0600 - Arise
0605 - Do some exercise, in my house because I don't like the gym anymore.
0650 - Have a shower
0700 - Wake up girlfriend
0705 - Start coffee, moka pot
0710 - Start breakfast stuff. Toast, grapefruit, croissant - one of those, not all!
0720 - Get the TV on. Sitcoms in the morning. Formerly Frasier, finished that so now it's Seinfeld.
0820 - Quick cup of OJ
0825 - Start getting dressed
0845 - Set off for work
0900 - Get to work
0930 - Wake up
My office is 50 meters away from me and work starts at 9:30. I Normally wake up at 5am. Meaning I have too much time on my hands.
T+0 Wake up feeling a little cold, Go to my office to start start reading/studying
T+60 Get ready for my run, normally about 6 miles
T+120 Back from run, it's normally light by now. Run bath. Check emails while it runs.
T+135 Get in bath. Relax
T+150 Get out of bath, change into dressing gown.
T+160 Make breakfast.
T+180 Lay breakfast table. Wake girlfriend for breakfast. Have sex.
T+200 Have breakfast.
T+210 Change into work clothes. 8:30 by this point. Read any commits that were made yesterday so I'm up to speed on other's work.
T+255 Time to leave.
T+260 Have a coffee at some wanky coffee shop, across the street from work
T+270 Sign into work.
I'm a random mech eng in a large corporation so this may be in a vastly different context to many of you.
T=0 Wake up to alarm
T+~3 Shower
T+~13 Exit shower, begin other amenities e.g.: teeth, hair
T+~17 Get dressed
T+~20 Exit front door
T+25 Get on train for work
T+50 Get in work, do admin tasks like email.
T+90 Get a coffee, knuckle down for longer tasks
I'm thinking of mixing it up shortly due to some changes with work, whereby I'll look to cycle to work. This should be slightly faster than the train + walk commute that I presently do. We have fantastic cycle facilities here including catered showers, bike racks, etc. This would shift my routeine to:
T=0 Get Up
T+3 Basic clothes
T+5 Cycle
T+25 Shower at work
T+35 Other amenities at work
T+37 Get dressed
T+40 Start admin tasks etc.
You'll note I don't eat breakfast - I rarely feel like I can eat of a morning. The coffee at about T+90 tends to be the first point I begin to feel hungry, and suppresses my appetite decently until lunch time. I keep getting told I should eat breakfast and I think if I did an hour-long ritual at home I may start doing so, but I don't feel held back by not having it in my current routine.
My wife wakes up at 7:30, and I try to sleep another 30 minutes while she is getting the kids ready. I try to get up at 8:00, but often hit the snooze a time or two. I've stayed up too late the night before. Finally, I get up. I need to hurry so I can leave by 8:30.
I start the shower on hot to let it warm up while I brush, and use the toilet. After a nice shower, I find my clothes and other things needed for the day. Running clothes if I'm running at lunch or after work.
I leave at 8:30 with my 7yo in the old truck. We have a nice little chat on the way to school. Usually about the game he's currently into on the iPad like Terraria, Minecraft, Yet it Moves, etc. I ask him if he's excited about school, and tell him to have a great day, and listen to his teachers.
We get to the school at 8:40, and I walk him to his class. Usually greeting the teacher with a "Buenos Dias!" (It's all Spanish)
I then stop at this awesome local coffee shop named Black Coffee Roasting Company. They roast their own beans, do pour-overs and make great americanos. I always have the single origin 12oz double americano. I've cut back since the 16oz, 4 shot americanos I used to drink made me feel jittery. They carry pastries from a great local French bakery named Le Petit Outre. I usually get a plain croissant. I pay with Square Order if it's working, and they all know me by name.
I'll sit down and look at the mountains while I read Hacker News on my iPhone and sip on my coffee.
I drive through downtown Missoula, and across the bridge, park at the office, walk in, check email, HipChat, and prep for standup at 9:40.
My average morning (I work as a UX architect at a creative agency in London):
7:00 - Wake up light gradually fades in
7:30 - Alarm goes off
if I didn't already wake up by now, start getting dressed
7:31 - Start preparing coffee (grind beans, prepare moka pot)
7:35 - Finish getting dressed, wake up snoozing wife
7:40 - Have coffee with some light breakfast
8:00 - Kiss wife as she goes to work
8:05 - Quick dishes after breakfast
Good time to reflect or listen to podcasts etc.
