Dusk ’til Dawn: Early Morning Self-care

The opening and the ending are always the most important parts of any story. The Dusk ‘til Dawn blog series is centred around the idea that the way we start and end our days set the tone for how we feel.

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It has always been said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I agree and would like to expand this to the whole morning in general.  How we spend our mornings can set the mood for the rest of the day and is therefore the most important part of the day for that very reason.

Have you ever had one of those mornings when you missed the bus, or forgotten your lunch or in some way something hasn’t gone to plan? This can lead to you not enjoying your day, even if it’s the smallest of things.  My partner gets ready for work in 20 minutes and ends up rushing out of the door and forgetting many things. This can effect his whole day – especially when one of those things are his glasses that he needs to read his work screen…

There are a few things you can do to try and avoid this as much as possible as lets face it, we are always going to have the off-mornings, but if we can get this down to a rarity it can really help your week feel a whole lot better.

Giving yourself time to wake up and adjust

This is so important. I have never understood anyone who can leap up and start getting ready minutes before they need to leave. Try and give yourself more of a morning and at least have 10 minutes of calm. This can involve sitting with a cup of tea, reading a book or listening to the radio. This can give your brain some time to wake up and adjust from the nights sleep.

Eating breakfast

Now this doesn’t have to be a picturesque perfect breakfast you see on Instagram that has clearly taken several hours and the person behind the camera is covered in the ingredients. I love yoghurt and cereal – simple but it’s my first bit of self-care of the day. At the weekends when I have more time I can sometimes make pancakes or french toast when I feel particularly fancy. Do what works for you, even if it’s a banana – having something can really help set up your day.

Prepare clothes and lunch the night before

Yes this sounds very easy – but it is harder than it looks and I often forget. It’s good to try and get in the habit of laying out your clothes the night before or preparing your lunch before going to bed. This saves time rushing about in the morning – especially if you have others to think about. I tend to use most of my morning looking after my puppy and this can mean my own time is limited.

Make your bed and set up your bedroom before leaving

I’m being very ambitious I know but I can’t tell you how nice it is coming home and seeing a made bed and being able to see the floor. I often can get into the habit of leaving this and throwing things everywhere until it all gets a bit too much and can effect my mental health. But just using those extra 2/3 minutes per morning can help avoid this when I get home from work.

What morning routine do you have in place? Could you do more to look after yourself in the morning?