Every Morning that I Wake: My Morning Routine

Every morning that I wake, my morning routine consists of the same thing, and I’ve done it for as long as I can remember.

After my alarm sounds from the cell phone, typically at 4am, I say “Thank you Lord”, in gratitude for allowing me to see another day. I make my bed. That’s a 3-5 minute non-negotiable part of my morning routine. If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you’ve seen my bed set up, so depending on which way I have it, it really can take that long to re-make it every morning. I don’t know why, but even when I’m super sick, I have never left my bed unmade. Anyway… then it’s time for prayer and meditation where I spend 15 minutes, before going through my 15-minute workout routine. Next up is the shower, my skincare regimen and brushing and flossing which altogether takes about 12-15 minutes. It’s at this point in my routine that I sometimes turn on the news, but most times turn on some music. Moving on to makeup, which takes 15-20 minutes; this is my favorite part of the entire day, because it’s when I decide what kind of day I’m going to have while things are quiet and nothing has had a chance to “jump off” yet. And… though it takes up more time than many women care to spend, I’m willing to adjust my morning schedule to accommodate it because I absolutely love it! I consider it my daily self-care. But I’ll talk more about this part of my routine in a bit. Hair takes about 2 minutes if I don’t have to curl it, and if I do have to curl it, then I’m looking at about 10-15 minutes. Having hung my clothes in my staging area the night before, (I’ll save the evening shenanigans for a future blog post, haha!) getting dressed only takes 5 minutes. Once I’ve collected everything I need to head out the door, if there’s time, I make some chai tea, check emails, do some blog writing or work on something that will advance my personal goals. It’s always my plan to get up early enough to have at least one hour for any of those things, however, if I don’t get up in time, I simply grab my office snack and lunch items and head out the door between 6 and 6:30am.

“I Don’t Have Time For All That!”

I’m asked quite often, regardless of whether I’m just out running errands, or I’m dressed to the nines for a formal event: “How long does it take you to do your makeup?” Here’s my answer: It just depends. Basic weekday morning make-up takes me about 15-20 minutes, and special affair makeup takes anywhere from 45-75 minutes… Insert furled brow response here: “I don’t have time for that.” Deep sigh. I totally understand what they mean. It’s not for every woman, no matter how much they like the end result. They haven’t been doing this for the 35+ years that I have, and even if they wanted to start, the learning curve would demand double the time. You can read more about this dilemma in a previous post HERE. Depending on what event I’m applying make-up for, the time factor has to be taken into consideration. Here are some examples…

DISCLAIMER: I go no where without brows. Unless I’m running over to my mom’s house for something, or I can wear my big sun glasses that cover the area, I will ALWAYS have them done. It takes a full 5 minutes to do “Ingrid Bohannon Brows.” I’m known amongst my peers as “The Brow Master”, haha!!! I don’t take that too seriously, but you can read my post about the importance of brows HERE. So let’s run down my makeup timing…

1. Barely-there Saturday look takes about 7 minutes, with just concealer, lashes and lip gloss.
2. Sunday Brunch with a friend takes 10-15 minutes with concealer & foundation, lashes, lip gloss and highlighter.
3. Off to Work, takes 15-20 minutes, and is my go-to, basic makeup look with foundation/concealer, minimal contour and highlight, eye brightening, lashes and lip gloss.
4. A Special Affair makeup takes 35-40 minutes with everything from the look above, plus full contour and highlighting, blush, eye liner, eye shadow and lipstick.
5. Photo Shoot makeup is an entirely different beast, whew! This takes 60-75 minutes. And let’s just say, it’s a whole lot of makeup, haha! Photo shoot makeup is totally different from even formal-wear events because it doesn’t translate in photos the same way you see yourself in the mirror. This look is all about layered lashes, heavy contour and highlight, tons of black eye liner and multiple eye shadows. It’s all about layering and blending. For this type of makeup I always say: “When you think you have on enough, put some more on!”

Side note: Some of my “go-to” makeup products? Like, if I were stranded on an island and could only have three products, they would be Maybelline Mechanical Eyebrow Pencil, EyeLure Marquese Lashes, and any kind of lip gloss, but my current fav is MAC’s “Beaux”.

