Greetings readers,

Welcome back to the blog!

It’s probably a good idea to have a routine. It keeps our lives organized, and it can even make us feel accomplished sometimes. But, I recognize, it’s not always easy to have and stick to a routine.

I always had some kind of routine, just because, I consider myself an organized person. And, I need that routine to stay organized. Also, by having a routine, it makes me feel that, despite there are things in life I’m totally out of control, there’re still things that I can have some control over. Although, I don’t keep a routine to “punish” myself for what I didn’t or couldn’t do. But instead, for some of these things, I keep them as a reminder for myself, that I needed to do these things.

Despite of me being an organized person, one thing that’s been very hard for me, for a very long time, was my very “out of whack” sleep schedule. I didn’t have, what I’d call, an “acceptable” sleep schedule for a very long time (basically, throughout my entire university career!). So, right after I graduated, I was so determined to get back to a much more organized and acceptable sleep schedule, and hence, to have a more organized overall routine.

But, in today’s blog, let me share with you, only my morning and night routines. What I do to get my days started in the morning, and things I do to winding down at night time.

IN THE MORNING:

First, I just wanted to say, I’m NOT a very early morning person, never was, and probably, never will. I’m not someone that can start their day at 5am or 6am in the morning. My usual morning, can start at anytime between 7am to 10am. Although, for most days, I aim to get up between 8:30am to 9:30am.

The first thing, upon waking up, is to get my eyes used to my surroundings (that’s of course, my room). My eyes, they usually just needed a few moments, getting used to waking up. And, it’s not just my eyes, my body needs that, too. So, out of an abundance of caution, I’ve learned the lesson, to not getting up by jumping out of bed- as that can be a really unsafe move!

When I’m awake and ready to get up, the next thing I usually do, is to open the curtains. That’s the first thing I do after I’m physically out of bed. And, as I do this every morning, for most mornings, I also use this moment to cough (and that’s been pretty much a routine, too).

I don’t know about you but, I‘ll not drink or eat anything until I’ve brushed my teeth and washed my face. So, that’s the next thing I do. I feel the need to do this because, it’ll make me feel more refreshed to start the day.

After that, that’s when I start my morning skincare routine. There’re usually two steps to this, nothing fancy. In the morning, I put on a toner and a daytime moisturizer. I don’t do make up, and I think I have fair skin, so these simple steps are just enough for me.

The next phase of my morning routine consists of a series of medical routines. Each morning, I do breathing measurements, breathing exercises (or airway clearance exercises), and I take my medications for the morning. These don’t take a lot of time, but these are important to do. And, I take this task seriously.

So, after ALL that’s done, it’s when I start boiling the kettle for a cup of morning tea, and making plans for my brunch. And that, basically ends my morning routine.

AT NIGHT/BED TIME:

I usually start getting ready and winding down for the night each night around 8 or 8:30pm. That’s when, I’d go and take a shower, a bath, or simply, a foot bath, depending on the day.

After that, it’s very similar to what I do in the morning. I brush my teeth and wash my face, the same way I do in the morning.

I do have a nighttime skincare routine, too, and that’s slightly different from what I do in the morning. At nighttime, I use a sleeping mask (the kind where you just put it on like a moisturizer, and leave it on until the morning). Personally, I like this type of mask, because I don’t have to put it on and then wash or take it off afterwards (lazy person’s lazy solution!).

At nighttime, I also do the very similar set of medical routines as the morning. So I guess, I don’t have to repeat that here.

By the time I’m done with ALL of the things above, it’s time to actually getting to bed. Some days, I’m able to go to bed and fall asleep almost immediately but, other days, not so easy. And when that happens, I usually put on a playlist of soft and soothing music, and I listen to it until I fall asleep. But, when I do go to sleep, I make sure to put my electronic devices as far away from my bed as possible or simply shut them off completely.

So far, I’ve been following this routine for some time now. For the most part, I’m able to keep up with it. But, there are exceptional days. For example, days when I’m not able to get up in my normal morning hours, and that could shift my entire routine a bit. For those days, and again, I don’t “blame” or “punish” myself. I just try to do what I can, and stick to the routine as much as I can for those kind of days. And as I’ve said, for the most part, I’m able to follow this routine, and it’s been working out well for me.

So, this ends today’s blog on My Morning and Night Routines. Here are questions for my readers: Do you have a routine? Do you find routines helpful, or not?

By: The Invisible Vision Project