I enjoyed day in the life videos on youtube, seeing how people choose to optimize their morning schedules always inspired me to reflect on how I approached this universal activity. With the move to fully distributed working during the pandemic, things got a bit wonky for me, poor habits evolved with bad outcomes but things have since evened out. I’m going into the office for the first time in 18 months tomorrow and in order to get ready I had to really think about how different those routines were. So in this momement of writing inspiration, here’s my current WFH based morning routine that might inspire you to think more intentionally about how you start the day.
Wake up between 7:10 and 7:45
When I commuted into an office I would wake up around 6:30 and leave by 6:45 to commute on a bus for a 7:15 arrival. That routine was minimal and precise, no room for error. Now I use that time to sleep more. I’ve been tracking my sleep on my Apple Watch and average 8 hours 5 minutes. Just enough thanks to working from home.
Early in the pandemic with everyone home all the time we got in the habit of waking up at the same time when the children woke up (7:15) and came into our room to say good morning and cuddle in the bed for a bit. It was actually one of the highlights of the day during 2020. Waking up without an alarm clock has been great. I notice that if the kids don’t wake us up, we tend to rise with the sun but go back to sleep until they come wakes us.
7:45 - Coffee
I was just getting into coffee drinking just before the Pandemic with an Aeropress a few mornings a week. As the pandemic continued, I upgraded to a V60, pour over kettle, and Baratza electric grinder. I was reluctant to make all those purchases but I can now consistently make amazing coffee better than I can buy anywhere local so I’m saving money… maybe?
I put the coffee in a metal mug with a lid and take it down to my home office to wait for my return but still stay hot.
8 to 8:45 - Morning Walk
By the numbers, I have not been a person that values walking or exercising but in the last year I’ve really had to re-evaluate what practices support my mental health. Taking walks at lunch was where I first discovered the power of a walk. Pre-pandemic I’d walk to public transit, lunch, and got more time out in the world and that disappeared overnight. During a virtual manager conference I learned that most of my peers were doing much better than I with taking walks to make space in the day so I started and it was amazing how much it helped.
I’ve since shifted this to the morning as a short lunch walk plus eating was too much for an hour. In the morning I have more time, it wakes me up, gets me some exercise, and lets me clear my head on how the day might go. I still debate listening to a podcast/audio book versus just being alone with my thoughts. Both have merit and I don’t have a single preferred practice yet.
Pre-work start - 8:45
I’m lucky that my wife handled getting kids to Zoom school in the morning so I’d go right from walkin straight into my home office to start working. I used to go straight into my first meeting of the day but now I try and use it for a smidge of planning the days events and taking 5 minutes to meditate. The mindfulness practice has been off and on for years but now that I have more control in my schedule and see the value of doing less and just being, it makes a compeling why for changing my habits.
Day begins at 9
Another lucky break is being able to really tailor my schedule to support a 9 AM start. Most of my career I’ve had this option but at home it’s made for the best morning routine to date. I’m more present, prepared, and healthy than ever before in the past. This is when I finally drink the coffee I made an hour earlier, which is usually the perfect temperature by now.
If there’s something for you to take forward I’d recommend just experimenting with different activites in the morning. It’s taken me a long time to realize the different ways working from can be to my advantage while still getting work done. Having a few ideas of what a good morning would feel like and what would happen to set up a great day can help you reverse engineer some experiements to try. Be okay with changing though, mine continues to evolve as I try and get more out of working from home.
Wake up between 7:10 and 7:45
When I commuted into an office I would wake up around 6:30 and leave by 6:45 to commute on a bus for a 7:15 arrival. That routine was minimal and precise, no room for error. Now I use that time to sleep more. I’ve been tracking my sleep on my Apple Watch and average 8 hours 5 minutes. Just enough thanks to working from home.
Early in the pandemic with everyone home all the time we got in the habit of waking up at the same time when the children woke up (7:15) and came into our room to say good morning and cuddle in the bed for a bit. It was actually one of the highlights of the day during 2020. Waking up without an alarm clock has been great. I notice that if the kids don’t wake us up, we tend to rise with the sun but go back to sleep until they come wakes us.
7:45 - Coffee
I was just getting into coffee drinking just before the Pandemic with an Aeropress a few mornings a week. As the pandemic continued, I upgraded to a V60, pour over kettle, and Baratza electric grinder. I was reluctant to make all those purchases but I can now consistently make amazing coffee better than I can buy anywhere local so I’m saving money… maybe?
I put the coffee in a metal mug with a lid and take it down to my home office to wait for my return but still stay hot.
8 to 8:45 - Morning Walk
By the numbers, I have not been a person that values walking or exercising but in the last year I’ve really had to re-evaluate what practices support my mental health. Taking walks at lunch was where I first discovered the power of a walk. Pre-pandemic I’d walk to public transit, lunch, and got more time out in the world and that disappeared overnight. During a virtual manager conference I learned that most of my peers were doing much better than I with taking walks to make space in the day so I started and it was amazing how much it helped.
I’ve since shifted this to the morning as a short lunch walk plus eating was too much for an hour. In the morning I have more time, it wakes me up, gets me some exercise, and lets me clear my head on how the day might go. I still debate listening to a podcast/audio book versus just being alone with my thoughts. Both have merit and I don’t have a single preferred practice yet.
Pre-work start - 8:45
I’m lucky that my wife handled getting kids to Zoom school in the morning so I’d go right from walkin straight into my home office to start working. I used to go straight into my first meeting of the day but now I try and use it for a smidge of planning the days events and taking 5 minutes to meditate. The mindfulness practice has been off and on for years but now that I have more control in my schedule and see the value of doing less and just being, it makes a compeling why for changing my habits.
Day begins at 9
Another lucky break is being able to really tailor my schedule to support a 9 AM start. Most of my career I’ve had this option but at home it’s made for the best morning routine to date. I’m more present, prepared, and healthy than ever before in the past. This is when I finally drink the coffee I made an hour earlier, which is usually the perfect temperature by now.
If there’s something for you to take forward I’d recommend just experimenting with different activites in the morning. It’s taken me a long time to realize the different ways working from can be to my advantage while still getting work done. Having a few ideas of what a good morning would feel like and what would happen to set up a great day can help you reverse engineer some experiements to try. Be okay with changing though, mine continues to evolve as I try and get more out of working from home.