Why I Stopped Trying to Build the Perfect Morning Routine
For a long time, I assumed that getting up early was something I should be better at. I worked a regular job for about ten years, so waking up early was not exactly new to me. I went to work, exercised, and did what most people with a fixed schedule do, but getting up early never became particularly easy just because I had done it for years.
I could do it when I needed to, but that was different from feeling naturally good at it. I have always tended to have more energy later in the day, and some of my best ideas seem to appear at night when everything is quieter. For years, though, I still had this idea that a productive day was supposed to begin early in the morning.
Working for myself eventually gave me the chance to question whether I actually needed that.
I spent years waking up early, but I never became a morning person
There is a difference between being capable of waking up early and functioning best that way. I did it for years because my schedule required it, and I could still exercise and get through a full workday, but I never reached the point where getting up very early felt natural.
Once I started having more control over my own schedule, I initially thought I should keep trying anyway. There are so many versions of the ideal morning routine that make an early start sound almost essential to being productive. Wake up before everyone else, exercise, meditate, read, plan the day, and somehow finish several important things before most people have had breakfast.
I understand why that works for some people, but eventually I had to admit that forcing myself into an earlier schedule was not giving me anything particularly valuable. I was often more alert later in the day anyway, and trying to wake up earlier simply meant I was more likely to start the day without having had enough rest.
Sleep became more important to me than an impressive wake up time
Sleep has never been something I can take completely for granted. I tend to think a lot before I fall asleep, and there are nights when my mind takes longer to settle than I would like. Because of that, setting an unnecessarily early alarm can easily turn into cutting sleep short just to meet a schedule that I created for myself.
These days, I usually feel most comfortable waking up around 8 or 9 in the morning. That is not particularly late, but it is also not the kind of schedule that would qualify for most versions of the 5 a.m. productivity routine. More importantly, it gives me a better chance of getting enough rest, especially on nights when falling asleep takes a little longer.
I still have a morning routine, it is just a much simpler one
Giving up on the perfect morning routine did not mean giving up on mornings altogether. I still like having a few things that make the beginning of the day feel familiar.
I normally stretch, meditate, and make coffee. I like doing all three, but I do not treat them as a complicated productivity system or a checklist that determines whether the day has started correctly. They are simply things that help me wake up properly and move into the day at a comfortable pace.
That distinction has made the routine much easier to keep. I am not trying to fit exercise, reading, journaling, planning, studying, and several other habits into the first hour of the morning just because they are supposed to be good for me. I would rather have a few things that I genuinely enjoy doing regularly than build an elaborate routine that eventually starts to feel like another job.
Working alone changes what a routine is supposed to do
One of the best things about working for yourself is also one of the more difficult parts of it. There is much less external structure.
Nobody cares whether I begin working at 7 a.m. or 9:30 a.m. as long as the work gets done. That freedom is one of the things I like most about working independently, but it also means that I have to create enough structure for myself without turning every part of my day into a rule.
The same thing applies outside work. When you no longer go into an office every day, it becomes surprisingly easy to spend a lot of time alone without really noticing it. I enjoy being by myself and usually need time alone to recharge after spending time with people, but I still consider myself quite social and know that I need regular interaction with other people.
The difference now is that social contact rarely happens automatically. I have to make plans and deliberately make time to see people, and the longer I work alone, the easier it becomes to decide that staying home would be more convenient instead.
Where this still breaks
I would like to say I have fully let go of the idea that I should be an early riser, but I have not. Every so often, usually after reading about someone else’s disciplined 6 a.m. routine, I try to force an early start again for a few days, end up sleeping worse because of it, and end up back where I started.
I have not found a way to want that structure less. I have only gotten faster at noticing when I am doing it for the wrong reasons and letting it go sooner than I used to.
