My morning routine has not changed since becoming an expat, I still do the same 5 things every morning. This routine is for me and personal to my circumstances and works like a dream. I am not the sort of person who can jump out of bed first light and do strenuous exercise, quite the opposite, I NEED half an hour to wake up, time to gently ease me into my day.
1. Check my sleep, social media, news
I permanently wear a Michael Kors Women’s Activity Tracker, a gift from my dear husband. I have had it for a few years and use it to track my sleep and my activity. It’s very simple and easy to use (perfect for a non-tech person like me) and syncs with my phone perfectly. So, my first job on awakening is to check how much sleep I have had (hopefully more than 8 hours) and to see how much is light and how much is deep sleeping. I am super lucky that most nights I get over 8 hours. We all know how important it is to get enough sleep. It keeps our heart and blood vessels healthy and plays a vital role in our body’s ability to heal and repair the blood vessels to our heart. So I am off to a good start where sleep is concerned.
Whilst gradually waking up, it’s a good time to check everything internet related including the current news, first in Hungary, and then the UK.
2. Drink water, take multivitamins
I drink water first thing in the morning, first because I am thirsty and second because I know it’s good for me. Drinking water first thing in the morning immediately helps rehydrate my body. The 8 hours of sleep I have had is a long period to go without any water. Drinking water quickly rehydrates me and sets me up for the day. It also gives me glowing skin, even at my age, as water removes the toxins from the blood! I need every help I can get! With my water, I take a daily dose of multivitamins. I have recently had surgery and they are definitely helping me to get back on the mend.
3. Get up, let the dog out
By now I feel refreshed and ready to get up and about. My first priority is to let our dog out of her kennel. Haley is an outdoor dog and a husky with a ton of energy, she puts me to shame, I wish I had that much get up and go! She loves to charge around our ample garden first thing in the morning, patrolling our perimeter fence, sniffing interesting spots along the way.
4. Breakfast and a cup of tea
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Probably the most appealing benefit is that breakfast jump starts my metabolism and gets me off to a good start. I enjoy breakfast but boringly have the same thing every day. Toast with Flora and soft cheese, occasionally I vary this with locally produced honey. This is my choice of breakfast and I am happy with it. My husband and son regularly have bacon and eggs to start their day. Everyone is different. I enjoy a nice cup of tea (the only one I have during the day) and follow the traditional Middle Eastern way of making it. I add a piece of cinnamon bark and cloves to my tea, I don’t add milk. This gives me a delicious aromatic hot drink. I certainly like the caffeine in tea, I can feel myself getting “pepped” up shortly after I have drank it!
5. Plan my day
Finally, and this is still before 9.00 am I make a mental list of the jobs I need to do (daily, domestic housekeeping jobs) and the jobs I want to do (me things). I keep a journal, I take photographs, I blog, I write (my memoirs), I do gardening, I walk. My husband and I talk over breakfast and he will tell me what his plans are for the day, sometimes we do stuff together other times we do our own thing. At the end of the day we sit down together and chat about what we have achieved (or not) on our lists we had made in the morning. I get a certain satisfaction in achieving my goals. I am an organised sort of person, love lists and get a bit frustrated when others around me don’t follow any sort of routine. But hey, that’s life isn’t it?
There you have it, my morning routine, it works for me and I think others will have similar early morning habits. Or maybe you are an energetic sort of person and exercise first thing, or take a cold shower, or even write a gratitude log? Whatever works for you, I would love to hear your thoughts and the 5 most important things you do in the morning.
Making Hungary Home 