How I Spend Mornings if I Want to Have a Really, Really Good Day

Oh, great, another white woman without children posting about her morning routine – exactly what the world needs, right?

But realistically, I figured it may be useful to hear what works (and doesn’t) for me when I know I’ve got a full-ass schedule and need to be “on.”

To be fair, sometimes I’m tempted to just go straight to the desk and start cranking – that usually sinks me into a wormhole that results in me being unshowered and unfed by the time my first meeting starts, so I wouldn’t recommend it.

You may be pleasantly surprised to hear there’s nothing too crazy on this list, but I’ll try to set the stage so you understand what I’m working with here.

Responsibilities

I work full-time (remotely) and do a fair bit of freelance projects as well. I don’t have any kids, and I live in the MST timezone, while my work is in CST – which means I technically work 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (instead of 9 to 5).

Usually, about 4-5 hours of my day are spent in meetings, and the other 3-4 are devoted to actually working, eating, and taking the dog on walks.

I recently hired a cleaning lady (two of them) for $95 every two weeks to come and deep clean the house for me so I can take that off my plate, and it’s the best money I’ve ever spent.

That should give you some background, though – I’m not rushing off to an office in the city in sky-high heels and a pencil skirt. I usually work in a T-shirt and shorts and I can take calls from my office at home.

The reasoning

I’ve found that half the battle of being an overcommitted person who wants to do a lot of stuff is psychological.

If I’m distracted by the fact that I’m tired, hungry, lethargic, or greasy, it’s a lot harder for me to focus throughout the day – so I may be tempted to sleep until 8 and call into my first meeting from my bed, but then I know I’ll be playing catch-up all day. The second I see one coworker with clean hair and makeup on, I immediately feel like a failure who can’t properly shampoo herself.

While it might feel counterintuitive to spend time on seemingly superficial stuff in the morning instead of just GRINDING through tasks, I’ve found that it enables me to actually make the most of the day.

(Though sometimes I absolutely wake up with an idea for a blog and ignore everything below for the sake of getting it down on digital paper. I am who I am.)

That said, let’s begin.

The routine

Waking up

I wake up at 6:30 a.m., which is actually quite a bit later than I used to – no ‘4 a.m. morning routine’ here. When I taught fitness, I’d have to get up at 4:45/5 a.m. to teach early classes, so I’m really enjoying sleeping until 6:30 a.m. My first meeting usually starts at 8:30, so having a full two hours to do my thing before work starts is chef’s kiss.

Then I literally roll over and post whatever blog post I’m going to share that day on Money with Katie.

Yep, the first thing I do is look at my phone. Oops.

But by 6:30 a.m. MST, it’s already 8:30 a.m. EST – and I try to get my content published before everyone’s work day starts when they’re sitting around scrolling. I do it for the fans.

Making the bed, eating, and drinking

After that, I attempt to resist the Instagram wormhole. I make my bed every day. As cliché as it sounds, I’m a huge believer in momentum – if I’m trying to have a kick-ass day, I need to start pocketing small wins from the first few moments. Making my bed is easy, takes 45 seconds, and gives me the first W.

I’m really bad about drinking water in the morning because I can usually only think about getting that first glorious hit of caffeine, so I’ll pull out my Four Sigmatic THINK Lion’s Mane Coffee. I do three scoops (instead of four) and 12 ounces of boiling water (I have an electric kettle and a french press) and I get that set up.

(P.S. – if you want to try it, that link will get you 10% off. I do the subscription for added savings since I know I’ll be using a full bag per month.)

I swear by this shit.

I know it’s expensive ($16 per bag), but it’s slightly less per serving than my Nespresso double espresso pods and it doesn’t make me want to cry and nap at 2 p.m. Worth it.

While it’s steeping, I take Georgia (my precious guard dog) on a walk around the block. I try my best to leave the phone at home – and then I talk to myself like a lunatic for the duration of the 15-minute walk about what I want to accomplish.

Since I’m a neurotic person, there’s something very soothing about going outside and seeing other humans mulling about their homes early in the morning. It smells good outside, it’s cool, and you’re kinda reminded, “Hey, the little world inside your head? It’s not real, and you can take 15 minutes to enjoy the weather before plunging yourself into Zoom hell.”

When I get home, I promptly chug the mushroom crack.

