There is a profound divinity in the first moments when I open my eyes in the morning. The solitude, the stillness, the calm, but most importantly, the realization that I will be drinking my cup of coffee in a few minutes.
Coffee. My friend, my grounding point, my morning routine.
My admiration for coffee does not have deep roots in the story of my life; I only learned to love it with my first job five years ago. It came to me as a manifestation, a break from my gloomy desk, and an excuse to socialize with my new colleagues. Very soon, its bitter taste and sweet aroma became an addiction; one cup became three, and the hours between 11 am and 2 pm were excruciatingly long.
Three jobs later and I still have those cravings with me. But now that I’m a freelancer, my mornings aren’t so rushed and I drink my first cup of coffee consciously. In fact, it acts as a closure to my morning routine which consists of:
Lie in bed for a few minutes and appreciate the rare moments of total peace.
brushing my teeth
making my bed
Meditating for 20 minutes
Having a coffee while we catch up with the news
With the last sip, I realize it’s time to get down to business. But I do it with joy because I know that I have attended to my personal time in the morning, a time that has been designed specifically for me, by me. But why is this so important?
Famous athletes, business moguls, presidents, and all successful people have one thing in common: They’ve cultivated a morning routine that serves them best.
Barack Obama starts his day at 6:45 a.m. with a workout followed by reading various newspapers, having breakfast with his family, and finally heading to work at 9 a.m. Michelle Gass, president of the giant Starbucks chain, wakes up at 4:30 a.m. am to go for a run. Steve Jobs looked in the mirror every morning and asked himself, “If today were my last day, would I want to do what I’m going to do today?” And every time the answer was “No” for too many days in a row, he would say “…I know I need to change something.”
We may not be the Obamas, Gasses, and Jobs of the world, but we all have a purpose that we aim to fulfill every day. Roy F. Baumeister, a psychologist and author, suggests in his book “Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength” that our willpower is strongest in the morning, which means that if we set out to accomplish something in the next 24 hours when we wake up, then we are more likely to make it.
Many of us make the mistake of assuming that we are night owls and morning is the enemy, and I was no exception to this. But as the number of candles on my cake increased and the days lengthened from mental and physical exhaustion, I began to not only appreciate sleep, but also daydream about the moment I would jump into bed. And so, I convinced myself to get up at 7 am and forget about the snooze button entirely. But my plan completely failed.
Although I managed to wake up with my first alarm, I was groggy and bitter. I would skip breakfast and drag my feet to the office with a frown. I was tired and didn’t want to be spoken to until at least 9 in the morning.
A few months into this vicious routine, I realized that I actually felt worse. After much research I learned that my foundations were wrong; Sure I woke up early, but I didn’t go to bed at a time that gave me enough sleep. A few weeks and experiments later, my body got used to turning off the lights at 10:30 pm and waking up gracefully at 7 am A good night’s sleep meant waking up in a good mood and looking forward to breakfast, and I was so surprised by the Big changes they made these small modifications that I kept doing more. Now, here I am, with an effective morning AND sleep routine.
The transition to becoming a morning person is difficult and exciting for many, but it is worth it.
It doesn’t happen overnight and the key is to literally take one step at a time. I started by snoozing my alarm fifteen minutes every other day. It took me a few weeks to finally reach my goal, but I’ve been in the doldrums ever since, including weekends.
My mornings set the standard for the rest of my day. They are also empowering; they act as a compelling reminder that I am entitled to quality time to myself, which is something I believe everyone deserves.
So why not take the first step? Go to bed thirty minutes earlier tonight and wake up fifteen minutes earlier tomorrow morning. Make yourself a breakfast when you get back from work today and maybe even download a playlist to help you wake up in the morning. Most importantly, don’t forget to make that cup of coffee.
