What is your morning routine?

[glitzy07]

Tell me a little bit about how mornings look for you and/or your family. And if you are a morning person (I am definitely NOT), what kinds of things do you do for yourself to set up your day in the AM?

My son started middle school today, which means that my routine and wake up time is now very different from previous years. In the past I would get up around 7:30am, drop the kids at school at 8:30am and start work at home at 8:45am. This year I'll be getting up with the 11yo at 6am and won't drop the 8yo until 8:30am, so I'm trying to figure out how I want to structure my mornings.

Today I had a slow breakfast and started work early, but since I'm in the midwest and my company is west coast I don't necessarily want to start at 7am every day, since I'm bound to have later meetings no matter what.

ETA: My husband leaves for work at 4am, so it's just the kids and I in the morning. So if the 11yo leaves for his bus at 6:45am, I'll be "alone" until the 8yo wakes up.

[shauni27]

Wake at 6:10, hectically run about getting myself dressed and ready to go, wake my child and husband about 20 minutes into rushed routine to ensure they both get off for the day. I leave at 7 after a quick kiss goodbye to be to work at 7:15 and husband and child do their own thing until about 7:30 or so when they leave for drop off (could be later, but child likes outdoor recess time before school.)

Basically I am of no help to you, lol.

[wanderingback]

I just finished breastfeeding and pumping so now my mornings are much less "scheduled."

Wake up at 6. Go downstairs to the gym from 6:15 - 6:50ish. Head back upstairs to shower and get ready from 7- 7:30. I usually have to finish packing my daughter’s lunch and my breakfast and lunch from 7:30 - 7:45 and then I leave and walk to the train. I eat boiled eggs or oatmeal once I get to work.

My partner gets our daughter ready 4 out of 5 days of the week. The one day I get her ready my schedule is the same as above until 7:45. At 7:45 I wake her up and we get ready and walk to daycare at 8:40 and then I go back home to work from home.

[ssmjlm]

So M/Tu/Th/Fr - DH leaves for work between 5 and 6am and is out of the equation. He does let the dog out and give her breakfast. Wednesdays, he works from home, starting around 6am and is in charge of getting the kid out the door by 730am for middle school.

My WFH mornings are a bit easier than the days I go into the office because no make up.

Typical WFH morning, alarm goes off at 6am, I'm generally rolled out by 6:10am. E's alarm goes off at 630, so I open her door and then head downstairs. I start coffee, get out her breakfast.

The goal is for her to start breakfast around 6:45 and we do a quick run through of the day/anything after school. I login to work around 7/7:15am even though my start is really 7:30.

She leaves for the bus at 7:30am.

This morning I had time to sit on the porch in the cool air for a bit before logging on. I really try and give myself a good 30minutes between making coffee and starting work. It's just better for my mindset to have that time.

[circa1978]

DH wakes up around 6:30 and works out/showers/starts his coffee/breakfast. We have a dog door, so they get up and take care of themselves.

I wake up at 7 and doom scroll for a few minutes, then take a shower. If DS13 isn't up by 7:20 or so, DH or I wake him up, too. DS showers at night, so he gets dressed and makes his own lunch and breakfast. On days I am in the office, I get ready for work and meet DS downstairs at 7:50 or so. We take our meds and head out the door at 8 a.m. He's at school by 8:05 (it starts at 8:15). If I'm not in the office, it's more or less the same, with less prep time for me and I just loop around and am home by 8:10, where I make myself coffee and start the day. I take my thyroid med in the morning so I can't eat for a while after I've taken it and I've never really been much of a breakfast person, so that shaves some time off. I also much prefer working out at night or midday.

[cville]

I am NOT a morning person. If your routine is better than mine below, I am going to hit you up for tips.

Wake up on time (6:45) but hit snooze repeatedly, read and respond to early emails in bed, get distracted, freak out because I realize I'm now late, jump out of bed, brush teeth, wash face, moisturize, get dressed, yell at my daughter to brush teeth and put on shoes (she wakes, dresses, and eats on her own thanks to maturity and ADHD medication), grab coffee my husband prepared for me, drop her at school (~8), drive to work, put on makeup in the parking garage, go to desk (arrive ~8:45), eat yogurt or fig bar at desk.

