My Morning Routine

When I get up in the morning I've fallen into a sort of routine. It's important to have routines, especially in the morning. For me, the less brain power I have to use in the morning the better...at least until my body and mind start working.

The first step of my routine is to go downstairs and begin preparing my breakfast. It's virtually the same breakfast every morning with slight variations to keep it from getting too boring. I usually have the same breakfast even when we go to visit others. In the rare instance where we go out for breakfast I'll try something different but aside from that I stay constant.

_{Oatmeal and English Muffin}

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a great canvas to begin creating your breakfast. There are a lot of things that can go into oatmeal to make it deliciously unique. Again, my routine is normally the same unless I run out of ingredients.

Wizard's Daily Oatmeal Breakfast

• 1 1/4 C. of Water
• 1/2 C of Rolled Oats (heaping)
• 1/4 C of Blueberries (frozen)
• 1 Tbsp of Honey (unfiltered)
• 1 English Muffin
• Butter

When the oatmeal starts to boil at medium heat I commence the toasting of the English muffin. Both the oatmeal and muffin usually finish at the same exact time. While both are cooking I put the blueberries and honey into the bowl and patiently wait.

Eating and Browsing

While eating my oatmeal I usually browse Reddit or Steemit. I also always have a running chess game going with my oldest son on LiChess. He usually beats my ass but it's still a fun time and we get to make fun of each other when we make a bonehead move. When I see impending doom I usually appeal to pity and message him, "Why would you do such a thing to your loving dad?" He's quick to realize my ploy though and goes for the kill.

When I want to have a screenless morning I'll read one of my books. Some mornings it's fantasy...I'm currently reading The Legend of Drizzt series - Book 9. Other mornings I'm into reading Stoic books like Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. And still some mornings I listen to podcasts like Philosophize This!...this podcast is insanely good if you are at all interested in the history of philosophy and all the major players.

Tai Chi, Shower and Travel

After my breakfast I spend a few minutes going through the 24 Form Tai Chi in the Yang style. One of the teachers where I work is a Tai Chi instructor and a few years ago I took his lunch time class to learn the style. I can tell when it's going to be a morning of balance or a morning I'm going to be fumbling around. On a morning of balance, I can go through the 24 Form routine without teetering or long pauses. On a morning without balance I end up feeling like I'm drunk and stumble through the routine. I'm not entirely sure the effect this on what I do throughout the day but I feel better when I have a morning of balance.

My shower routine isn't anything exceptional. If I took a shower the evening before I might just wash my hair in the morning. I guess one unique thing I do is take a blast of cold water after I'm done cleaning myself. This gives me an awakening jolt and is a stark contrast to the soothing warmth of the shower. I've read many articles about how beneficial a cold shower can be for you. While I can't bring myself to take a whole shower in cold water, I'm confident I get a small amount of the benefits by standing in the cold water for a minute.

My trip to work, depending on the route I take, is fairly uneventful. I usually pop on some music or a podcast then veg out while sitting in traffic. One route I take is all traffic all the time. The other route requires some back roads through some beautiful neighborhoods. If the first route is too congested I take the other route and find some peace during the trip.

And that is essentially may daily work day routine. Now that I write it out I don't find it as interesting as I thought. I do however enjoy reading how other people have routines or go about a particular part of their day.

What routines do you have that help you get through the day?