My Morning Routine

Our morning routines; they’re one of the most important ways to ensure that the day ahead is productive. The difference I can see in my “ideal” morning vs. waking up late in a panic is insane.

I LOVE a slow morning. After working in the corporate world for over 6 years, it was the one thing I knew I would change immediately upon becoming my own boss. I think my slow morning differs a bit from what people might expect though as I incorporate a lot of things that are either work related or will save me time later in the day.

So, I wanted to share what my typical morning looks like and share why each step is so important to me.

I wake up between 4:30-5:00am to work out. I alternate between yoga, bootcamp or running. Getting home between 6 and 7 am starts the day off on the right foot and has me feeling productive before I even have coffee. Otherwise, I would probably still be sleeping. It does involve getting to bed a little earlier but i’ve never been a night person so it doesn’t bother me that much.

When I get home, my husband and I enjoy our coffee outside and that is usually when I open my phone to see if there are any new notifications. I always start with my instagram feed, answer DMs or any comments, and then scroll through the other accounts I follow. I know there are a lot of controversial feelings about instagram, but I really try to make the most of it and use it as a tool to find inspiration. I think by now we all realize that it’s a highlight reel. I’m not going to share my shitty days and I don’t expect anyone else to. Other people’s highlights inspire me to create more, work harder and get out of my comfort zone. I think we all have to remember that it’s an app on your phone. Delete it if you don’t like it. But honestly, my business would not be where it is today without instagram… so I will profess my love for it until it’s gone.

Starting my day with inspiration is huge. It motivates me to do better and try harder in my current projects. My favorites to follow include gorgeous stationery (obviously!), well thought out home design, floral arrangements, and creative illustrations. These things make me happy and they give me a little added drive for the day to create something beautiful.

Next I go through asana (it’s a lifesaver!) and look at what’s on the calendar-what blog posts are due, what I need to do for the Creative Library, any envelope addressing or invitation design that is due, etc. If you are running a business and don’t use Asana, you HAVE to check it out! With a team of 4 here at AFF, it keeps all of our deadlines organized, we can all see each others progress on projects and you have a personal calendar of tasks that anyone can assign to you (among a million other things). But overall, we have become a much more productive team because of it!

I usually add my top 3 priorities after seeing my tasks for the day. This goes to a shared project we all can see (everyone on the team does this so we know what each other is working on).

After all of that I might work a bit on a blog post. I can ONLY write in the morning. Any other time of day it feels forced and it just does not flow. Now that we have more than just myself on our team, I try to get blog posts drafted ahead of time so that it can be proofread and others can add info if it’s an informational post. It then comes back to me for final approval, images and layout. This does require me to work earlier on each post but I think it has been really great for us (hopefully you’ve noticed more consistent posts here!).

Next, I see what needs to be shared that day and prepare any insta stories for those posts or projects. My stories tend to be what is happening that day or what happened the day before. And then I like to fill in the day with some behind the scenes but that is posted in real time throughout the day.

Finally, I get ready! Coming to an actual office has been great for my closet… I actually wear my clothes again instead of yoga pants. While I get ready for the day, I like listening to podcasts because i’m not having to focus on anything else. I can really tune in and digest the info. I always listen to podcasts on creativity or business. Some of my favorites right now are The Accidental Creative, FohrCasts, and Goal Digger. Listening to these gives me actionable items that I can incorporate into my work that day which I love.

I usually get to the office between 9am and 10am. I do like to arrive a little earlier than everyone (not always the case!) so I can get organized and have some time to focus on a few things before we dive into team projects for the day.