That's if I'm going to the office. If I'm not, I'm back to the house around 8:15.

My husband takes my son, they leave around 7 and my son is dropped at like 7:15.

I have nothing to do with getting my son up and out and my husband has nothing to do with getting my daughter up and out. We divide and conquer because they're in different buildings and school starts at radically different times. Sometimes we switch kids for various work reasons.

[dish2501]

Get up at 6:15. Prep the kids’ water, some breakfast, backpacks. Exercise! Kids are old enough to keep themselves moving after wake-up. Shower around 7:30, work at 8. The kids ride the bus most days so I don’t have to leave.

Exercising in the morning is my time for me. I also am not ready to work right away so spending 45-50 minutes exercising is a good way to fill the morning.

[atexan]

My oldest son also started middle school this year and he can now walk to the bus stop. My younger son's school is on the way to my husband's work, so for the first time in 11 years I am not taking anyone to school or picking anyone up. It's amazing.

My alarm goes off at 6:30 and I make sure to drag myself out of bed before 7. My oldest leaves for the bus stop at 7:20 so I try to be showered before he leaves so that I can be coherent enough to get him out the door. I finish getting ready, including checking on the little one and feeding/letting the dog out. I leave for work a little before 8 most days. The commute is about 20 minutes so I am usually at my desk by 8:30ish.

I pack my lunch the night before. Breakfast is either grab & go and eat in the car, or go to the work cafeteria depending on what my morning looks like. Kids eat school breakfast and lunch. Husband is usually still asleep when I leave.

I go through phases of doing some exercise in the mornings. I am not in one of those phases right now, lol.

[circa1978]

I see cville and I subscribe to the same morning process, lol.

[slbride2003]

Tues-Thurs I’m up at 5:15, workout 5:30-6:30. Shower at 6:30 and myself ready and make lunches. DS gets up around 7:15 and we are out the door at 8.
H helps but is not a morning person.
On days when I work from home (usually M&F) the only difference is I get up at 6. Once DS leaves at 8 I have a few minutes to myself to finish anything I need before I log in at 8:30

[lavenderblue]

I'm not a morning person and my kids are teens and self-sufficient, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

On my wfh days I literally wake up, go to the bathroom, log in on my laptop, make my coffee and then start my workday.

On my in-office days I wake up, go to the bathroom, get dressed, grab my stuff and walk out the door. I'm generally out the door within 20 min of waking up. I shower at night and prep everything possible the night before so I have to do as little as possible to get out the door.

ETA: On my wfh days I'm up around 6:45am for a 7am start time and on my in office days I'm up at 6am and if I'm being honest, I'm usually late for my 7am start time because my commute is 45 minutes and I almost always stop for coffee LOL

[jinkies]

Today was day 1 of both my kids finally being on the same schedule. They are now both out of the house by 7. Previously they were in two different schools, so my morning was a lot like yours-- first kid on the bus 6:45-7, second kid did not get bus until 8:15. By the time she was finally on her way to school, I had spent 2 hours making sure other people have everything they need for the day, and then kid 1 was back home by 2:40. I felt like I had a very compressed day to actually do anything.

Anyway. Could you go for a walk or otherwise do something intentional (journaling, stretching, prepping things for dinner, making to-do lists or a plan for the day) in the time between kid 1 leaving and kid 2 getting up?

[sugarbear1]

I am a morning person, despite my efforts to NOT be.
I'm up at 5:15. Workout til 7 (gym in my basement). Get both boys up for showers. I shower and get ready. Am making breakfast by 7:20, and all three of us are out the door by 7:50 (one walks to school and the other goes to school with me).

[Patsy Baloney]

Man, I am jealous of how much time some of you have in the morning! It takes me so long to get going, but I’ve really had to train myself to un-ass the bed and greet the day.

H, DD and I get up at 6am. H and DD make/eat breakfast while I get ready. I wake up DS at about 6:15 for his breakfast.

