A couple months ago, I wrote that I intended to wake up extra early after the fall time change to work on some personal goals. Unfortunately I came down with a nasty case of strep throat a week after the time change, and I was sleeping a ton while I was sick, so my plan to trick my body into thinking the time change hadn’t happened was unsuccessful. But I managed to get somewhat back on track after I recovered, and while my record of sticking with this routine is not 100%, it’s going pretty well. I like the extra bit of energy and peace I get from exercising and meditating early in the morning. Having some quiet time to myself is a nice way to start the day, even if I do seriously struggle to drag myself out of bed some days.

I enjoy reading about how other people spend and manage their time, and I thought some of you might like to read about how I have organized my mornings, particularly now that there’s a baby in the mix (spoiler alert: this routine only works because the baby usually sleeps pretty late and I have someone else helping to get him ready for daycare). Here’s what a typical weekday morning looks like for me right now:

5:30 AM: Alarm goes off (sometimes at 5:15 if I’m feeling ambitious). I usually hit the snooze button and/or look at my phone for a while to avoid getting out of bed. (Ideally I would get up right away, but that hasn’t been happening much lately. I’m working on it.)

5:45: Put on workout clothes, brush teeth, drink some water, select workout video and/or roll out yoga mat.

6:00: Workout and/or yoga for about 20 minutes (30-45 minutes when I can manage to get started earlier).

6:20: Meditate.

6:30: Prepare and eat breakfast; pack lunch; make coffee; check on baby. What I eat for breakfast varies, but lately it’s usually something fairly simple and plant-based, like whole-grain bread with avocado and berries or granola and fruit.

6:50: Get ready for work (shower, hair, makeup, get dressed), usually while listening to an audio book or podcast. On days when I just do yoga and I’m not sweaty, I skip the shower.

7:20: Put on baby’s shoes and coat (his dad and/or grandmother have already gotten him dressed). Grab diapers, bottles, etc. for daycare and fill travel mug with coffee for the road. Load baby into car seat.

7:30: Drive to daycare. I usually call my mom on the way (my car has bluetooth).

8:00: Arrive at daycare. Get baby signed in and dropped off (this involves washing his hands, putting bottles in the fridge, filling out the start of a daily record sheet, etc.)

8:10: Drive to work. Most days, I listen to the news or an audio book as I drive.

8:30: Arrive at work. As you can see, from the time I leave home, it takes me an hour to get to work. This isn’t ideal, but even without the daycare drop-off, my commute is 35 minutes, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. We’re on the wait list for a daycare that is more directly on my route to work, which will save me about 10 minutes of driving.

In a perfect world, I’d get up earlier and fit in a longer workout (as a fitness-focused friend often tells me I should), but I value sleep and this is about the best I can do right now. I figure short workouts are better than not exercising at all. Working out at home rather than going to the gym saves me a significant amount of time and makes daily workouts possible (as a bonus, it also saves me money). I supplement my weekday morning workouts with longer bouts of exercise on the weekends, usually consisting of an hour-long baby-wearing walk or a walk/run with the jogging stroller. If the weather is bad, sometimes I’ll do an indoor baby-wearing workout. This allows me to spend some time with my son and give my husband a little time to himself while also fitting in some exercise. Additionally, I keep a set of dumbbells and an exercise ball in my office so I can squeeze in a quick mini-workout when my energy is dragging or I just feel the need to move after sitting for while.

I’d love to fit in some writing time in the mornings like I used to, but I just can’t manage to get up much earlier than I am now. Journaling and writing have been pushed to the evenings and weekends, when I can muster the mental energy for them. If I could design my perfect day, I’d start this whole routine at least an hour later, but that just wouldn’t work with my commute and work schedule. So I’m doing what I can within the confines of my life as it is today. In essence, I’m trying not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good — this is good enough for me in the current season.

I fully realize that maintaining this morning routine will become more difficult as my son gets older and/or I have another child. If he starts waking up earlier, I may want to rework things so I can spend more quality time with him in the morning, since he goes to bed pretty early these days and I don’t get to hang out with him for very long on weekdays. But for now, this schedule is working pretty well for me, and I plan to keep it up as long as I reasonably can.

I’d love to know how this compares to what others do in the mornings. What does your morning routine look like? Do you fight your natural tendency to sleep later so that you can make the most of the early morning hours? Are you a natural early riser who likes to get things done before everyone else is awake? Or do you roll out of bed just in time to get to work and save your chores and hobbies for the evenings? Tell us in the comments.

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