My Summer Morning Routine 2021

I'm not a fan of schedules, but without trying very hard I find that I end up creating routines in my days. They tend to change with the seasons, and if I try to organize them into an actual schedule - forget it, it's over. Won't do it. (I'm infuriating.)

I find it so interesting to both remember phases of life by documenting things like this, and to see how other people organize their days. I love reading posts and watching videos about this kind of thing, so I thought I'd share what my morning routine looks like this summer!

6:30 - 7:30am: Wake Up

I don't really sleep in a ton these days, so I'm nearly always awake before 8am. However, when my cat has anything to say about it, it's more like 5:30am (ugh) or when I can hear my family doing things around the house, I can't sleep through it. So this is a fairly typical Summer wakeup time for me.

    

I step into some slippers (these are my Summer pair). It's the little things like this that kind of romanticise the day, ya know? I spend a few minutes opening curtains, greeting pets, and making the bed before I make my way to the bathroom.

I always either brush my hair (if it's down), or shake it out and put it back up if I'd slept with it up. Then I brush my teeth, wipe my face with micellar water, and use my little rose quartz roller. 

My husband is kind of the greatest, and he always makes my coffee for me in the morning. This is mostly because he's always up before me in the Summer - there are phases of our year where I always make the coffee, too. He usually goes for a walk very early in the morning (often with one or more of our boys) before work, so he sets up the coffee pot for me so all I have to do is hit brew. If he knows I'm about to get up though, he hits brew for me. Either way...I step out of the bathroom to yummy hot coffee and it's one of the best parts of my day. 

7 - 7:30ish: Coffee/Journaling/Instagram
Next, I find a comfy spot to check in with my day. This usually happens outside on my patio swing, but if it's below 60 in the morning I usually pick the recliner. Sometimes I start with journaling, then I work in my notebooks where I keep track of appointments and plans we have, plus my blog and Instagram plans and notes, as well as my TBR lists.

With a sense of what I need to get done for the day, I hop on my Bookstagram. I start by catching up with anything I missed, then writing my post for the day, then sharing my new post and whatever else I feel like sharing to my stories. I scroll a little bit and like and comment on some of the other book accounts I follow, and generally invest some time into growing my account. I've had a goal to hit 1,000 followers before our Fall readathon, and as of this writing I have 927. You can see by the phone it grew quickly this day!! I bet by the time you're reading this, I'm already there! (fingers crossed!)

8 - 8:30ish: Reading (+ still Coffee)
If I haven't gotten time outdoors yet, I head there now to do my reading - unless of course it's raining. I need some outdoorsiness in my daily life!! I usually sit on my patio swing, but the sun has been kind of harsh there for reading lately, so I sat in one of our fire pit chairs on this day. I read non-fiction in the morning (usually spiritual, inspirational, self-help, human nature, psychology, creativity...things of that nature). And yeah, I'm still drinking my coffee at this point! I usually drink a lot at first, but then I savor the rest. I don't chug my coffee, and it's the only cup I have all day so I like to make it last!

I usually end up with a buddy wherever I end up reading. She follows me around all day!

   

9ish: Book Photos
If there are book photos I need to take for a blog or Instagram post I have planned in the next week or two, I like to do them in batches and early in the day. Partially because the lighting isn't too harsh, but also because if it's a nice morning, I can't trust that it'll stay that way all day. This is Buffalo and really anything goes weather wise! So I sorted through some of my boxes of books and carried a big stack outside to take pictures. The backdrop I like to use is feet away from my neighbors and I always think they must think I'm nuts!

9:30ish: Dishes/Kitchen

By now, my kitchen has been abused by three messy boys making breakfast and needs a little assistance. I'm not 100% diligent about it, but I also like to try and get dishes moving along in the morning. I do another round of them before I start making dinner. If I don't do dishes a minimum of twice a day, they spiral completely out of control. So I usually watch a show or listen to a podcast while I do the dishes to get them moving - this was my choice on this day, and it was a good one!

At this point in the morning, I switch to ice water and get ready to cook myself breakfast. We all pretty much fend for ourselves for breakfast, except for maybe one weekend day. I prefer it because I eat differently than my family for most of the day, and this helps me stay on track with my goals. I also prefer to eat around 10/10:30 (they all like to eat as soon as they get up) so the timing works out. And some days I just have a banana, but I often like to make eggs.

10:30ish: Breakfast
On this day, I made scrambled eggs with peppers, tomatoes, fat free cheddar, and mustard. (Adding mustard to my eggs has been the best food move I've made in a long time!! Try it!) I also had some turkey bacon, and a piece of low carb toast with my Dad's homemade black raspberry jam. 

10:30 - 11ish: Blogging
Finally, I get to sit down to do some blogging! I sometimes eat my breakfast while I get to work, and about twice a week I paint my nails as I get started. I always find they dry the easiest without bumping them into anything when I'm busy typing! I try to get 1.5 - 2 posts done each time I sit down to blog. I usually work at it until lunch, which is also usually when I get ready for the day or do things like go pickup groceries, do laundry, or whatever else needs to get done around the house.

So, this is an example of a day when I either have nowhere to be or my plans aren't until the afternoon. On days when we have plans, this looks a lot different, of course! My morning routine looked so much different during the (virtual) school year, and obviously different during normal school years! I'm looking forward to seeing how my mornings unfold as we hit Fall this year!