I help DD get out the door at 6:35 for her bus. I finish getting ready and my H and I help DS get dressed. We walk him down to the bus stop at 6:55.

H and I get back to the house about 7:10, get our lunches packed. He gets ready, I snarf a quick breakfast and am out the door for work at 7:30. He gets a blissful 30 minutes to himself before he leaves.

On my WFH days, I log in at 8, so I twiddle in my garden during the 7 o’clock hour.

My kids start school at 7:30, and it really does feel like we’re racing the clock all the time. I have made a stance though at refuse to get up before 6am. The world doesn’t exist before then. I’ll just commit to exercising and showering everyone at night.

[bittybomb]

This year, I will wake at 6:15, wake each of my kids up, ask what they want for breakfast, let the dog out, make their breakfasts, call them downstairs, let the dog in, have my first cup of coffee.  Call them down a second or third time.  Once they come down, they bring their bags down with them.  I ask them what they each want for lunch, make lunches if necessary or make sure money is on their cards if they want to buy lunch.They go up to get dressed, I fill their water bottles and pack their bags.  Around this time, my husband comes down.

Our two high schoolers take the bus to their high school, and the stop is down the block from our house.  My husband drives our middle schooler to school.  They all leave at around the same time - between 6:50 and 6:55.

Then I will usually have another cup of coffee and then jump in the shower to get dressed for the day.  This routine is sometimes disrupted if I have to go to court or have a meeting somewhere not my office in the morning.  Sometimes if I'm working from home I will hop on to work right away and get some work done before jumping into the shower.  My husband works from home 100% save for a random client meeting here or there.

Last year, our two older kids got up the same time but only my son took the bus to high school.  Our daughter was a middle schooler with 0 period so my husband would take her.  Then I would wake up our little guy at 7:10 do the same routine with him, and we would leave at 7:40 to drop off.  Now that the little one is in 7th grade and 0 period is an option for him, everyone is on the same schedule for the most part.  I'm not sure if that will make things easier or harder so we will see how it goes.

[Roc A Bee]

Wake up times vary based on what time I need to be at work and if I showered the night before. I can get ready in as little 30 minutes if I showered the night before.

We have 50/50 custody so I have kids half the time. They are 15 and 17 though, so they get themselves ready and bags packed. This has been the case for at least 3-4 years.

Today I got up at 6:15 bc I needed a body shower, got ready, left at 7am for a 7:30 start time. The days I have kids, I drop off SD and DH drops SS. SD is at a different school site and it is not too far out of my way. We still leave about 7am.

[eb777888]

I'm up at 5:45 AM because I have a 6:30 pilates class. Then I take David to school and go for a 90 minute hike (the trails happen to be right by his school which is super convenient). I have everything ready the night before- my pilates bag, pilates clothes, hiking clothes and hiking backpack packed. I shower and get ready well into the day after I get home from hiking and have eaten an early lunch.

David is 15 and is very good about getting himself up. He wakes up at 5:50 with my H, they have a schedule of running and weight lifting. H takes David to school on Friday because my pilates class is at 7:30. I make sure David has all of his stuff ready and packed the night before. He's in band and has PE this year so it's A LOT of shit he has to take. Plus he packs a lunch, which he packs the night before. He makes his own breakfast- usually a smoothie or breakfast sandwich. Mornings are pretty seamless for us because of his age. Can't say it was always like this!

Today David has no school and the trails are closed because of rain so I canceled my pilates class so I can sleep in. Lately, I feel like I can never sleep in because we always have somewhere to be early, even on the weekend!

[emilyinchile]

In your schedule I would probably personally work out from 6:45-7:30, assuming that works with your 8 year old's schedule.

I currently wake up at 6:10 most days so I can work out and shower before L wakes up at 7:20. Then it's getting us both fed and dressed before leaving for daycare at 8:30 and off to work for me. I am the main morning person with L because I usually get him up and take him to school, but H does whatever needs to be done in between those things. Plus he makes the coffee every day, which is an essential job.