8:20 - Pack bag, coat etc. to leave
8:25 - Walk to work
8:50 - Arrive at work, plunder breakfast buffet if still hungry
9:00 - Wake up over coffee and email at my desk
On some mornings I'll naturally wake up at 7:00 and start everything earlier. On other mornings we'll reverse the roles and I snooze while my wife gets up before (but making coffee is still my job).
Between 7 and 7:45 I wake up, make my bed, wash any dishes and clean up a little, exercise, deodorize, put some coffee on and go to the shop if I need milk or anything.
I read something, usually from Nautilus magazines, while I have my coffee and something to eat if I'm hungry. If I don't have leftovers or other plans I pull something out of the freezer to cook for lunch/dinner. Then I spend about half an hour walking to/from my daughter's mom's then kindergarten.
Eventually I get back home and will finally get to my computer, unless I also need to do washing or cooking in which case I'll be busy a bit longer.
On weekends I do no exercise and sleep in if I can.
These mornings specifically do not involve checking my phone, tablet or computer for anything more than seeing what time it is, working from home that stuff was defining all of my time until I set a proper routine.
I'm curious to find out, from the OP or anyone else, what you get from hearing about other people's routines.
I listened to a few episodes of the Tim Ferris podcast and was perplexed at how insipid it was. I don't care what Tony Robbin's, or anyone else's, morning routine looks like. Or what "productivity hacks" people have, which usually amount to just sitting down and doing what needs to get done. And then there were the questions from listeners episodes with more tedious questions about personal routines. I would love for someone to answer personal productivity questions by saying "quit asking how other people are productive and go do something productive".
I just don't get it, but would like to know why it interests others so much.
I am curious. Curious for a glimpse into a private, quotidian aspect of other people's lives, and perhaps their priorities and foibles.
HN Meta nonsense: I'm interested to know why you want to know why other people find interesting something you don't find interesting!
HN arch comment: Oh, wait. I'm not interested to know.
- feed dog and cat <br>
- shower <br>
- make coffee and say good morning to the kids<br>
- meditate for 20 minutes <br>
- say good morning to my wife <br>
- finish coffee<br>
- say goodbye to the family and head into work
06:00 - Alarm goes off & hit snooze
06:09 - Alarm goes off again. Hit snooze again.
06:18 - Alarm goes off again. OK this is ridiculous. I drag myself out of bed and get ready to go to the gym.
06:30 - In the gym for a 60 min workout.
07:40 - Back home & jump straight into the shower.
08:00 - Kiss wife goodbye & off to work
08:45 - Arrive at the office & Prepare breakfast. Read the news.
09:30 - Think about strategy for the year and quarter. Reassess priorities & prepare my to do list for the day.
09:45 - Start working
Mech Engg in Automotive Sector {Detroit}
T0 wake up
T0.1 Check phone for msgs (since home timezone is different)
T2 clear all msgs
T3 Brush+Shower
T23 Out of shower
T25 Make sure everythings in bag that I need (wireless mouse/check whether my systems logged on to teamviewer)
Do this while dressing (winters take time)
T35 Get in car
T50 reach office parking
T60 reach desk, grab coffee, check mail, start planning test/analyze data/attend meetings
I know i bath for 20min, winters are cold, i really like hot water shower for sometime
Lately, I have been bumping exercise to mid-day or early evening. I don't check my email or read the news until late morning if I can help it. Sometimes I miss things.
If I'm particularly excited to get into something I will bump meditation to the post exercise slot later in the day. Some days I will make coffee or tea before working, but not every day.
8:00 AM - alarm, check emails, tweets
8:15 AM - wake up, brush teeth and bathroom
8:35 AM - water plants
8:40 AM - go out for a walk (chai)
9:00 AM - shower
9:20 AM - get dressed
9:35 AM - catch an auto (tuk tuk) to office
9:50 AM - breakfast
10:10 AM - coffee and read emails, reply easy ones
11:00 AM - attend daily stand up meeting
11:15 AM - start the work
I'm a UX designer & UX coach. I work for myself. I am looking for work/clients. I live in a small city more than an hour outside a big city.
