On Daily Rituals and How I Start My Day
I always say, the best routines are the ones you stick to.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that how we do anything is how we do everything. And more specifically, how we start our day sets the tone for everything else to follow. I’ll be honest, somewhere along the line I lost my natural gusto as a morning person. In high school I always took zero period, starting school at 7am so I could take an additional AP class to up my weighted GPA. In college, I stacked my two majors and minor into three days a week (starting at 8am which should be deemed unholy considering the USC 9-0 has two-for-one Dirty Shirleys on Monday night) so I could wake up at 6am on those “free” days to intern at E! Entertainment bright and early for the news bureau. And in my first career, I chose to pursue life as an on-camera journalist, where I had to be at work and in the makeup chair at 7am daily. So naturally, you’d think after 20+ years of being up early it would be engrained into the fibers of my DNA. In short, it’s not.
Almost every book you read on entrepreneurship (more on my favorites later) focuses around perfecting your daily habits, zeroing in on the importance of starting each day at 5 or 6am in order to be “successful.” I’ve worked for myself now since 2016, and let me tell you, when you don’t have to be somewhere at a specific time or don’t have anyone to report to, your natural discipline – or lack there of – quickly takes the stage. All this to say, over the last 3 years, I’ve worked hard to edit and refine my morning routine so that it properly prepares me for the work day ahead. I’m naturally a night owl. But, I also love the morning. My morning ritual actually starts the night before, but considering I am writing this at 11:33pm on a Thursday, I’ve already f*cked up one of main mandates – no computer past 10pm. The biggest rule I have though, is that there are no rules, only guidelines. The more steadfast the rule, the more perfectly situated it is to be broken. So without further ado, a collection of statues I like to follow to have a great day.
From Wakeup to Work:
6:30am: I naturally wake up at 6:30am, and I really try to get my ass up when I wake up because I always feel 1000x better then if I go back to bed and snooze, which always leaves me more tired. Once I’m up, my lifelong, mild-yet-lingering OCD likes to follow a specific series of events. However, if I don’t have a workout planned, and if I’m feeling particularly tired or rundown, I always listen to my body and let myself sleep a little more. Then, in this order:
Tongue Scraper + Brushing - I cannot believe I functioned as a human being without a tongue scraper. I started this about 3 years ago. This is literally the first thing I do everyday before I even pee. There is so much bacteria build-up in our mouths overnight. I cannot believe I used to drink water or coffee before doing this. Also there is scientific evidence that brushing your teeth helps you wake up, so it’s always the first thing I do.
Say three nice things about myself in the mirror - When I started my wellness journey a year ago (I’ve since lost about 25 pounds) I realized a lot of weight that my body was holding onto was stored trauma (aka years and years of hating myself and the way I looked.) Humans are basically sophisticated house plants. We respond to vibrations, frequencies and our own thoughts that we feed it about ourselves. Instead of picking myself apart each day (which sadly, I’m sure a lot of you can relate to), I thank my body and my cells for the strength they give me, how they allow me to move, create and feel. How they give me energy to accomplish my goals and the intellect to overcome any situation. I typically will do this while dry brushing quickly – I love the way dry brushing creates a sensory experience on the skin and literally stimulates our largest organ. This also helps with lymphatic drainage, cellulite and water retention.
Skincare: Cold Water + Essence + MARA Sea Vitamin C Serum - I only use three skincare products (not including SPF) in the morning. I do this everyday and massage the Sea Vitamin C Serum in for about 30 seconds with facial massage stimulation. I can’t share the essence I’m using right now, but I do love Agent Nateur Holi Water, Tata Harper Brightening Essence and Rhode’s Glazing Milk. This three step routine is powerful and will give you amazing skin. Stop using so many products. I promise, you’ll see a difference.
Gratitude Journal - I spend about 3-5 minutes writing in my gratitude journal every morning. Sometimes I free write too if wake up with thoughts or a feeling I want to release or explore. If it’s the first day of a New Moon, I’ll write intentions for it.