Things That Derail the Morning Routine

Most people’s schedules are thrown off by doing things they’re completely in control of. I’m absolutely no different. I mentioned that my goal is to get up and get ready in time to spend an hour on personal goals and/or busy work. The very first opportunity for derailing that intention, is me negotiating with myself, in my head, when the alarm goes off at 4am, while I’m still sort-of sleep, and re-setting the alarm to allow for another half or whole hour of more sleep! Then sometimes I’m totally aware, as I sit on the side of the bed, having just awakened, scrolling through my Instagram feed, that if I don’t put the phone down NOW, I’m going to have to skimp on some part of my routine, or worse, have to rush to get out the door on time. If it’s not scrolling IG posts, it’s “quickly” checking emails on my phone, or, getting caught up by the latest “Breaking News” notification pop up. These are things I can control by simply choosing not to “go into” the phone once I silence the alarm. I used to have more discipline and focus at the start of my day, and I’m working on getting that back. But then there are those occasions where an emergency derails your routine and you just have to deal with it. While I used to be very persnickety about discipline and focus, as I got older, I also realized the need for flexibility as well. It’s a balance. Because let’s face it, life just happens willy nilly sometimes, and it doesn’t care about your plans. I’ve learned to be a little more “fluid” with my time.

Time Management Matters

Anyone who knows me, knows there are three things of mine you don’t mess with. That’s my sleep, my money and my time. Out of the three, the one I’m always most protective of, is my time. Because, as I always say, I can catch up on my sleep, and I can make more money, but I can’t catch up on or make more time. I try as much as possible not to waste my own time, and I’m certainly cautious of others’ misuse of my time. You can check out an earlier post about time HERE.

Backing Out the Day

What causes most people to run late with their routine, or run late period, is what I call, not properly “backing out the time.” Whenever I have somewhere to be, I start with the time I’m supposed to be there, back up 15 minutes from that just for some cushion, subtract the time it takes to get there, and for this you’ll need to check traffic and map out the mileage and travel time. Then deduct the amount of time it takes to get ready for the event. If you “back out” your time, you’ll have a more accurate idea of how much of it you’ll need to get to your event “on time”. Often, guesstimations are totally wrong, which is why many times, we end up rushing like crazy persons, or just deciding mid-way the process that we’re just gonna be late… again, haha!!!

It Couldn’t Be Helped

Sometimes being late just can’t be helped. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve frustrated myself, being late because of accidents on the freeway, or a sudden shut down of a couple lanes, or having to work late at the last minute. In the past I’ve taken it as a personal infringement and indictment against my punctuality record! I used to hold everyone to such high standards with regards to time and their word. Thinking in disgust: “Did they not call back when they said they would?”, “Were they 20 minutes late for brunch?”, and “Ugggh, so now we have to wait for the next movie showing cause someone was late.” I know, I know. Thinking back to that time, I was young and in my 20’s. It’s very funny to me now. Thank God I learned a few things: that everyone doesn’t view time the same way I do and that’s OK; that sometimes, running late can’t be helped; to just let it go: to extend a little grace to people because you never know what’s going on in their world, and in the bigger scheme of things, it just doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, if it’s not something like a wedding, or the ballet, or a flight, then it’s just not that big of a deal. But I still continue to hold myself to a higher standard and I’m currently stretching myself, striving to get everywhere at least 10-15 minutes early, allowing time for being lost, or to find a parking spot, or any other unforeseen variable that may come up. I also always make sure I have a back-up plan for when I’m in a “time situation” that I’m not in control of.

Sticking to My Morning Routine

When I’m able to stick to my morning routine, I’m more likely to have a better day. I hate feeling anxious when I’m rushing and / or running late. And I absolutely hate to be late. I know I need to step up my punctuality game. I’ve fallen off in the last couple years. Discipline is key, and it’s the one thing I’m most determined to work on this year, in every aspect of my life. If I’m undisciplined in keeping my routine, then I find I’m also undisciplined in my eating habits, my spending habits, my evening routine, and on it goes. When I’m diligent and successful at maintaining discipline, I’m generally a happier person, because I feel good about myself. And that’s a great place to dwell.