My New England Winter morning routine:
1. Awake - Often long before "it's time to get up"
2. Check the time.
3. Think or sleep further or arise to read, watch, nap, or think.
4. Arise, usually at 6 a.m.; anywhere between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m.
5. Unplug cell phone from AC.
6. Put cell phone is it's "spot".
7. Dress.
8. Walk around the block.
9. Change into minimal layers.
* 10. Open all drapes.
* 11. Stretch.
* 12. 1 minute of intense exercise.
13. Put on water to boil/re-heat coffee already brewed.
* 14. Shower unless schedule dictates delaying shower until later.
15. Start preparing breakfast (oatmeal or eggs or yoghurt with things).
* 16. Clear off the dining table.
17. Get on the web (Note: home page set to YC S15 app).
18. Check email for anything urgent - about 2 minutes.
19. Scan 1st 60 HN headlines & save for later - about 1 minute.
20. Put away computer.
21. Finish preparing breakfast.
22. Sit down to eat breakfast.
23. Eat breakfast while reading the weekly newspaper from the (other) rural town where I spend some of each summer.
24. Turn on NPR for news and the three hours of classical music following.
25. Make the bed.
26. Take stock, make a list and get down to work.
* If my girlfriend is not gone by the time I arise, I defer these steps until I'm alone.
At the same time every morning, I interrupt everything at a pre-determined time to call my child with love and wishes for a good day.
* Stretch, and if I'm tired and have a sliver of time, roll back the other way (and attempt lucid dreaming).
* Brewed coffee or tea (no instant, or teabags) and cigarette.
* Check if there's anything interesting online (buildings exploding, religious nuts doing something crazy, more NSA hacks, Tony Abbot putting his foot in it again.
6:45 : Wake up
6:50: Brush my teeth
6:55: Start boiling water and milk with tea powder
7:05: Pour my tea into a cup and clean the vessels
7:10: Start looking at some code from previous night
7:30: Read emails
7:45: Help son to brush and get ready
8:10: Shave and have my bath
8:30: Head out to Daycare
1 year-old and/or 3-year-old wake me up between 5:45 and 6:15. (If my 6:30 alarm wakes me instead, I get up quickly and search for diabolical mischief.)
Make breakfasts.
Shower & dressed.
Begin commute and browse dailies. Fortunately I'm not dealing with different timezones at the moment, so email can wait 'til I get to work.
Wake up by 8.00 AM (+/- 15 mins)
8.00 - 8.15 Loo break (Checking email, twitter etc over mobile. Yeah! Multitasking)
8.30 Tea with wife and kid.
8.30 - 10.00 Playing with kid.
10.00 - 10.30 Getting ready for work (bath, cloths etc)
Wake up via Sleep Cycle
Brush teeth/ Wash Face
Water/tea -> Food (+Fruit)
Pack my Gym Clothes (+Fruit)
Off to BART (Kindle/Nap)
...55 Minutes later arrive (+1 Coffee)
Desk
05:21 - awake, need pee. try to go back to sleep
06:00 - still awake, roll out of bed go to bathroom
06:20 - alarm goes off.
(there's more, but you did say 60 minutes)
tell myself i'm happy to be awake and grateful to live in a stable place where my mind is not entirely in control of what happens.
tell my wife good morning. wait for the reply: "5 more minutes"
get out of bed. groan. shake around a bit.
walk down the hall to the bathroom. navigate away from the cats.
pee.
walk to the kitchen to wash my hands, because there's no sink in the bathroom because our contractors did a horrible job and we shouldn't have hired them. laugh at this.
feed the cats. half a scoop each of dry food.
walk back to the bedroom. my wife is still asleep. "good morning!" i say to her, again. she shifts her leg under the blanket, turns, moans and says 'five more minutes!'
i put on boxers, most likely the jeans i was wearing yesterday. i grab an undershirt from the underwear drawer, and go to the closet. the work shirts are in spectrum order. i pick one at random. put it on and roll up the sleeves.
go out into the kitchen. slice up some strawberries from the fridge, and eat them with yogurt. turn on the electric kettle for tea. open the cabinet to take two gummy fish-oil supplements and two gummy calcium/vitamin d supplements. pour the tea.
