At some point, we’ve all tried to be “that girl.” The girl who is organized, eats healthy, goes to the gym, and radiates productivity. But the one thing she always seems to have is the perfect morning routine.
She wakes up well-rested after eight hours of sleep. Calmly and effortlessly, she makes her morning matcha and sets it by her perfectly made bed. Then she journals, stretches, and continues to have the best day ever.
If you can’t relate to that, I surely can: trying all sorts of 4 a.m. morning routines, which included an extensive list of things to do before the day started and a wake-up time that seemed entirely too early. I was convinced this was going to magically transform me into the version of myself that I strive to be. However, both you and I inevitably run into burnout and unsustainability when we approach it this way. That super productive morning routine turns into a burden: a long list of endless to-dos before the morning ends, an alarm that always seems to ring just too soon, and the guilt that follows when we fall through on last-minute promises to ourselves, trapping us in a cycle of shame and disappointment.
When we reach this point, the easiest option is to give up. Say, “I’m just not a morning person” or “This was stupid anyway; why did I even try?” The truth is: to see the results you want and become the girl you envision yourself to be, it doesn’t start easy or feel as smooth as our usual routine. It must be crafted despite discomfort, imposter syndrome, and unease. And as college students, the last thing we need is more stress.
How do we create a morning routine?
I found that the best method for constructing a routine was to start with the why, the what, and lastly the when. Instead of starting with rigid time constraints of doing everything in a certain timeframe, I needed to start with why I wanted to create one in the first place. This is what I go back to when I feel too lazy to follow through. Then I focus on the “what”; if I had an unlimited amount of time, what would I want to include in my morning routine? Reading, skincare, a quick shower: things that would make me feel like the most productive and prepared version of myself today. And finally, I settle on the when. Now that I have my list of things I want to do, how long does it take me to do all of them? From there, I can assign myself a time to wake up that gives me the flexibility to get ready for the day without compromising last night’s sleep and without rushing to complete my list.
I found that morning routines became more of a chore when I felt like I had to do one million things in an hour and a half. A productive morning routine is one that gives you flexibility to complete the tasks that energize you for the day—it shouldn’t add stress to your life. When crafting your ideal morning routine, remember: it’s peace over performance and progress over perfection.