Prepping For Busy Days: The Morning Routine
AGH’s Morning Routine
The importance of a good morning ritual, plus our founder’s routine.
Everyone has different things that work for them—
—but we always find it inspiring to read about how other creative professionals begin their days. Today, we’re talking about the importance of a morning routine and also sharing ours.
Why is a good morning routine so important?
The morning routine helps us set the tone for the day, better allowing us to control our schedules rather than our schedule controlling us. As we start each day fresh, we can better focus on what is in front of us, where to prioritize our time, and, ultimately, increase our productivity.
It might seem too good to be true. But it’s no coincidence that there is one thing that the most successful people have in common… all of them have their own morning ritual that gives them a head start and helps them to be the successful women and men we know today.
Many of us are busy, have a lot of responsibilities and obligations, and often feel strapped for time. Having a great morning routine can make all the difference in being productive, achieving goals, feeling organized, and doing all of this with confidence. Creating a morning routine is not focused on who can accomplish the most or check off more boxes than everyone else. Instead, it is about allowing yourself to begin your day with confidence, peace, and a positive attitude. Starting the day this way can allow us to effectively complete tasks and to handle things that come our way without constantly feeling stressed or overwhelmed.
“I find that the creativity I need to do my job starts with a positive mindset, and I’m all about starting my day in a way that allows me to be at my best in work and my personal life.”
My Morning Routine
Waking up early has always come naturally for me but a solid routine hasn’t, so I’ve worked on that over the years. I feel most creative, sharp, and energized in the mornings, and I tend to be really productive in the quiet early hours. Because I wake up so early, I tend to go to sleep early as well- usually around 9:00 pm. A healthy sleep routine is something I’ve been focusing on this year. Having healthy sleeping patterns has a hugely positive impact on the following day for me. We keep our thermostat at 68 degrees, sleep on an Avocado mattress with comfortable Boll&Branch sheets, and keep our bedroom really tidy and its contents pared down.
I wake up between 4:00 and 5:00 am most mornings. After feeding our dog Floyd, I’ll head into a bonus room in our house to get some movement in. When working out at home, I follow the MWH Method workouts which are a mix of low-impact yoga and pilates. The workouts have a range of time lengths, so I can customize it to how I’m feeling that day. I use a yoga mat and 1lb weights for my ankles or wrists. I also love to walk outside, but most often will save that for later in the day.
Afterwards, I’ll brew coffee or make a latte and sit down at my laptop for a little bit. During this time I’ll typically make a prioritized to-do list for that day, take care of social media postings, look at my calendar, and catch up on emails— nothing too involved or anything that requires a lot of brain power at this point, but I do like getting a head start on the day.
Next, I shower and/or follow my skincare routine, starting with a Mount Lai Jade Roller that I keep in the freezer. I’ve been using Tata Harper skincare products for a decade, and am a big fan. It’s expensive, but the results speak for themselves. Sometimes I’ll rotate the products within my lineup depending on the season or skin concern, but keep it pretty consistent with TH. Right now, I’m using the Regenerating Cleanser, Concentrated Brightening Essence, Boosted Contouring Serum, Illuminating Moisturizer and Retinoic Nutrient Face Oil (in that order). I finish everything off with Supergoop’s Glow Screen. If I have any in-person meetings scheduled that day, I’ll put on some Merit Lengthening Mascara and Brow Pomade. I’m constantly changing up the shampoo, conditioner, and body wash I use (right now, it’s the entire Goop Glow lineup) but I always air dry my hair!
Once my husband Matt is up, we’ll usually catch up and go over upcoming things and share need-to-knows. I make one of the two same smoothies every morning; one is a greens smoothie and the other is a protein-based one. See the full recipes below.
From there, depending on my schedule I either head to my studio or head out to a consult, meeting, or install. My work day “officially” begins around 8:00-9:00 am.
Shop the Story
A portion of this article was originally published in The E List’s article, ‘Does Your Morning Routine Need A Makeover? We Asked Around…’.
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