My perfectly imperfect morning

I read a lot of articles about business, how to find balance and lists on how to achieve success through bulleted lists. I love reading how others have found success in life and business and how I might be able to adopt some of those characteristics in my own journey. I've seen a lot of articles lately about wearing the same outfit every day but never felt interested in reading them. The concept didn't appeal to me, and still doesn't. But for some reason, I kept thinking about it. So, I finally read about it.

In a nutshell, many professionals are adopting the concept of wearing the same outfit every day to eliminate stress, having to make one more decision in the day and to simplify and streamline their life. Can't say I blame them! But after finally reading these articles, I'm at peace with my perfectly imperfect morning. What I learned is that everyone's routine to success is different. How I start my day is different than yours, which is different than your neighbors and your coworkers. I may not start my day the same way Oprah or Ellen does, but that doesn't make me any less successful.

There is so much information available to us. My advice; do what makes sense for you. Do what empowers you to start your day off right. Does that mean wearing the same outfit every day like Zuckerberg? Go for it! Does that mean laying your cloths out the night before to eliminate the morning “I have nothing to wear” routine? Could be. Everyone has something they can do to improve their morning routine. What can you do to eliminate those stressful parts of the hour between when the alarm goes off to when you set off to work?

My mornings are unique. Secret fact about me is I actually despise routine. I like getting things done, but to do the same thing the same way every day drives me up the wall. So, in case you're reading this to get inspired on ways to improve your mornings, here's some unfiltered and imperfect ways I get my ass to work.

• I set my alarm for 15 min before I actually wanna get up so I can hit my snooze two, sometimes three times. Those extra 9 minutes are glorious! Feels like a Decade’s worth of sleep!
• I make sure my mascara is cleaned up, throw on some shoes and walk Kandon to the bus stop with my hubby. On the way back to the house we laugh about how the parents walking home look like a scene from the walking dead.
• I grab my morning coffee, that I'm super picky about and go back to my bed. My bed understands me. It's warm and those pillows are like warm clouds. I snuggle back in, drink my coffee and jumpstart my day with articles, shameless scrolling through Instagram or weather surfing.
• At 8:30, I convince myself that I need to leave my warm fortress and start to get ready. I never get ready the same way twice. I just do what my gut tells me to do. Sometimes I get dressed first. Other times I put on my makeup first. Sometimes I forget to brush my teeth and have to march my rear end back up the stairs. Routine may be your thing. It may not be. Either one is ok.

I was finding that each day, I didn’t have any downtime in the morning. I was jumping out of bed at the last second to get ready for work and felt rushed all of the time. I hated that feeling every day and decided to change it. My solution was to get back in bed (best decision I ever made). I allowed a little more time in the morning to get ready and was able to slow down and start my day off relaxed, not stressed.

I don't have a magic solution on how to get up earlier, how to minimize morning stress or how to build a routine. What I can tell you is to do what is best for you. If you're freaking out every morning, you have an opportunity to change that. If your routine is working, keep doing it. Just because you're not getting ready the same as the top CEO’s of the world doesn't mean you can't be as successful as they are.