Mornings Aren't For Optimising
A calmer, more human way to start the day.
I want to say this really bloody loud because I actually get quite cross about it:
I don’t want to optimise my morning. I don’t want to improve my every day. I don’t want to be the ‘best’ version of myself, or the most productive, or the most aligned.
To what end does all this stuff focus on? Getting more done.
More output, more input, probably more buying of useless tat on Shein because we’re fucking miserable about it all.
No thanks.
I’ve tried so many morning routines in the past decade. And all of them were some variation of the above. Until one day, after a conversation with a mentor who scolded me for missing my sessions for three days (three days I spent joyfully with my family on holiday, where I really couldn’t give a hoot about logging my minutes spent visualising my best-lived life, or doing my success-focused affirmations) I gave it up.
I knew I wanted to start my day consciously, but not like this. Not any more. Of course I felt like a boss when I nailed the intricate step-by-step process, but when I didn’t (which was often), I was a failure, I’d lost, my day was done.
It felt like an unpaid internship in personal optimisation with a points system I could never win against.
Fuck that.
So I started from the beginning. If I didn’t want to optimise or align or improve myself in the way I start my days, what do I actually need?
Instead of ‘best’ self, what about ‘favourite’? or ‘most alive’? or ‘happiest’ self?
If you’ve read my word waffle in Joyful before, you’ll know what’s coming next: I want my mornings to be about joyful, easy going, and down-to-earth nervous system regulation to help me find my favourite self.
Because when we do that, the rest of the day becomes smooth and buttery — the rest of the day follows that joyful, easy going, and down-to-earth start.
Those first few minutes of the day are when your nervous system decides what kind of day you’re about to have. And if you can start from a place of calm, your choices, your patience, and even your joy all expand from there.
A ‘successful’ morning doesn’t mean ticking everything off a list. It means finding the version of calm that lets you meet the world as your most alive, radiant, and sparkly-self.
My own routine changes all the time. Sometimes it takes five minutes. Sometimes an hour. Sometimes I modify the hell out of it. But it always follows roughly the same rhythm — one I’ve been refining for over a decade. It’s gentle, flexible, and designed to help you feel grounded before life gets loud.
Introducing: The EASE Morning Routine
My EASE routine blueprint is the four-step flow I use to move from groggy to grounded, from stressed to steady. This is the first step in our November rest, don’t quit focus, and one you’ll feel enormous impact from.
Below, you’ll get the full guide, a downloadable version, and practical ideas to create your own.
This isn’t another ‘perfect morning routine’ guide. It’s an invitation to meet your mornings differently, and with nervous system steadiness front-and-centre.
Next week I’ll share a movement practice that’ll be a perfect fit for this time of day. But in the meantime, let’s dive in…
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It’s not about doing more; it’s about doing it differently.
If you’re craving slower mornings, a gentler headspace, and a little pocket of peace each week, come join us inside (and click here to find out more about the magic of upgrading).
The EASE Morning Routine Blueprint
