As far as sub-categories, this is sort of a combination of "career" and "nutrition" with a side-dish of "home routines," I guess! Thanks to @onelifetolive001's recent post for reminding me of some details.
I have always thought of myself as a "morning person" and honestly I do function pretty well in the a.m.; also I'm the kind of person who starts to fade at 9 p.m., and after 10 p.m. -- forget it, I'm barely coherent and ought to be in bed. And I'm pretty good at getting to bed on time. I sleep pretty well, too, though not as uninterrupted as I did in my younger years. Still, no complaints there.
However, in a way I also struggle with mornings and have a long work commute. I keep envisioning nice relaxing mornings at home, where I prepare a decent healthy breakfast and then sip coffee at my table (maybe reading the newspaper) before walking out the door and getting in the car. WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS of course is -- I stay in bed for an extra 15 minutes of ineffective extra sleep, get cleaned up and dressed in a hurry, then fly out the door, stopping somewhere on my way out of town for a to-go coffee and some sort of breakfast sandwich. The effort to make "reality" line up with my "vision" has been an ongoing project -- it's embarrassing to think how long I've been trying and yet not achieving this simple goal. I know there's a better way!
I live alone (which is BLISS btw!) so I don't have to worry about getting anyone else out the door, but apparently even doing it for myself is proving to be a challenge.
Any advice on implementing a new routine that is something you want very much, but which at the same time is so very, very different from what you've been doing for years and years? (I realize I just summed up FDS in a nutshell. Ha!)
I read somewhere that it takes about three weeks to instill a habit. I would suggest start small, with one thing, and keep at it for a while. I think the hardest part for me (also a morning person) was getting up when my alarm went off the first time! And it was not pretty at first lol. A lot of melodrama. Zombie-walking through the house. But after doing that consistently for a few days, my body started to naturally wake up a few minutes before my alarm went off.
So I figured cool, I’ll stay in bed for those extra six minutes and chill. For me, that made getting up six minutes later freakin hard.
So, when my body woke me up earlier than my alarm, I would say screw it, fine, I’m up. Turns out, six minutes is enough time for me to get the kettle on for my morning tea. Now I have tea in hand at the time I would normally be rolling out of bed.
In summary, my advice is to start small, and start with one thing, and keep at it for at least three weeks. (It didn’t take quite that long for my body to wake up on its
own, but everyone is different.)
And truth be told, getting UP (at first) was the biggest hurdle to overcome.
Good luck!!
I struggled the same way you did and solved it by
a) preparing as much as possible the night before
b) tricking myself a LOT
c) eliminating distractions
I want to do the following in the morning: Wake up unstressed, do a little yoga, have enough time in the bathroom, to dress and do my hair and make up, to have a halfway healthy breakfast and then to leave my home not in a hurry. Sounds impossible, right?
Here's my routine:
For a relaxed morning, I need to get out of bed at 6.30h. So my first alarm close to my bed goes off at 6.15h (soft relaxing noise), giving me 15 precious minutes to slowly wake up. My second alarm is placed in the bathroom and goes off at 6.30h (loud noise), so I absolutely have to get out of bed to turn it off. This is key. Now I'm in the bathroom and guess what's waiting for me next to the toilet after I've done my business? A hairtie and my yoga clothes. So on with the yoga clothes and off to the living room where the mat is already laid out for my 20 minutes of yoga, then off to the bathroom - turning on the kettle on my way - to wash and dress into the outfit I've laid out the night before (no rummaging through my closet!). Then I do my hair and a little makeup and when I reach the kitchen, my tea is ready. Breakfast? I mealprep my breakfast in bulk, so all I have to do is take it out of the fridge and eat. This is the first time I look at my phone, by the way, because it charges in the kitchen and I don't want it to distract me before. Afterwards I put away the dishes, brush my teeth and I'm off.
EDIT: I left out my pet-related steps because it doesn't apply to everyone, but just in case: I clean the litterbox after I'm finished in the bathroom and feed my cat and birds while my tea steeps in the kitchen.
I would just make myself get up a minute earlier every day until you get where you want to be. And make sure you’re giving yourself “you” time. I always want to sleep in when I feel like I’m depriving myself of being cared for.