Ask HN: What’s Your Morning Routine?

1. Become aware that I'm awake.

2. If I remember any dreams, bask in the memories.

3. Languish awhile (on good days this is just a few minutes) before throwing off the covers.

4. Starting the water heating for my spouse's coffee, and drinking a few sips of the warming water to start my own rehydration.

5. Brushing my teeth.

6. Cold shower, with almost no dilly-dally now that I'm almost three years into the habit. It feels so good AFTER :) and has helped me eschew caffeine (for GERD & anxiety reasons, and maybe my skin & guts have trouble with coffee?).

7. If my child is still asleep and I'm up early enough and my spouse is at home, I go for a half-hour walk-perchance-to-jog. Sometimes I'm itching to move faster, other times the deliberate walking (practicing good posture), breathing, and open awareness is where it's at.

8. Back home and if my kid's awake we snuggle for a few minutes followed by a half-hour or so of preparation for the day (including medically-necessary things; easier now that she's growing up), otherwise if my spouse is awake I'll join her in bed or I'll make her coffee and start cutting up vegetables and greens for my breakfast.

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What's your morning routine so far?

Coffee

1. My dog wakes me up somewhere around 5am. If I'm lucky she hasn't pee'd or pooped on the floor. She's old and has dementia. 2. Said dog goes outside and then hassles me for breakfast until about 6am while I half-sleep on the couch. 3. Immediately after the dog finishes breakfast my 2 year old daughter wakes up. 4. Diaper change (for daughter), get her breakfast. 5. If it's a pre-school day, make her lunch and pack her bag. 6. Eat random spoonfuls of soggy cereal and drink a mouthful of coffee as time permits. 7. Drop her off at pre-school. 8. Rush back and start work ~9am pretending that I can keep up with all the amazing engineers 20 years my junior :)

I don't know if this will be insightful, but I'll answer because it will be fun for me to remember a few years from now when day-to-day life has slowed down... 6:00 Wake up to my alarm. 6:15 Run 3 or 4 miles through my neighborhood. 6:50 Eat my breakfast (usually frozen waffles, oatmeal, or donuts) while looking at the Defense News Early Bird Brief. 7:00 Get myself and my 2YO and 4YO kids dressed. 7:15 Make breakfast for my 2YO and 4YO kids, and make coffee with their "help." 7:20 Bring coffee and medications to my wife, and tell my 6YO and 8YO kids to get up and get dressed. 7:30 Make breakfast for my 6YO and 8YO kids, and make their lunches if they are going to school in-person, or start giving them directions if it's a day of school work at home for them. And make my wife a smoothie for breakfast. 8:30 Leave the house with my 6YO and 8YO if I'm taking them to school. If not, gradually transition to my own work from home as the kids get busy and my wife takes over, hopefully by 9:00.

Thanks. I'm a morning person and I strive for efficiency to an extent that most other people would question, haha. What's conspicuously missing from my routine, for example: any significant time for taking a shower (if I do, it's 30 seconds) or other personal hygiene.