The start of your day is the ultimate influencer for your mood and productivity. When I was younger, I was never intentional with my mornings. In fact, most of my college and 9 to 5 days started with me rushing out the door. There was no room to mentally prepare for the day. As a result, I always felt slightly off-kiltered. I wanted to create a healthier morning routine, but like all habits, it takes time to establish. When I finally stepped into my freelancer writer role, I realized that I had the freedom to begin my days any way I wanted. My goal: Wake up, drink coffee, and journal. Sounds simple, right? Not exactly. It took me time to establish my ideal morning routine— mainly because I put all of this pressure on myself to create a successful business. But the good news is that I was finally able to make my dream morning routine happen.
Here’s how I changed my mornings to better fit my lifestyle as a freelance writer:
My Old Morning Routine Was a Mess!
Finally, I was my own boss, which meant I could do whatever I wanted. But like many other solopreneurs, I didn’t know how to manage my time in a healthy way. One word: boundaries. I had no clue how to establish boundaries between my work, school, and relaxation. This became evident when I started gaining clients and putting their projects above my own needs.
While prioritizing clients is important in a freelance business, it’s also essential to take care of yourself too. This means devoting time to relaxing, engaging in activities you enjoy, and spending time with your loved ones. However, it took me time to figure this out.
When I started my business last year, most of my mornings looked like this:
- Wake up
- Wash my face
- Get a sip of coffee
- Hop onto the computer
What happened to journaling? It’s obvious that I was not prioritizing my mental health at all. This type of rushed morning affected my work in subtle ways. Since my mind wasn’t clear of mental clutter, I became overwhelmed by small tasks and I couldn’t focus. This was definitely not what I wanted as a freelance writer. If I wanted to create my dream morning routine, then I had to confront the elephant in the room: self-pressure.
Overcoming My Self-Pressure
The pressure I put on myself isn’t new. I’ve always had aspects of Type A personality in terms of equating my self-worth with my achievements and being a workaholic. Even as a college student, I always stayed up late to study because I desperately wanted an A in every class. While there’s nothing wrong with working hard, problems arise when you put too much unnecessary stress on yourself.
My self-pressure manifested itself in guilt trips, imposter syndrome, and disapproval. No matter how hard I worked, it never seemed like enough. Fast forward to becoming my own boss, it became a little harder to decipher the scale of success. Was I doing enough? Was I securing the right clients? What did success look like now?
After breaking away from a conventional job, I felt the need to prove myself to the world. I didn’t want to fail. But the pressure I was putting on myself wasn’t serving me. It wasn’t adding to my productivity or craft. If anything, it was causing my mental health to deteriorate and affected the work I gave to my clients.
If I’ve learned anything on my journey, it’s this: I need to take care of myself, so I can put my best work out into the world. Good content doesn’t come from pressure or overworking. It comes from building a life of enjoyment.
I decided to add structure to my day, so I could function better and become the writer I’ve always wanted to be. Say hello to coffee and journaling!
Breaking Out of the 9 to 5 Mindset
One of the hardest aspects of becoming an entrepreneur was breaking out of my 9 to 5 routine. I thought it would be a no-brainer. Just work whatever hours I wanted. But turned out that I was conditioned to work a full-time schedule. Any hours that went outside the box felt completely foreign to me. I had to reprogram my mind.
Before my mindset looked a little like this:
I have to work during a certain set of hours (9-5) to be productive and successful.
Nope. I just had to find my golden hour. This meant trying out a bunch of different routines until I found the right fit. If you’re a new writer and you’re struggling to find an ideal schedule, start by asking yourself what hours of the day you feel the most creative. Any other hours where your energy starts to deplete, you can dedicate to activities that bring you back up like exercises, going on a walk, or enjoying a snack. Remember, rest is productive too!
Habits Take Time to Become a Reality
I know I sound like a broken record now, but it’s true. Habits don’t happen overnight. According to Healthline, habits can take anywhere from 19 to 254 days to get established. I had to practice being intentional with my time and mapping out my day to include the activities that I enjoyed. For instance, drinking coffee and journaling, going on walks, and enjoying a video or two.
If you want to create your ideal morning, just remember to be gentle with yourself and organize your time accordingly. We like to believe that there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done, but there’s definitely enough to fit your needs. So give it a try.
What a Typical Morning Looks Like Now
Remember what I said about leisure. Lately, I’ve been staying true to that. These days, I start my mornings stretching, getting dressed, sipping my coffee, and journaling. This is almost a MUST these days, especially if I want to be productive.
From there, I like to create a list of intentions in my journal. Rather than focusing predominantly on work, I like to hold myself accountable and list out my self-care and cleaning goals. This helps me determine a better balance for the day. Then I write out my work tasks in my planner and go from there.
I usually play music in the background because let’s be real— music is automatically a mood booster. If you’re looking for some feel-good instrumental music, I highly recommend Lofi or jazz.
Develop Your Ideal Morning Routine
Being a freelance writer has many advantages. For instance, the freedom to create content on your own watch. But it also requires being mindful and organizing your day in a way that best serves you. As easy as it is to put your clients ahead of yourself, you have to think about what works for you too.
Fuel your creativity by starting your day with activities you love. This will ultimately set you up for success and make your day way more enjoyable. So, how do you begin your day?
Let me know in the comment section below!
As always, good luck on your journey,
Harumi
I start the day with a cup of coffee and a review of world and local news.
Nice! Coffee is my go-to for starting the day.