M is for Mornings
I’m a morning person. I tend to wake up relatively early, and once I’m awake, I’m up. I’ve never been a person who likes to lay about in bed for 1/2 hour or whatever. My morning routine on a work day looks like this.
I wake up – sometimes I am woken by my daughter getting up to get ready for work. She wakes up at about 5:15. Sometimes I sleep through that, but not often. Sometimes I wake up before her. Come downstairs, make a cup of tea, and do my Wordle. I love doing Wordle. I always start with the same word, PRICE. Why? I don’t know. When I first started playing, I would mix it up and try a different word every day, but then I settled into PRICE. One of these days, PRICE will be the solution, and I will get it in 1 try. I haven’t decided yet whether I will switch to another starting word or not.
I then progress to my other word games: Octordle, Octordle Sequence, Octordle Rescue, Connections, and Waffle. I like to use a pen and paper for the Rescue and Connections. I also do the NYTimes Mini crossword. Maya and I have a gentle competition, meaning we compare who got the answer fastest, but we praise each other for being clever, there is no trash talk. My fastest time so far is 23 seconds. Hers was 14 seconds. I don’t think I could type that fast even if I knew all of the answers. She has quick thumbs.
After the word games, I do some yoga. I like Yoga with Adrienne’s 30 day series, and usually do one of those. Sometimes they are really easy, sometimes more challenging. Then I take my morning walk, which is 45 minutes to an hour. I listen to podcasts or an audio book. I get home, sometimes make breakfast, and start my work day. (I used to never want breakfast, but more recently I do want something by this time.)
Since I am middle aged now, inching past that toward…what? Elderly, I guess. My mornings are pretty much my own. No one depends on me for anything, I don’t have to get anyone anywhere, and since I work from home, I don’t even have to take a shower or put on makeup until I’m ready. I generally dive in to work, and depending on how busy that is, I sneak in my shower a couple of hours later when I have a break. In the early afternoon, I go to the grocery store and get ingredients for dinner or whatever.
Weekend mornings are a little different. I am sometimes able to sleep in until 6 or 7 (heaven!), but most days I am still the first one up. I make my tea and play my games, then look at blogs. For some reason I rarely do yoga on weekends, which makes no sense, because I have more time now, right? Whatever. Once Ted and Maya are up, we go for a walk together. Then we come home and figure out where the day is going to lead us.
What are your mornings like? Are they very different on weekends?
30 Comments
nance
I love Wordle and play it every morning along with Words With Friends against my friends in Maryland, and Wordscapes, and a silly game called It’s Literally Just Mowing. I also play Connections–it’s a great brain workout.
Morning also includes feeding my blue jays, feeding my cats, and catching up on two newspapers and the blogs in addition to my email. I spend some time working my fantasy team and setting my lineup. If there’s laundry, I toss it in. Sometimes I shower before my walk, depending upon the weather and my mood.
Some days, I have obligations with my mother, so my routine is completely wrecked. Or a migraine ruins it. But most often, that’s my morning. Retirement bliss!
J
Oh, I like wordscapes too! I usually do that later in the day.
Your morning does feel like retirement bliss!
Beckett @ Birchwood Pie
I love word games! I have the NYT app, and the mini and regular crossword come out at 10 in the evening, so I do them before bed. In the morning I have a little slot of time between finishing my workout and starting work where I do Wordle and the Spelling Bee.
I start Wordle with whatever word pops into my head. I used to always start with adieu to go for the vowels, but after a while I decided that wasn’t really giving me an advantage. I’ve gotten it in 2 tries before, but 4-6 is way more common for me.
J
I like that we’re all into Wordle. My most common score is a 4, sometimes a 3 or a 2, and of course sometimes a 5 or a 6 or occasionally an X/6, which usually happens when there are too many options and I just need one letter.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
Oh your moneings do sound great. I love that you are starting with worlde. I try to. start witth my duolingo g´class but lately it is tough. 14 seconds is amazing. But your 23 seconds would be a challange too.
I feel you. about the getting ready when you get ready. I often put make up on whenever I need to get up and strech during some emails, sometimes shower at lunch or going for a walk. If you are working from home its important to sneak in little breaks. It is not like an office where you meet collegues, chat in the hall or at the kitchen.
J
Isn’t working from home great sometimes? I love the freedom of not having to be showered, dressed, and out the door at a certain time.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
Definitely. Sometimes it’s tough to motivate myself though especially when a good book is waiting to be read (this did not at all happen ever…)
J
No, NEVER. 😉
Elisabeth
How I wish I was a morning person! Alas, I am not. Or at least not before 7:30 am, and with kids and their school we have to get up well before that.
Perhaps one day I’ll magically love mornings?
J
Elisabeth, you may never be a morning person, and why should you? When your kids are older and can get themselves where they need to go, it’s a whole new world for sure. Then you will be able to start more at your own pace and time. Something to look forward to!
Suzanne
Your mornings sound so lovely! And I can hardly even imagine a time when no one needs me in the mornings! What freedom.
I love Wordle, too, and use the same word daily.
