My College Morning Routine: September 2017

These posts are SO fun to write, and I think it’s because I am obsessed with creating routines.

Something about them is calming to me, and I just love having little joys to look forward to. Whether it’s making my cup of coffee in the morning or journaling, I think I’ve found that the little aspects of my morning routine have a way of grounding me throughout the semester.

However, I do allow for some variety. I don’t always work out at the same time, eat the same breakfast, and some days I stay in bed with my coffee and journals and some days I take them to the coffee shop or campus early in the morning. I focus a lot on an intuitive lifestyle: listening to my body and my heart and what they need that particular day.

But for the sake of this post, I’m going to share what most of my mornings look like.

For some background info, I am a senior at the University of Houston, and I am in 5 classes. 3 in person on Tuesday/Thursday, one online, and then my internship at Houston Public Media in the digital department counts as a 3-hour internship credit. (Whoop, whoop!) I am at the station (my work, as we call it) Monday, Wednesday, and Friday posting stories onto our website and learning a lot.

Other things included in my week are trips to the library, coffee dates with friends, usually one dinner date with Cam during the school/work week (and usually Zoe’s Kitchen, haha), and movement in the form of runs on the trail by my house or 45-minute sessions at the school gym.

So…let’s get into it.

6:15 wakeup

Some days, I wake up a little bit before my alarm because I can hear my little sister’s alarm above me, haha. If this happens, I either lay in bed for a bit, or I just get up early and start making my coffee.

And because I’m nosey like this and would like to know, I make coffee from our espresso machine (so foamy and delicious) and then I add unsweetened almond milk and a drizzle of honey.

6:20-6:40 morning devotions and journaling

I have this chair in my room that Cam got me from his office because they were getting rid of it, and it’s my favorite morning reading spot. (Unless it’s below 70 degrees, then I sit out on the balcony and watch the sunrise in my blanket!)

For my devotions, I first read the verse of the day (and maybe the whole chapter) from the Bible app. I sometimes journal on it, sometimes just highlight through the app. Then I move on to my She Reads Truth app. As I write this, I am going through the study titled “This Is The Gospel”. I journal on the verses and the message pertaining to them. It’s usually about a 20-minute ordeal. Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. I also listen to my Worship playlist on Spotify on my Amazon Echo Dot as I do this.

6:40-7:00 Make bed and get dressed

I’ve laid out my clothes and packed my backpack and lunch the night before, so this is a pretty easy part of my morning. I wear a t-shirt and shorts every day if I’m going to school and I bring an extra t-shirt for the gym, so I can change into the clean one after. (I work out between my two classes.)

I always make my bed and tidy up, so I don’t feel overwhelmed when I get home. After a long, busy day, it’s nice to come home to a clean room.

I go through my skin care routine which I’ll be sharing on the blog next week, and I normally don’t do anything to my hair.

7:00-7:10 Grab breakfast and lunch from the fridge

For early school days on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I normally have made a smoothie the night before. (If I’m not feeling a smoothie, I’ll do some quick oats because the only take a minute or two to microwave and I just top with whatever fruit we have.)

My lunch I’ve prepped the night before. I explained on my food Instagram account that I don’t necessarily meal prep, but I do cook some veggies and some carb sources at the beginning of the week. So let’s say I have some brown rice, green veggies, and carrots. In the morning, I’ll dice up some chicken and avocado and add that on top to round out the meal and put that in my lunch box with snacks such as yogurt, fruit, and crackers.

7:15 out the door (usually with a second cup of coffee heehee)

In my car, I listen to one of my playlists I create on my Spotify account. I have a “September” playlist I really love right now. And I sit in traffic, sippin on my smoothie or coffee and just getting mentally prepared for the school day!

What does your morning routine look like?

X,

Cristina