A New Morning Routine

Having to be at work early 3 days a week, and also out the door earlier than the last 10 years has shifted my morning routine.

 I used to get up, go about doing my thing, or head out for an early morning run, and then plan to get into the shower by 7:00am. Most mornings, I would get caught up in whatever I was doing, or I would fall trap to that "one more thing" mindset, and it would be around 7:30 when I finally got into the shower. Which meant I was rushing out the door and often a few minutes, or 10, late for work. As I never took my 15 minute break, and always stayed later at the end of the day, it balanced out, but it wasn't ideal.

The last few years they implemented a time clock with  key fobs and I got better about being there on time, but my morning was still rushed. It didn't help that I was often waiting for people who intended to be up and ready by certain times to do there thing, and weren't, and it was all just a big mess.

This year, I get into the shower at 6:15. This guarantees that whether I have to leave at 7:15 for an early meeting, or 7:45 for a regular day, I am ready to go. Anything extra time that I have after I'm ready, I use for all of those things that I used to do beforehand. Obviously this means that I'm not getting my early morning run in anymore. That has been a hard adjustment, but in a year of change, it's just one more thing. I have stuck with this routine for 26 work days (today will be 27) so far, and I really like it. I feel like my day starts off better, I'm calmer and I actually feel more productive.