J
Suzanne, hang in there! You’ll get there eventually.
Meike
Oh, how I wish I was a morning person. During the week I have to get up, make lunches, usher everyone out of the on time before heading to work myself. But first always coffee and most days the news. On weekends I can sleep in now if I want to since my kids definitely behave like teenagers now.
J
Being a morning person is a LOT easier since I no longer have any of those responsibilities, and I can come in from my walk at 7:58 and be at work at 8:00.
Melissa
Your mornings sound like they are just right for you. I am not a morning person, but like you, my mornings are now my own and I usually just let myself wake up naturally. Weekends sometimes I have to set an alarm because we will have early runs. I like doing the wordle too, but usually in the evening. In the morning I like to read, do my QT, have my breakfast and walk the dog. I really need to eat in the morning, I get nauseous if I don’t.
J
It’s so nice to have the freedom to wake up on your own time, isn’t it? When the kids are young it’s like a fantasy to imagine.
Jenny
Your mornings sound lovely! i have a little taste of what you’re talking about- one of my kids is in college so I only have one at home to deal with. Still some morning resposibilites, but nothing like when the kids were little. And on days when there’s no school, I really have some nice morning time to myself. Unfortunately I can’t work form home, but I don’t have to be at work till 10 am, so… that’s pretty nice.
J
I really like being able to ease in to my day! I’m glad you have some of that too.
San
Your morning sounds so relaxed… but you do get up early. When do you start work?
I usually get up around 6 (sometimes a little before or sometimes a little later) and get right to my workout (1-2 hours, depending on what I have scheduled). Then I take a shower, have coffee, and go straight to my desk. I work 10 hour days, so I don’t have much time for more leisure.
My weekends are a little different, I usually don’t get up before 7 and I try to reserve one day to wake up without an alarm (which can vary depending on when I went to bed and how tired I am at the end of the week). I rarely sleep past 9:30 though 🙂
J
I start work at 8am, and I work until 5. I never wake up to an alarm, I just wake up when I wake up. But waking up early, I go to bed early too, usually at about 9:30, lights off by 10:00. Your workout schedule is great, you are so motivated! Mine is a bit more relaxed, but I like to do that in the morning too. Afternoons I’m not interested anymore.
I slept until 7:45 the other day (Weekend) and I was SO HAPPY.
Margaret
Being retired I get up whenever I want, usually between 7-8. Sometimes earlier if the cat starts scratching on her (jail) bedroom door. I have my OJ and my mocha while doing Wordle, octordle, WhereTaken World and US, sometimes Octordle sequence (rarely rescue) and occasionally connections which for some reason I’m TERRIBLE at. Evidently, my brain doesn’t see connections! I also do the daily Wordscapes and Jumble Crossword.
J
All of these word games are just a gentle way to wake my brain up, I think. 🙂 My favorites are Wordle, Rescue, and Connections. I rarely do the Quordle, I don’t know why.
Nicole MacPherson
I am an early morning person too, J! I love the mornings and I always have. I loved this little peek into your life. We have so many common threads – yoga and walking being two of them. My weekends, I usually try to sleep until 6 or 7 as well.
J
Nice Nicole! I do like starting my day with some yoga. I’m not sure why I don’t do it daily, perhaps I should.
Ernie
OMG – I just came across this open tab on my laptop. I started reading and then . . . well, I’m very distracted lately with the basketball nightmare with my son. Anyway, sorry for my delay. I so enjoyed a glimpse into your life. I would love to be able to sleep in, but that is so very rare. Even on weekends, when I don’t have to be up. I don’t do Wordle. I chuckled at how there is not trash talk between you and Maya. I don’t think my family memebers are capable of competing against one another without trash talk. Ha.
I usually wake up by 6 am and either go for a 4.5 mile run or do an intense workout in my family room before the tots I watch start to get dropped off.
J
Ernie, we have thin skins! Trash talking would take all of the fun out of it for us.
Stephany
Yes – love Wordle and Connections! Connections is the one that REALLY stumps me most of the time, but I enjoy the way it makes me really think. I used to start with the same word every day on Wordle – but now I just do whatever feels right in the moment.
My morning routine is a mess right now, lol. I really need to get it together!
J
I have found with Connections, it is helpful to write things down, try to figure out the entire puzzle before I do anything for good, so that if a word can be used in more than one category, I can figure that out. Right now it’s my favorite of the games that I play.
Daria
Hi Julie! I have received both scarves and I love them! I will wear both with pleasure.
Mornings… I love them. But week day mornings are ….crazy, to say the least. We are getting ready, the kids are getting ready. Thanksfully, we have three bathrooms. The kids still need a lot of help getting ready, especially R. Teeth brushing, dressing, shoes. They are both still in car seats, so we need to plug them both in. Oh, it’s a whole show… But I know one day my daughter, like yours, will be getting up before me. 🙂 Thank you for a lovely post!
J
Daria, I’m glad the scarves arrived! I remember years of the rush of mornings. I am enjoying not having that anymore, and my mornings being my own.