Make my bed - An absolute non-negotiable. I cannot believe people don’t do this everyday. If you don’t, sorry I’m not trying to make you feel bad. But, you should try it. I’m deeply affected by the order and vibes of my surroundings, so having my bed look tidy and desirable to get into is a must for me. Also, it takes literally 1 minute.
Dog Walk - I walk my dog, in complete silence with no phone and no SPF on. I listen to the sweet birds chirp and I look at the trees and topography of my street. I always feel the best when I get to be in nature without any distractions. I also believe in getting a little sunlight on my skin without SPF to syncopate my natural circadian rhythm and for natural vitamin D.
Coffee - If I’m not heading to a workout, I make coffee with an Italian stove top espresso roaster. This takes about 10 minutes and then I add Agent Nateur Holi Mane and typically grass fed, organic whole milk, or I’ve been really into the Laird Cinnamon creamer. If I have a workout, I put on a cute workout outfit (I’m loving this bra from SET) do my hair and then head straight to Pilates, no coffee. While the coffee brews, I’ll feed and play with my pets and tell them how cute and pretty they are even if they are being little brats.
Email - I always do my first email scan around 7:30/8am. I find that if I don’t do this, I have way more anxiety. As a Founder, you never know what you’re going to wake up to lol. I do a quick scan to see if anything needs immediate attention, respond or highlight other top emails, and then if I have time I go on a massive Unsubscribe or STOP email purge to all the b*llsh*t spam emails I get. This brings me joy. I’ll also sneak in some Instagram here and respond to messages.
Shower - I take a super quick body shower, like less than 3 minutes. That is unless my hair is in dire need or decided to turn on me overnight, and in that case I’ll begrudgingly wash it. I’m using the Alo body wash right now and it’s particularly good. If I have time, I follow my shower with a quick lymphatic drainage massage with MARA Sea Sculpt Body Oil but I don’t always have time for that. I like Routine Cream deodorant. And, I’ve been using the Necessaire Scalp Serum for hair growth. It’s awesome because it’s not sticky.
Get Dressed - The art of dressing has been lost since COVID and it makes me sad. How you feel has a direct impact on how you perform. When you feel like you look good, you perform every task that day better, plain and simple. I was always taught to dress for the job you want, not the job you have. You want to be the boss? Then dress like the boss. I’ve always worked for very stylish bosses; the bar is high. So unless I am having a particularly rough day, or if it’s freezing out, I spend about 5-15 minutes playing in my closet. Style is a muscle - if you don’t use it, you lose it. Creativity is stimulated in many ways, and putting together items in a new way helps open those pathways for enhanced creativity in everything else you do. The clothes someone choses to wear tell a lot about that person. So I ask myself, “what story am I telling today?” Plus, being stylish is cool and it takes the same amount of effort to slide on a pair of pants regardless if they are made of: cotton, denim, or spandex. Also while I do this I like to put on positive Hz frequencies to listen to. Right now I’m into 639hz or 528hz.
SPF + Makeup - I put on my MARA Sea Kale Sunscreen Serum or Kosas Sun Beam for my SPF. I don’t particularly like SPF, but both of these wear like a face serum and leave me hydrated and glowing.
Water - I used to drink a shit ton of water each morning but now I just naturally drink water throughout the morning. If I haven’t finished a Simple Modern yet, I try and finish it up before I leave. I stopped taking vitamins on an empty stomach but I do take a Pure Multivitamin, CoQu10 and Magnesium everyday.
I like to be in my car by 8:45am to get to work around 9am. I typically blast my favorite music which ofc is Taylor Swift. I only get like 2-3 songs so tbh this is the hardest part of my morning… picking which Taylor song I want as my hype song for the day. I’m being deadass serious. Sometimes I sneak in a dry cleaning run or an Amazon return and this makes me feel even more particularly accomplished before 9am. And that my friends, is how to start the greatest day, everyday.
Love, Allison