MINIMALIST MORNING ROUTINE | Healthy Habits + Slow Living

Hi everyone, hope you're doing well. Welcome to my morning routine. So one of the first things that I do each morning is I get out of bed and open up our blinds, letting the sunlight in. After that, I like to do some light stretching and bodyweight exercises. I typically go for a longer walk later in the afternoon to get some extra exercise, but I love starting off my day just by getting some of the kinks out of my body from my previous night's sleep. Since I sit at a desk for most of my job, I find it really important to get some movement in right when I wake up. After about 15 to 20 minutes of stretching, the next thing that I'll do is make my bed. This is just one of those small but essential parts of my morning routine that helps me create a space that's neat and tidy and that sets my day up for focus and productivity. Next, it's time to brush my teeth and move on with the day. And then every other day to every three days, I like to go for a shower and I always set up my clothes the night beforehand so I have one less decision I need to make in the morning. After my shower, I usually get dressed and do some basic skincare. So for clothing today, I wore my Organic Basics brown underwear as well as a top from Two Fold Clothing, a local ethical brand in Charlotte, as well as my Everlane black skinny jeans. It's a really simple outfit but one that makes me feel a bit more put together. And then a couple other hygiene items, we're just using deodorant and moisturizer and this Acure Day Cream Moisturizer has been a longtime favorite for me. Next, we transition to one of the more mindful parts of my morning. Starting off, I love making a cold brew coffee every morning. Yes, the caffeine does help but to be perfectly honest, I use it for keeping me regular, if you know what I mean. And I usually use the Chameleon Cold Brew Coffee with oat milk. And while I enjoy this, I'll typically start my morning reading and I usually read two books each day. Currently, I'm trying to read the Bible in a year so I'll usually read several chapters of that right now. I'm currently in Isaiah and Psalms and really enjoying that. And then I typically read through two books at once so once I finish my few chapters of the Bible, it's time to move on to my other read. Currently, I'm going through Deep Work which is just an incredible and insightful read for anyone looking to really just take the work that you're doing a level deeper to be able to accomplish more and really master the art of focus. And then after my reading and coffee, the next thing that I'll do is spend a little bit of time meditating, focusing on my breath, and really just clearing my mind so I'm ready to face the day. If I still have a bit of time before I need to start my day, what I'll typically do next is get a little bit of water and then work on my puzzle for a few minutes. It's one of the small things that has been bringing me a lot of joy lately. It's fun, it gets my brain working and challenges it, and it's also incredibly satisfying. Usually my finished water lets me know it's time to transition and so next I'll typically focus on getting finally ready for the day. So this is when I'll put on makeup and if I'm going to do my hair that day, doing my hair. So my makeup routine takes me about five minutes total to do. Sometimes it's a little bit more if I'm really putting in some effort, but for me makeup is a great way to express my creativity and makes me feel more put together and ready to be productive. And the same thing really goes for my hair. I typically do kind of vary whether or not I'm going to let my hair air dry, straighten, or curl it, but today I decided to curl it and typically I just like the way that my hair looks a little bit more neat and tidy when it's curled. And then last up I usually finish by putting on some jewelry. For me it's those small details that really make an outfit. So these pieces are from Ana Luisa and I believe I have a discount code that's still available for you guys, so if you're interested in that definitely be sure to check it out. But it is those small touches that I love that really complete an outfit. And then it's time to move on to breakfast. I don't typically get very hungry early in the mornings and so starting off the day with a smoothie is just kind of the right amount of sustenance and energy that I need without being too filling when I'm not that hungry to begin with. Now my typical morning smoothie is a combination of banana, vanilla extract, spinach blended together, and then adding blueberries and oat milk. This smoothie really is an all-time favorite for me though and it's something that I enjoy several times a week. And then while I drink that smoothie I'll usually just review my plans for the day. I like to write out a to-do list the night beforehand but I'll usually review that and see if there's anything that I need to remove or add at this point. And then of course during this portion Christopher decided to come in and say hi, tell me that he loves me. It was really cute. And then the last little bit of my morning routine involves cleaning any dishes that I used, doing a quick general tidy up if there's anything that's out of place, as well as checking on some of my plants just to see if they need any water. For me that simple act of tidying really is essential so that I'm able to give my maximum focus to my work throughout the day and not getting distracted by anything that's out of place or that needs to be done. All right and at this point it's typically between 9 a.m and 9 15 and it's time to start the rest of my day. So I hope that you enjoyed this video and that it gave you some inspiration for healthy habits or mindful practices that you can incorporate into your own morning routine. But I want to know, what does your morning routine look like? Be sure to comment that down below. And if you enjoyed this video and want to see more like it, be sure to hit that subscribe button for more minimalism, decluttering, and intentional living videos coming at you twice a week. That's it for today's video but let me know in the comments if you have any requests for future videos you'd like to see. Thanks so much for watching and I'll see you in the next one. Bye!