morning with a book and a bit of Instagram scrolling. By 10am I'm ready to go to an exercise class followed by a long walk.

My routine:

• Wake up early to do ablutions and pray.
• Take my medicine as the first thing (as I have to take it on an empty stomach at least 30 minutes before breakfast).
• Use the bathroom.
• Put on some gentle and uplifting music like morning jazz, del mar Lounge, LoFi, etc.
• Make a filling and quick breakfast. Usually 2 slices of rye bread with smoked salmon and scrambled or soft boiled eggs on top, ice cold water (I have glass bottles partially filled with water in the freezer at all times so I just fill them up to get my ice cold water) and a cup of Bosnian coffee or Bosnian black tea.
• Brush and floss my teeth, scrape my tongue, mouthwash, and wash my face.
• Get dressed for the day.
• Do my skincare, makeup and hair.
• Spray on perfume, then put on jewellery and my watch.
• Pack my bag with essentials like sunglasses, keys, purse, phone, etc.
• Out the door.

I don't shower in the morning because I prefer to shower before I go to bed at night, to wash off all the grime of the day. I feel super clean and fresh in the morning because of it. I have a whole night time routine, but that's not for this thread.

Following with interest. I am a laze around kind of person in the morning but want to start doing something more wholesome. Some lovely day starters here.

I get up early before my dc's and dh are up for work/school. I always do 30 minutes of excerise, make coffee, sort out our pets, admin and emptying dish washer etc. My mother inlaw lives with us so i check on her before the carers arrive. When everyone is up, I leave breakfast bits out and go upstairs to shower, dress and then out the door with school run and work on my days I am working. Before family I would work all the time, go out after work, sleep all day on a weekend. I was very different. I love my routine.

My partner and I sleep separately. He brings me a coffee in the morning then we do a cryptic crossword in bed together.

I get up, wash, get ready and leave. 40 minutes total.
I hate eating early and I will have a cup of tea when I get to the office (20 minutes commute).
For me, not getting up till I absolutely have to IS my morning routine. Getting as much sleep as possible is my main goal.

I have never been a morning person and wfh means I can crawl out of bed 1 minute before I start work.

I have slowly worked a full on morning routine that makes me feel incredible. I go the gym for 45m, then sauna or steam room. Body scrub in the shower, top to toe lotion before getting dressed and blasting my hair almost dry. Home from the gym and have eggs for breakfast. Brush teeth, make up on, finish styling my hair, perfume on and start work.

It gives me a whole new attitude for the day, I feel amazing and bounce through the day, catching a glimpse of me in a mirror is a joy instead of a horror show.

wake up, quick wash and outside for a walk regardless of the weather ...

no phone, no screens, no caffeine for at least an hour from waking

Go downstairs, open the French windows and out into the garden (after feeding the cats). Potter round, weather permitting, maybe hang out washing done the night before, have a drink outside, catch up with news, FB/MN on my phone. A few stretches/exercises and get on with the day. I tend to have breakfast mid-morning. I leave for work at 8 (take overnight oats) and on non-work days also like to be up and out early, Parkrun on Saturday, swimming quite often on Sunday or go to my allotment.

A strong coffee ☕

Tea in bed with a physical copy of the paper which gets delivered. Then I can get up and face the day.