Hello friend,

I have a bold statement. Are you ready?

The perfect morning routine does not exist.

Many people have different morning routines. I want to talk about my minimal routine and share with you some thoughts.

Before we start…

A routine is something you have to repeat on a daily basis or at least with some frequency. If you start this morning by reading a book, but then put that aside for the next 2 mornings, I don’t think that counts as a routine.

Our morning routines are very different because we have different jobs and activities. I don’t have to commute to work. Maybe you have to. Currently, I’m working on my own and building my own apps. I don’t have to wake up at a particular hour to join standup meetings.

Early bird vs. night owl: I’ve been thinking how does the morning routine of an early bird differs than of a night owl one. I don’t have a complete answer to this.

I’m not really an early bird. That’s why waking up at 5AM to finish everything by 10AM isn’t what I’m looking for. If I do that, by 12PM I’m sleepy and grumpy. I usually wake up at 8 or 9AM. Morning ends at 11AM maybe. For me, it doesn’t make sense to try to squeeze as many activities into those 2 morning hours.

Why I think having a morning routine is important

In Romanian, we have an expression that can be translated to something like this: woking up on the wrong side of the bed.

I think a morning routine sets the mood for the entire day.

Having a bad mood or feeling grumpy happens to me when I have a bad night’s sleep. Probably you can relate to this: when you’re tired or don’t sleep well, it seems that the whole day is turned upside down.

Having a morning routine doesn’t magically solve this, but at least it helps start the day.

Another reason for a morning routine is that it facilitates building new habits. You can develop a new habit if you link it to an existing one. I think I got this idea from the book “Atomic Habits”.

If you drink coffee every morning and you’re willing to read more books, start linking these habits together: replace the social media scrolling with reading a couple of pages while you enjoy your morning coffee.

This might sound like a cliche example, but it’s easy to develop a new habit if you practice that in parallel with an existing habit that stuck.

What’s my morning routine

My morning routine is very simple.

As I was saying earlier, I wake up at about 8-9AM. Sometimes at 7AM.

I drink a glass of water, take some time for personal needs, grab a cup of coffee and go to my office for couple of hours.

That’s it. Nothing too complicated. Why?

I rarely have anything scheduled during the day. Most of the time, I work on my projects, create content, and write the newsletter. I can easily switch the tasks, nothing’s set in stone.

That’s why the morning routine is not too complex for me. I have the whole day to do what I want.

But this might not be your case.

Who’s morning routine should you follow

I watched maybe too many YouTube videos where various people described their morning routines. They all looked different.

You can be inspired by these types of videos, but realistically, we are all different. We have different jobs, different goals in life and different hobbies. Even the family or the place where you live influences your morning routine.

To this question “Whose morning routine should you follow?” I would say nobody. Get inspiration from them, but experiment and come up with your best routine.

There are so many variables

Indeed. The morning time can be very productive, especially if you’re well rested.

I had a period when I woke up early in the morning (like 6AM) and start working right away. I was super productive, and by 10AM I finished all the tasks for that day. (I was super unproductive the rest of the day and wasted the time, I should say).

But maybe you have a job that requires being available in meetings, doing something that’s not challenging. Then you might consider reading or acquiring a new skill in the morning.

See? It really depends on your goals.

Unfortunately I cannot make your life easier. I’ll just give you a list of questions and things you might want to go through to revise your morning routine and see if it’s good or needs improvement.

👉 What’s my short or mid-term goal?

👉 When am I most productive? In the morning or in the afternoon?

👉 When am I the most creative?

👉 What would be the purpose of the morning routine: get the day going, or take some time alone in solitude?

👉 Am I fulfilled at the end of the day with what I achieved?

👉 How long is my morning routine? How much available time do I have?

👉 What can go into my routine? Pick some, or come up with your own: stretching, cooking for the day, reading a book, meditating, running, drinking a glass of water, talking to someone, commuting to work, taking a shower

Some final advice

The worst enemy is perfection. Don’t expect to have great results right from the start.

“This doesn’t work for me”. Give it a couple of days, try and allow yourself to fail.

And I cannot say this loud enough: experiment. It’s about experimentation.

Tailor your morning routine so that it actually means something to you. And productivity isn’t the only marker you should follow.

In conclusion

I believe this newsletter was a bit all over the place. I tried to summarize all the videos, and knowledge I have acquired over time.

I’ll say this again: don’t be afraid to experiment and allow yourself to fail!

If you made it this far, I want to thank you for reading.

These are a few places where you can find me:

👉 I’m most active on X/Twitter: https://x.com/razvanmuntian

👉 Checkout my LinkedIn account as well: www.linkedin.com/in/razvanmuntian

👉 Or if you prefer Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razvanmuntian

👉 My personal website: https://razvanmuntian.com

Thank you so much for reading this post and I hope it’s been inspirational!

See you soon!