[glitzy07]

Sept 3, 2024 10:32:50 GMT -5 emilyinchile said:

In your schedule I would probably personally work out from 6:45-7:30, assuming that works with your 8 year old's schedule.

I currently wake up at 6:10 most days so I can work out and shower before L wakes up at 7:20. Then it's getting us both fed and dressed before leaving for daycare at 8:30 and off to work for me. I am the main morning person with L because I usually get him up and take him to school, but H does whatever needs to be done in between those things. Plus he makes the coffee every day, which is an essential job.

I think this is what I'm going to try to do. I have the Peloton app and have been trying to get back into a good routine of doing SOMETHING to move my body anyway. And then it's just done for the day. Maybe I'll try tomorrow!

[devonpow]

I have become a morning person due to many years of my children waking ridiculously early. I’m a SAHM of older kids (12 and 17).

I get up at 6, get dressed (workout clothes that I put out the night before), morning skincare and making myself semi presentable, then I walk the dog for 15-20 minutes.

Get home, feed and give meds to the dog, chill with coffee and read the newspaper.

Make sure kids are up at 7:15. Start their breakfast. Get breakfast etc done (for me as well) pack DS2’s lunch, gentle motivation to get them going. Kids walk to school around 7:50.

After they leave I make the beds, clean the kitchen, and then exercise. After that it varies.

[egishere]

I WFH M/F and in the office T/W/Th

I'm definitely a morning person. I routinely wake up by 5am and can't go back to sleep. On WFH days I usually go downstairs for a Peleton workout around 7am. My kids are up by 7am and get themselves ready. I'll have some coffee and chat with them before dropping them at the bus around 8:20. Work a little then shower/get ready for what I have going on that day which sometimes includes an appointment during my lunch break (hair, dr, or lunch with a friend).

On the in office days I'm usually in the shower by 6:15/6:30 and grab my lunch if I'm taking and out the door around 7am. I usually stop to get a coffee at McDonalds or Starbucks but need to quit that because its making me late since I'm sitting in worst traffic and $.

[tennisgal]

I get up 545/6ish, shower and get myself ready. DD (8) gets up between 6/630 usually on her own (doesn't need to be woken up) and gets dressed. I usually have to wake DS (12) about 7. I pack lunch for myself and DD. DS eats school lunch and sometimes school breakfast (both are free in our district) I drive DD to school on my way to work, so we leave about 725. DS's bus comes about 755, so he is home for about 15 mins alone after we leave. I set announcements on the Alexa to remind him to get his stuff together and get out the door on time. We both have in-person jobs with no WFH option and MH usually leaves for work by 6 if not earlier, depending on the jobsite.

[plutosmoon]

I am not a morning person and I'm dreading next year when school begins an hour earlier. For this year, DD needs to be at the bus stop around 8, it's about half an hour earlier than last year when she walked to school. I'm in the office daily with an 8:30 start time.

We just started school on Friday so I'm sure I'll get worse as the year goes on. I get up about 6:30, make my coffee, take a shower. DD usually gets up while I'm in the shower, but if not I wake her up afterwards. I make her breakfast once she's up and she gets herself ready with a few reminders. I get myself ready while drinking multiple cups of coffee. Once I'm dressed, I make and eat my breakfast. After that, I help DD pack up her bag and brush her hair, by this point it's just about time to head to the bus stop. I walk with her, bus comes around 8:05. I head home, take a few minutes to myself, head to work about 8:20-8:25. I live less than 10 minutes from my office.

I exercise after work, I just can't motivate myself in the morning.

[cville]

I also take calls in the car a lot. Because of course people don't want to meet after 9am.

[brooke77]

I wake up at 6:15 and get DS breakfast. While he is eating, I get myself ready. This is minimal. I get dressed and brush my hair/teeth. I don’t put on makeup until later. Then, I get DS ready (dressed/brush hair/teeth). We leave for school at 7. I drop him off and then get back home by 7:30 or 7:45 - depending on if I stop for coffee/to chat with friends. When I get home, I will make coffee if I didn’t stop and get some and put on makeup and start my workday at 8 AM. I WFH.



