A morning routine, or ritual, is essential for starting my day. Here I’ll walk you through my current routine, along with the reasons for each step. Bonjour!

7am – sit up, turn on fairy lights

• Sitting up is a more specific and achievable goal than “getting up”. The lights help my eyes adjust to the waking world.

read a book

• Before my mind gets distracted by the day, it is clear and ready to focus on fiction.

drink a cup of water and read British Vogue

• In warmer seasons I relocate to the living room couch for this activity, but for winter I moved my magazine to my bedside table.
• Monkey and I don’t drink coffee at home, so he converted the cafetiere that came with our furnished flat into a carafe of water.
• Drinking a cup of water wakes up my body, and reading Vogue reminds me to get up like a sophisticated lady.

7:30am – bathroom: toilet, clean ears, wash hands, brush teeth, wash face

• My morning bathroom routine is now muscle memory, and although I rarely hop out of bed to embrace the morning, by the time my face is clean and moisturised I feel more awake.

breakfast – brew tea, unload drying rack, prepare breakfast

• One of my favourite tips from At Home With Madame Chic is to set the breakfast table the night before. I lay out the placemats, cutlery, and prepare any bowls, plates, pots, and other cooking materials. This means deciding what we’ll have the night before, eliminating decision making in the groggy morning.
• The night before I also make sure to fill the kettle, so all we have to do is push a button.
• We wash the dishes the night before and leave them out to dry. I love putting things back where they belong – another activity that’s just autopilot, and it makes me feel productive in the morning while doing a somewhat active task.

8:00am – tea and journalling

• We let our tea brew and cool during breakfast, then retire to the living room. I do my morning pages between sips.

get dressed

• Even if I’m staying in all day, getting dressed puts me in the appropriate professional mindset for getting things done.

sit at desk and light candle

• Sitting at my office desk triggers work mode. Lighting a candle or incense is an extra touch that keeps me focused.

Do you have a morning routine? What do you find most essential for your morning?

P.S. My super-minimalist makeup routine