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Stand up
I’ve had jobs in the past that required me to get up at 4 a.m., and other times I’ve had jobs where I’ve worked all night and couldn’t go to bed until the morning. What a good start to the day meant to me changed for me over time.
Some time ago, topics such as the “5AM Club” etc. came up in social media and co. on. And all the self-respecting influencers produced almost identical content on the topic. Everyone suddenly got up at 4 a.m. as a matter of course and had the absolute healthiest, most productive, most athletic morning routine. Of course, I also wanted to be super productive, as a trained workaholic that shouldn’t be difficult for me, I thought…
The Problem
For the past 15 years, I had never gotten up at the same time, because my job as an event manager or in general in event catering did not have fixed, regular working hours. Every day was different. Sometimes I could go to bed around midnight, sometimes only at 6 o’clock in the morning, sometimes only at noon the following day. A routine start to the day is almost impossible. My body was used to sleeping only 4 hours at times and 10 hours at other times. Of course, that wasn’t healthy, which I felt clearly over the years. That was one of the reasons why I left this industry a few years ago.
Fast forward, the thing with getting up at the same time every day has not succeeded to this day. As much as I would like to be a leader, I can’t always fall asleep at exactly the same time in the evening and with increasing age, I unfortunately had to admit to myself that I don’t cope so well if I only sleep 4 hours at night. Falling asleep at midnight to get up at 4 a.m. makes me not feel good so early in the morning, but tired, in a bad mood and lacking energy. This is certainly not a good start to the day. This also potentially leads to me drinking more coffee than usual and eating unhealthier. Instead of a bowl of fruit, I suddenly have an appetite for chocolate.
Bedtime
Actually, my general plan was to sleep around 9 p.m. in the evening so that I could get up somewhere between 4-6 a.m. refreshed. But I still like to work in the evening. Not at my desk in my office, but in my bed with my laptop on my lap.
I often get a lot of ideas in the evening. Unfortunately, my ADD brain is extremely bad at switching off. So I often write to my articles and in my journal in the evenings. Or I create designs on my iPad. I don’t look at the clock and think: “oh man, it’s already 9 p.m., but now quickly turn off the lights” ^^. Of course, I keep working until I’m really tired, as long as the flow continues, because I love my work and my idea lists for products, designs and articles are simply getting longer every day because I add more than I can actually work through at the moment. Therefore, it is rather realistic for me to sleep around midnight and get up around 7 o’clock in the morning. This is followed by my two-hour morning routine, which I think is really important for a good start to the day and I usually start working from 9 am.
The realization
No matter how hard I tried, at some point I realized that it is wasted energy, at least for me, to try desperately to get up at the same time and especially so extremely early.
Because apart from the problem with the rather late or sometimes different bedtimes, there are other factors that influence my need for sleep. My cycle.
This year I have decided to acknowledge this more and to support my body better. And above all, to accept the symptoms and effects more and no longer try to be fully efficient without letting me notice anything. Depending on the intensity, period pain is comparable to the pain of a heart attack. This fact has been suppressed by our mainstream medicine, presumably systematically, for decades. No one would expect a man who suffers a heart attack to continue working anyway and, at best, not even show anything.
When biological men are allowed to complain about pseudo-“period complaints” on the Internet these days. Then I can definitely sleep an hour longer when I have my period and snuggled up in the morning, with tea or coffee in my bed, working on my laptop. Unfortunately, not every woman has this “luxury”. I work 100% in the home office and my office/study is fortunately only one room away.
The constant performance of men should not be the desired standard for women. Emancipation or not, I am now decidedly against it, at least for myself and my life.
So how I start my day
Depending on how early or late I actually get up, I prefer to start my day with a small yoga session or workout. I alternate between days of quiet Yin Yoga and mainly stretching and breathing exercises. And with days with a more intense strength training or cardio workout. Of course, there are also days when I oversleep or long for a relaxed coffee and breakfast right after getting up. And these days are not really the exception. But now I don’t go crazy anymore if my morning routine doesn’t go as planned. Although I still feel better if I stick to them to some extent.
Otherwise, my workouts are also rather short with about 20-30 minutes. Afterwards I like to meditate for about 10-20 minutes.
My breakfast
I love a weak, black coffee first thing in the morning. In any case, without it, my start to the day is not very good. Really eat something in the morning, I rarely do. Between 9-10 o’clock in the morning I prepare my breakfast smoothie. This consists of the following ingredients.
My breakfast smoothie:
One scoop of greens powder
One scoop of collagen powder or vegan protein blend
A tablespoon of almond butter
One scoop of MSM powder
A small spoonful of cocoa
A small spoonful of cinnamon
300 ml plant milk (e.g. oat milk or almond milk)
1 ripe banana
B12 drops
Vitamin D drops
Iodine drops
This results in a total of about 400 ml of smoothie. I’ve tried a lot of recipes and changed my daily recipe several times. But this is by far my absolute favorite, which I’ve stuck with for a very long time. In the past, for example, I bought various greens etc individually and mixed them. At that time, my entire countertop in my kitchen was full of storage boxes for all the powders I needed every day. Because there weren’t any ready-made mixtures when I started almost 15 years ago.
What is normal for most people today was completely new territory 15 years ago.
There were protein powders, but no vegan ones. Since I mainly eat a plant-based diet, this used to be a real problem for me. In the meantime, however, I have been taking collagen powder again for a long time, which always comes from animal sources, because I have the impression that I feel better with it and that I tolerate it better than, for example, pea or hemp protein powder. But just try a few variations with your favorite products if you want.
Conclusion
I have the demand on myself to be as productive as possible and efficient in my everyday life. The start of the day certainly plays a decisive role in this. But I’ve decided to prioritize my health this year. Which is also related to the Covid pandemic and some health problems that resulted for me. But even apart from that, I just don’t want to have 60-80 working hours a week anymore.
Even though I’ve always enjoyed working most of the time.
But this year I’d rather read a book on a weekday, in my garden when the weather is nice. Or go for a walk or go to a lake during the week, one morning, when it is empty and quiet there. And I often meet up with a friend for a coffee, which has become an absolute rarity in recent years.
My opinion at the moment is, less strict rules, more freedom to listen to my feelings and do what really feels right for me. And I wish you that this year you will also find and maintain the routines and professional as well as private activities for you that really suit you. That enrich you, that make you feel really good and that make your life unique and not just like everyone else’s… How do you see the whole thing? What do you need for a good start to the day? Feel free to let me know in the comments.
I wish you a healthy weekend.
All the love
Christina
“If you go to bed late and have to get up early, you know where the word dawn comes from.”
Robert Lembke
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About the author
Christina Ernst is founder and CEO of Linen & Quince. She is also a designer, author and real estate expert. She shares her experiences and knowledge not only on our Linen & Quince blog, but also on her personal blog, christinaernst.net , where she writes about financial knowledge, starting a business, real estate knowledge and personal development. She loves interior design, art, antiques, as well as elegant, sustainable and high-quality fashion.
