Jan 20, 2022
Extreme Morning Routine
“Go big or go home.” — Anonymous
Whoever said this…they definitely had the right idea. I love the thought of doing something extreme for no reason whatsoever; such a rush that the extroverted part of my brain oh, so craves.
Since being the morning person that I say I am to be, I decided on taking this definition to the most irrelevant/highest possible level as I’ve seen others in attempting. In deciding this, I hadn’t really much expectation other than to be napping by 10:00 a.m., but to my surprise, after just one day, I felt as if my whole world shifted in the best way possible.
4:30 a.m.: Alarm went off, I pressed snoozed and lied myself back in bed questioning every decision leading up to this point. After a minute or two of contemplation, I got up, poured myself a cup of water, then sat myself on the floor to stretch/realign my focus and quiet my intrusive thoughts that began the second my alarm woke. Along with waking my body up and turning my unwanted thoughts down, I wrote in one of my [many] notebooks:
Energy Givers:
- Stretching
- Mindfulness
- Writing
- Water
- Sunlight
- Forgiveness/acceptance
Energy Drainers:
- Overthinking/self-indulgence
- Too much screen time
- Music that fuels negative emotions
- Trying to control an outside situation/another person
Q #1: What is today for?
A: Cleansing self of the previous few days of heaviness, realigning focus on what is truly important to self, and crossing things off my to-do list.
Q #2: What is important right now?
A: Thinking present tense and obtaining useful thoughts, bringing attention to what truly matters, and existing simply, moment by moment.
Random Notes:
- Life is mostly improvisation
- I am a menial contribution to the universe — there is fairly little that should be taken personal/is about me
- Think leveled thoughts, not superior or inferior — KILL EGO!
- Feeling more awake after stretch ☼
5:15 a.m. (roughly): After making my bed, I was beyond ready for coffee: banana almond milk, Starbucks’ pre-made iced dark roast, topped with sweet cream.
Next to my coffee, I sat myself at my desk only to realize I had no inspiration for a new blog post…After a few minutes of mere typing twaddle, the blog post began writing itself. Yesterday’s post: Dance to Get Where You’re Going. For it’s far better to move in an… | by Vanessa Leanne | Jan, 2022 | Medium
I’ll be honest, when I looked at the clock inching towards 6:00 a.m., it felt enlightening to know I was writing before the world was even awake.
6:32 a.m. (I remember looking at the time when I did this): Set up and changed for my usual work out.
7:15 a.m.: Shower time!
7:30 a.m.: Put a load of laundry on, then off to the kitchen I went to make breakfast: Brown sugar/banana (I love banana) oatmeal and crispy hashbrown coins. As I ate breakfast, I read from “100 Great Poems of the Twentieth Century.” (10/10 recommend that book, by the way!)
8:15 a.m.: Cleaned up from breakfast, went upstairs and got ready for the day.
9:45 a.m.: I walked out the door to begin my day of errands.
11:00 a.m.: Treated myself to a smoothie and waffle before heading home.
Following my regular routine as such, I wouldn’t have even left the house by 11:00 a.m.
Surprisingly enough, I didn’t nap or even feel the need to throughout any part of the day. I felt good; clear-minded and enlightened. I also fell asleep rather quickly that night and had a restful sleep, which is rare for me.
Though, I don’t think I’ll be committing myself to this extreme way of mornings just yet, but definitely something I will be partaking from time to time. Possibly tweak my current routine with a few upgraded habits from this morning.
Though waking up at 4:30 a.m. to quiet your mind (even though you were the one who got it going) doesn’t sound too appealing, I definitely recommend trying out your own version of an extreme morning routine. Maybe you’ll find new habits you can start incorporating into your current routine as well!
Where to find me: Vanessa Leanne (@vanessa_leannee) • Instagram photos and videos
Comment below(:
