I have been attempting to return to my pre-pandemic routine; however, I have slowly been realized that these are things that I acquired one at a time over years and decades.
As a result, I can’t just go from zero to 100 when returning back to the routines. I’ve been reminding myself that I need to take things in baby steps. Since my blog crashed, it has been interesting reading back through some of these older articles to see exactly where I was and remind myself what I need to do to return or revise. So, please enjoy this oldie, but goodie of my pre-pandemic morning routine. I will most defintely continue with the mantra of doing what suits me vs completing what society say I should be doing.
Prayer – Every morning I pray. One of the goals is to pray as soon as I open my eyes but quite often that occurs in the shower or while feeding the dog. But praying in the morning definitely helps to transform my mornings. Soon I am hoping to incorporate reading the Bible for five minutes each morning. I may use the First 5 app.
Stretching – I complete the stretches that I learned in physical therapy and incorporate some yoga movements. I am training for another 1/2 marathon and I don’t want to end up with the same leg issues as before. Also, I am the most inflexible person and I am seeking to fix that again. I fixed it previously with stretching each morning and I am hoping to do that again.
Exercise – Exercising in the morning is amazing and harder than you think especially if you are not fully awake. I tend to do a HIIT workout that is 10-20 minutes because I don’t like working out. Finding HIIT was the best thing I could have ever done. If I could manage running early in the morning, I would run instead. But, I am not fully awake in the morning and that is a hazard to my clumsy health. I don’t know if this is something that I want to continue or not. I am not in the same place with God now that I was then. However, redownloading the First 5 app may help with this.
Read – I attempt to read each morning no matter what I am reading. Blog post, books, news, whatever. I am reading it. For the next 40 days I am going to attempt to get through the Draw the Circle – The 40 Day Prayer Challenger (Mark Batterson. I have been reading this whole time. Right now, I am reading “I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Rami Sethi“.
Feed and Walk the Pupster – I feel as though this goes without saying but the Pupster needs to be fed and walked in the morning. Feeding him is the first thing that occurs in the morning, and walking is one of the last things before I leave for work. Of course this continues, and I have been using his walks as my daily exercise.
Make breakfast and lunch – If I didn’t make breakfast and lunch for the week on Sunday (normally I don’t) then I make them in the morning. I am more likely to eat my lunch if it is made that day. I don’t really like eating leftovers so this ensures I don’t ditch my lunch in order to buy one at work.
Absolutely and positively not happening! Baby steps folks! I have been making a large portable characterie board to leave on the countertop in the kitchen and take to work (when I go in) because I am more of grazer than anything. I’ve been going amazingly.
Coffee and NPR – I like my coffee and since I don’t watch the news, I listen to NPR using the NRP One app. It is incredibly relaxing. While I can no longer have coffee unless it is decaffeinated, I still listen to NPR every morning as of last month.
Hygiene – I think this goes without saying. Completing my body and facial routine is a very essential step to leaving the house.
Get Dressed – Another one that goes without saying. Unless I want a ticket for indecent exposure or frost bite on some body parts clothes are required.
Listen to Podcast – I walk to work each morning so while I am walking to work I listen to my podcast. I have an entire post on my favorite podcasts for the morning commute.
What do you do in the morning? Leave a message in the comments. Also, here are my favorite YouTube workouts.
