This blog post is about the space in the mornings and in the evenings that we make to do things that set us up either for the day or for rest from the day. When we have the time to intentionally pursue the things that align with our values, we feel grounded and rooted. We are able to emerge from these spaces and launch forward into whatever is next. This blog post is about my morning and night routine and some musings in between. Take what you can and hopefully you’ll be able to reflect on how you want to intentionally use these spaces in your days.
I suppose I have to preface this post with the fact that my morning routine isn’t always like this and my night routine also varies. This is on days that I have the time. When I’m rushing out the door, my morning routine looks like getting up, brushing my teeth, washing my face, putting on clothes, maybe adding sunscreen and/or jewelry and heading out the door!
Related Post: How to build a morning routine
Morning routine
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
This morning, I awoke at 6:24. LOL! I didn’t actually wake up at that time. I just woke up enough to catch some views and then crawled back into bed. I actually did wake at 7:30. I find that 7-7:30 is my ideal time to get up. This is early but not too early, like 6, but it isn’t late enough that if I lingered to make breakfast and have a time of quiet, that I’d start doing work later by 9ish.
Here’s a little sneak peek of our bathroom and my phone hiding my tired face :).Â
My room was a little messy, mostly my desk. But I made my bed and put away the books that were cluttering my desk, and now it’s all clean!Â
I don’t usually make breakfast at home. I only make breakfast at home on the weekends or on Wednesdays. But this was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving break, so I had more time to myself (a class was moved to be asynchronous), so I made walnut cream cheese toast (so so good!) with a few strawberries (the ones that didn’t go bad).
I try to pray and read my Bible in the mornings, and despite this year’s word being consistency, the only thing consistent in my life is how inconsistent my quiet time is. I like to write down my prayers. I’m currently trying to pray for 40 days straight (and I’ve already missed a day 😢).Â
Here’s my gorgeous view and my outfit. I usually try to be more creative with outfits but as I was meeting a friend for coffee, I just needed to put something on.
I usually make tea in the mornings, especially if I’m at home, but like I said, I was meeting a friend.
And that was my morning routine.
It was nothing extravagant, but that’s the way I like it. I’d total it an hour and 30 minutes. My main priorities are a clean space, a delicious breakfast, and a quiet time to pray and read.
Related Post: How to honor the unseen moments
Night Routine
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
I start this night routine at 10. But being a college student, my time to actually have a night routine is usually around 12. I just went to bed earlier this night because I had an early train the next morning.Â
I don’t have much to show this evening. I was working on a blog post LOL. But I assure you I shower and put on some cozy jammies. I often make a decaf tea to have something warm as I settle into bed.Â
These twinkle lights are one of the best decisions I have made in my college experience (this may actually be a blog post in the spring! Watch out, friends!!!Â
I hop into bed to do my triple trio.Â
I don’t usually do this but I read an excerpt from Frederick Buechner’s Listening to Your Life.
This night, I added onto my The Next Right Thing journal, I prayed in my prayer journal and then I have my nightly 1 page a day journal.Â
I love a good pillow mist. I kind of fell into it my third year, when I got a pillow mist from an event I went to, and now it’s one of the most comfy parts of my evening.Â
And that’s my night routine.
Related Post: A reflection guide for your weekend
Musings in between (or LOL at the end)
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about margins and gaps in our days and in our lives. When I lack gaps in my lives, I lack the mental space and capacity to actually reflect on the reality of what’s going on. I lack the ability to go beneath the surface of my everyday and accurately assess what I’m learning, how I’m feeling, and whether I’m on the right path. There’s also the fact that if I can’t give myself time to breathe, how can I expect to make space for others? How can we show up for those we love when we can’t even show up for ourselves? And don’t get me wrong—oftentimes, we can’t show up for ourselves because we’ve been showing up for others. There comes a point when we’re depleted. When we have nothing more to bring to the table because we’re exhausted.
So in order to renew our spirits and to show up to others in the fullness of ourselves, we have to be willing to add a little margin back into our lives. When I actually figure out how to do this myself, I will happily instruct you here on the blog.
I also want to say that these small spaces in our days, whether they be morning or evening, allow us to be rooted and grounded in what actually matters to us. They are our anchors when our days push up to and fro, to places we don’t expect (or sometimes want). In these routines, we choose how we spend our time and where our focus goes. The chance to do that allows us to invest and to dwell in whatever we feel we need.
May you feel rooted and grounded. May you anchor in on your core values and beliefs. May you spend your time how you’d like and give your focus to what you want. May you invest and dwell and may you do the same to others. May your spaces replenish and restore you. May you find your rest.
Friends, I hope you’re doing well!
Signing off,
Gigi
