Good morning, good moooorning! You guys I am so excited to share a little part of my day with you, the part that gets me going, keeps me going and has really transformed me for the better: my morning routine!
I’m not going to lie, I didn’t always have a much of a morning routine. In fact, it’s something that I’ve really struggled with since the pandemic began. Between working from home, staying at home and pretty much never leaving our home, and watching the city, country and world transform before my eyes, I’ve definitely been working through a lot of sadness, stress and grief.
With the help of my therapist and chiropractor, I’ve worked through some emotional blocks and identified practices that can really support my mental, emotional and physical health. The biggest thing I’ve learned is that for me, it all starts right when I open my eyes. After tweaking some things, creating a plan and following it consistently for over a month, I’m finally starting to feel more like myself.
I post portions of my morning routine on stories pretty often, but I’ve never broken it down this way. Occasionally I don’t fit everything in or I change up the order but for the most part, this is what works and feels best. I hope that by sharing my routine with you, you’ll find some pieces and processes that resonate and ultimately transform your days, too!
WAKE UP
For the past month, I’ve made an effort to wake up at 6:00am. Disclaimer: it was and still can be really hard. I have trouble sleeping, so getting up early is inherently difficult but when I do it, I feel so much better and actually fall asleep easier, too. Once I’m up, I wrap myself in my Printfresh robe (c/o), get snuggled in my morning nook, and light my favorite candle.
Speaking of robes, this one is part of a matching set! Y’all know that I love matching jammies. Several years ago I started swapping out all of my random sleepwear for coordinated pairs that are comfortable, cute and cozy. After a long day it feels so nice to slip into something special, do my skincare routine and wind down. Then, in the mornings, I wake up cozy as can be, ready to prepare myself for the day ahead. My jammie collection is something that I have and collect just for me – my own little form of self care!
The playfully patterned sets from Printfresh are my latest obsession. If you’re not familiar with Printfresh, you absolutely should be! As someone actively looking to support more small businesses, especially ones that are female owned, sustainable and size inclusive, I was drawn to Printfresh for embodying all of those ideals. But before I get into that, let’s finish my routine!
MEDITATE
I’ve dabbled in meditation for some time now and actually chatted about it in this post. I typically do the 10 minute Daily Calm mediation on the Calm App, listen to The Wake Up on Headspace and, depending on how I’m feeling, do one more mood-focused meditation in Calm, Headspace or Insight Timer.
GRATITUDE
For the most part, I’ve kept up with my 5 Minute Journal on weekdays, with the exception of a brief hiatus in June and early July. When I actively practice gratitude, I find myself looking for the good in my days (and my life tbh) – a habit that has helped me tremendously during this uncertain time. Lately my favorite part is listening three things that would make the day great – I use it as a to do list and circle back on it later in the morning.
READ AND PROCESS
I read this devotional every morning – I’ve had it for three years and every passage feels like it was written for me, and is exactly what I need to read when I need to read it! After that, I’ll read one of my many quote and poetry books (this one and this one are my favorites right now) and/or the daily passage from my Storyteller app, created by my favorite poet Morgan Harper Nichols. Then I typically journal about the Storyteller prompt, one of the passages that I read or whatever is on my mind. Journaling helps me process my feelings and work through my internal shit in a very concrete and helpful way – I’ll have to do another post about my process 🙂 If I wake up with lots of feelings, sometimes I’ll start journaling right away just to get everything out!
COFFEE + TIME WITH MY BOYS
Once I wake up C + B (usually around 7:00-7:30am) we grab our coffee and head outside for a business break and ball time for Bruce. My robe comes in handy on those brisk mornings and thankfully prevents me from offending any of the neighbors 😉
MOVE
I then spend about 30 minutes doing some form of yoga or pilates on my mat at home – I especially love Melissa Wood Health. Her flows aren’t easy, but they are gentle and effective – exactly what I look for in a movement routine.
SHOWER, PLAN and VISUALIZE
After my workout I rinse off, get dressed and sit down at my desk with my planner at around 8:30am. I review the day and the week, both personally and professionally, so I have an idea of what’s to come. I also try to visualize the day and re-focus on the three goals I laid out for myself in my 5 Minute Journal. I’ve found that visualizing myself completing them helps the execution process tremendously! When I skip this step, I’m much more likely to veer off course or forget about my intentions in the first place.
Last but not least…
Let’s chat pajamas! You guys I cannot say enough good things about my Printfresh jammies. I’m in love with the whimsical pattern (in my favorite color scheme) and the lightweight, breathable cotton poplin (you can read more about the creation of the pattern here).
The best part? You can wash and dry your jammies and they actually become softer – I’ve tried it! The second best part? The shorts have a drawstring waist and pockets (POCKETS!), and are a touch longer than some of my other staples. My same pattern comes in a long-long set and a sleep shirt and the shorts and pants are sold separately, too! Lastly, all of Printfresh’s designs are size inclusive and run from XXS – 4X (I’m 5’8′ and wearing a small – you can find the size guide here).
It’s super important to me to mention that every single Printfresh piece starts with owner and designer Amy Voloshin and her small team in Philly – they gather inspiration, pick out unique materials, develop color palettes, create original artwork and put together the design instructions. From there, the products are manufactured in India, by socially and environmentally conscious vendors who do all of the hand-crafted work themselves. My colorful sleepwear set and robe were hand-screenprinted and sewn in Jaipur – a region known for its long history of block print and silkscreen artisans.
Printfresh is so much more than a lifestyle company – they put sustainability and support at the forefront. Every sleepwear piece comes in it’s own matching cloth bag that can be re-used and repurposed, either as a shoe bag, laundry bag or even a dog bandana! I love that by wearing my Printfresh jammies, not only am I supporting myself, my mental health and optimizing my own routine but I’m also supporting Amy, her team and a multitude of artisans in India. How cool is that?
Printfresh was kind enough to gift me this set and – thankfully – a discount code! So if you love their printed jammies as much as I do, you can snag them for 15% off here with the code PURELYNORA and make your morning routine a bit more special, too.