check the internet. look at facebook and twitter for notifications. check the price of bitcoin. make sure the world hasn't ended. sip the tea in case it has.
tell my wife i'm going to work, give her a kiss. she may be up now, she may not. if she's up, i'll snuggle her a bit and practice my chinese. zaoshang hao, xiao mao, i say.
get in my car. drive to work. the radio is probably on. i turn it off before getting on 101. i focus on my breath while i drive, and try to sit up straight.
i imagine the lives of the people who are on the freeway with me. i drive by the big hangar at moffet airforce base and imagine going on a rocket to mars. i imagine living there on mars, and then remind myself that i'm driving and should pay attention to that.
i go by the ellis exit and remember the startup we had on fairchild. the sense of hope and of purpose, the sense of stress and the sense of loss as it ended. i remind myself i'm not there any more, i'm still here, just driving. i smile.
i go by the shoreline exit for google. i remember how unhappy i was there, too. i let that fall from my mind, and keep going.
i notice my foot up on the dashboard. for some reason i have the instinct to put my left foot on the dashboard when i drive. i don't know why this is. i put it down because it shouldn't be up there.
i get off at willow road. maybe i'm listening to music now, finding something to amp myself up for the morning. i see the new facebook office across the street under construnction, and imagine doing yoga on top of the building until the end of the world, when i shoot off into space on telepathy-mind power, and navigate the stars looking for a good time. then i remind myself it's reality that matters now, as there's construction on willow and the left lane is closed.
i wait at the stoplight and fiddle with the radio. i remind myself i live in california now - not ohio! - and i work at _facebook_!
i iterate through the list of dreams that once seemed impossible which i've managed to accomplish, and remind myself there's still time for more.
i drop the car off at the valet outside building twelve, and those guys - the one with the short blonde hair and the other dude that seems to enjoy the broken seat because it leans back too far - and they say hey and ask how long i'll be at work.
brush teeth, shave, wash face, arrange hair & dress
eat breakfast (while coffee brews) read email or an article
leave home with coffee, two apples and a bottle of water
drive to work
it's great to find like-minded people here. We start our day with meditation. We form habits. I have something to share about meditation with regards to the issues you mentioned. Please let me know if you find this helpful.
Meditation is a mind training. The goal of this training is to be mindful in every aspect of our lives. Before I elaborate on this, I would like to touch on a few other key words such as dwelling, wandering, and tug of war.
Our mind wanders all the time. For example, I might be programming in front of my computer and yet my mind wandered to think about e.g. pornography. Here I see that our mind is pulled to temptation.
Our mind dwells on issues all the time. For example, my partner might accuse me of being indecisive. And I feel unjust about this statement. I'm angry and upset about this matter. I'm angry and upset because my mind dwells on it. My mind keeps thinking about it. Then when I'm hungry all I think about is finding food to eat and I consume the food. Following this, I might realised that I am no longer angry and upset. Why? It's because our mind doesn't dwell on the issue anymore. Instead our mind focus on finding food, and consuming it.
According to my Bhante, Buddha notes that our mind is like a monkey trying to grab on to branches and branches. I hope I'm making sense here, because I'm also learning to be mindful through the practice of meditation. I am still learning. On a personal note, I try to meditate every morning right after waking up. And every night before turning in. I try to meditate for 10 mins each session.
Going back to my point on the goal of meditation. The goal is to be mindful in every aspect of our lives. Ultimately, we should see ourselves bringing our mind to the present/awareness (that means not wandering/dwelling like monkey grabbing branches) in a blink of an eye or a snap of a finger. For example, if I am driving, I should focus on driving and not wander/dwell on something else. If my mind wandered I should be able to bring it back to my awareness that I'm driving on the road in a blink of an eye.
===
In my opinion, to iron out the issues you're facing with meditation I recommend that you seek a mentor/teacher. For me, I learnt a lot from and am still learning from my Bhante. He is truly a great teacher. PM me anytime if you have any thing to clarify. jek.bao.choo@gmail.com
7:30 - turn off second alarm
7:45 - turn off third alarm
8:00 - hit snooze
8:10 - hit snooze
8:20 - hit snooze
8:30 - stumble to shower
8:40 - get dressed
8:50 - take dog out
9:00 - leave for work
9:15 - arrive at work where I'll grab some coffee and a piece of toast while checking emails