ETA: I workout after work, which is usually around 4:30. I would love to workout in the morning, but that would mean waking up at 4:30 and that is just a no for me. I have a bit of flexibility with my hours as long as I am there for the core hours, so I typically log off at 4:30 Tues-Thurs to workout and log back on after DS goes to bed.

[candreco]

In office days: wake up at 5:30, shower/skincare/make the bed/makeup/hair/get dressed by 6:30, checking in on DS and getting his breakfast a little after his alarm goes off at 6. 6:30-7 I get lunches into bags, coffee, check in with DD, walk the dog if DH isn't home, then DS and I are out the door right around 7 to drop him off at before school care.

WFH days: wake up at 6:30 (unless I need to get my workout in before work instead of my usual afternoons) to get dressed, make the bed, get coffee, and log on by 7 and do my first hour before I drop DS and sometimes DD off at their schools just before 8, back home by 8:10 to do the bulk of my workday.

Like pp's have said, I would probably move my workout to mornings if I was fully remote and needed to be online later in the afternoons.

[leahcar]

I am not a morning person by nature, but the combo of an early work day (global team) and kids have made me decent at faking it. Important for me- I need some time to myself in the morning and am willing to sacrifice sleep to get it. I have 2 college-age teenagers, a 16, and a 9 yo. My husband leaves the house early enough that he doesn't help with mornings.

DD3 packs her lunch at night or buys lunch from school. She does pick out her clothes the night before and we get anything together for after-school extracurriculars too. I work at home so I don't have a real commute. We pick out breakfast food for the week so breakfast is usually the same thing M -F that week.

I stay in bed for a few minutes playing a few little games on my phone (wordle, sudoku). Those wake me up a bit. I get out of bed by 5. During the school year, I go straight to my computer and take care of questions from my team in India. Then I make coffee/breakfast. I empty the dishwasher while my coffee brews. I eat breakfast and watch a bit of the news.

My 16 yo usually comes downstairs while I'm having breakfast. If she's running late, I help her with breakfast or lunch packing. Then I go get dressed for the day (just workout clothes) and make breakfast for my youngest. I wake up my 9 yo at 6:30 or a few minutes before. I have a 6:30 call a few times a week. If no call- I spend some time with 9 yo or do a household chore. (the 16 yo leaves to drive to school around 6:40) I have a brief 5-20 min meeting at 7 AM. I see what all the 9 yo has left to do and nudge her along. We ride our bikes to school and leave at 7:35. I usually get back home between 7:55-8. I change clothes if I have to be on camera that day or clean something if I don't. Then I go back to meetings at 8:10.

[1confused1]

I have two self sufficient high schoolers so I am probably no help to you.

On my WFH day, I get up at 8am and log on.

The rest of the week I get up at 6:50am, shower, makeup, dress. I grab my breakfast, lunch and coffee (which I prepare the night before) and head out the door around 7:40am to arrive at work around 8am.

My kids get themselves up and out of the house on their own since I leave earlier than them.

[meanie]

I WFH so my morning routine is kids first, then me

- wake between 5 (if I need to shower) - 6
- pack kids lunches and do some morning prep for breakfast, uniforms, etc
- get myself dressed - usually in workout clothes
- prep gym stuff for myself
- wake kids at 6:30, they can do most of the getting ready stuff by themselves with frequent reminders from me
- out the door to drop of kids at school by 7:20

I go to the gym after dropping the kids off at school most mornings, when I get back home I log on to work and shower some point in the day when I have a break in my schedule. In the cooler months I will have tea when I get home, we are trying intermittent fasting so I'm not eating breakfast.

[expectantsteelerfan]

I get up at 6 and shower, then go downstairs to feed dogs and start making lunches for my kids (I do still make them for them, it's just easier for me than trying to get them to make them themselves...they feed themselves lunch all summer though) and unload the dishwasher. If ds isn't up by 7 or DD by 7:15, I wake them up. I play on my computer/drink my coffee/eat breakfast while my kids get ready for school. Ds leaves at 7:30, DD at 8:30. After they leave I walk the dogs and workout, then my day 'really' starts.