Exercise

I don’t exercise every day – I used to (and I loved it) but I got out of the routine during the pandemic and haven’t taken such a hardcore approach with my #fitness since then.

I have the Soul at Home bike (by SoulCycle), which is a $2,500 Bentley of a stationary bike.

If you’re going to get a stationary bike, this is the one I’d recommend. It’s the same price as a Peloton but the bike itself is (objectively) better quality. It’s a Stages bike (which means it’s the same kind you’d ride in a real studio), and those alone without a screen can run $2,500+. I know it sounds ridiculous to claim it’s a good deal, but if you’re into spin, it is. If you’re not into cycling, I probably wouldn’t buy this assuming it’s going to make you a cyclist. It’s an investment.

(I do miss going to group fitness classes, though. Those were fun, but there aren’t any studios near me that I’m excited about, so… stationary bike at home it is.)

I usually take too long walking the dog and do get sucked into a bit of an Instagram wormhole depending on how fiery my DMs are, so I’m typically running short on time. This was never an issue when I woke up at 5 a.m., but… I like sleep.

That said, I’ll do a 20-minute or 30-minute ride depending on how much time I have (another thing I love about the at-home bike – you can pick the class duration and start it when you want).

If it’s really beautiful outside, I’ll do an outdoor bike ride around the lake, but I know that’s a lot less “exercise-y” than the stationary bike based on the difference in sweat and heavy breathing.

If you already have the bike and you’re knee-deep in this post, my favorite instructors are Karyn and Claire J. – they make me feel like I, too, can have six-pack abs and change the world if I just pedal fast enough.

Getting cleaned up

From there, I take a cold shower. If I’m feeling #soft, I’ll start warm and then transition to cold for the last 30 seconds or so.

To amplify the “wake the f*** up, Katie” effect, I turn on the shower and then put tea tree or eucalyptus oil in the bottom – just sprinkle in a few drops in all corners of the shower.

It makes the entire thing smell like a spa.

I take big, ridiculous deep breaths and cold-shower myself until I’m dying to get out (double win here: it forces you not to dawdle because you’re freezing). Luckily, I shower after my husband has left for the day, because there’s usually shouting and hollering involved. Sometimes shouting (the woo-woo crew calls it “vocal release therapy”) just feels good in the morning.

At this point, I’m usually running late for something, so I don’t always make myself look presentable.

If I have a lot of calls or need to feel super polished…

I’m really not a fan of makeup (mostly because I hate taking it off), so when Glossier launched a few years ago, I loaded up. I use:

• The Perfecting Skin Tint (though I’ve since switched to a Nars BB cream because it has sunscreen)

• Cloud Paint blush

• Haloscope highlighter

• Lash Slick mascara

• Boy Brow

• Generation G lipstick

It truly makes me feel like “me, but better” and it takes me about 5 minutes to put it all on with my fingers. This is certainly not an every day affair, but if I’m trying to absolutely make the most of a day, I’ll usually do this just to get in the right mindset. I just like that it almost looks like I’ve applied a subtle filter to my face without being like, Oh, sis contoured for this biweekly digital meeting.

(If you want to try any of this, here’s a 10% link.)

The truth about morning routines

I do several things that health gurus tell you not to do (like looking at your phone right away), and I frequently forget to meditate because it makes me feel anxious when I try to do it first thing because my brain is usually already doing burnouts and wheelies in the parking lot of the personal finance world.

My mornings are when my brain feels clearest and most ready to produce, so I don’t fight it. If I really want to go start working on something, I give myself that grace – but planning ahead for really busy (or important) days using the steps above typically guarantees it’ll go well, and that feels like a great ROI.

(I should also mention that I look at my money every morning. Yep, every morning. I pull up my Copilot app, review any transactions, and if there’s new income, I input it into the Income tab of my Wealth Planner.)

Your relationship with money is just like anything else – it requires tending. Ain’t nothing wrong with tacking that onto the morning routine, too.

You may also like these posts:

1. My Life-Changing Money Morning Routine

2. Confessions of a Reformed Materialist: Eliminating my Shopping Budget

3. The 3 Things I Would’ve Told My Post-Grad Self

4. The Math Behind Why You Shouldn’t Deprive Yourself in Pursuit of Financial Independence