Wake Up With Me: School Day Edition | Morning Routine

Am I the only one who was actually excited to go back to school?? Probably haha. Now that I'm in a program I love, on track to a career I would be happy doing for my whole life, I actually enjoy school and look forward to going.

That being said, I'm not so much a fan of having to wake up early again after such a relaxing winter break! Getting back into the swing of things has been hard (many naps have been had this past week haha) but I've established a new morning routine that has been working for me and I'm excited to share it with you all today!

My alarm is set in the mornings for 6:45am so I can be ready to leave by 8:00am for school. I always spend that first fifteen minutes, from 6:45-7:00am stretching, chugging a big glass of water, and making a tea. These three tasks help to wake me up in the morning so I can truly begin my morning routine!

7:00am: morning yoga!
I'm not sure what sort of workouts I do in my sleep, but I always wake up quite tight and sore throughout my neck shoulders (my chiropractor tells me it's stress but I tend to disagree, probably because I'm in denial haha). Doing yoga first thing in the morning helps to loosen up my body and set my mind on the right track to take on the day.

7:15am: bathroom stuff- wash face, brush teeth etc.

Once my workout is done I head to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I need to do this before breakfast for some reason... like I just HAVE to. I feel so gross until my face is washed and my teeth are brushed! To wash my face I use the Clinique bar soap in extra mild. I then follow up with the Clinique daily moisturizing gel. To brush my teeth, I use Crest Pro-Health whitening toothpaste- love how minty fresh it is!

7:30am: hair and makeup

Now that it's winter, my hair has to be done because throwing it up in a bun doesn't work with wearing a hat (Canadian problems!). I've been using my NUME tools to curl my hair almost everyday. If you're interested in NUME, check out my full review post and my everyday hair routine video! 

When it comes to make up I keep it super simple- some days I don't wear anything but mascara. However most days I'll use Rimmel wake me up concealer under my eyes and on spots, NYX stay matte but not flat powder foundation so I'm not shiny and a little blush from Revlon in ooh baby pink- that's the face done! I then use the blush as an eye shadow for a really pretty wash of shimmery pink followed up by the L'Oreal highlighter in my inner corner and under my brow bone. I fill in my brows with the Revlon brow fantasy pencil in brunette, curl my lashes and apply generous amounts of Covergirl lash blast, and finish off with Maybelline baby lips chapstick. Simple, natural, and quick!

7:35am: get dressed

I usually pick out an outfit the night before in an attempt to streamline this process... putting an outfit together is not easy for me. My lack of fashion sense rears it's ugly head in the mornings so I make sure I either have an outfit already picked or all the pieces clean for a go-to outfit that I know looks good.

7:38am: make and eat breakfast, catch up on e-mails

If you've been following this blog for any length of time then seeing this bowl of cereal for breakfast will be a shocker- where's the oatmeal!? Lately I've been eating cereal in the morning because 1. it's so much quicker 2. it fills me up so much more! My class schedule doesn't allow me to eat lunch until about 1:00pm on most days so I have to fuel myself up enough to last over five hours on one meal! Oatmeal just doesn't fit the bill for me on a school day anymore. Instead I will divide my bowl in thirds- one third full of Post Shredded Wheat cereal, one third of Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal, and one third of GM Multi-Grain Cheerios. I sprinkle on some cinnamon and pour in a generous amount of 2% milk. It's delicious, nutritious, and really filling!

7:55am: gather all my things together

I grab my camera bag, my backpack (laptop, agenda, etc), lunch bag and all my winter clothes to get dressed and ready. It takes a good five minutes to suit up for these frigid Canadian winter mornings!

8:00am: head out the door!

Once I finally manage to sufficiently bundle up, I'm ready to head to the bus stop and make my way to class! My morning routine really is quite streamlined- no frills, no social media- and efficient. I get everything I need to accomplish done in only an hour! This allows me to maximize my sleep time as any college student knows just how precious those extra minutes can be!

Do you have a morning routine? What is one thing you do every morning that sets your day off on the right foot?

Thanks for reading & check back to see what KatieDidd, xo

15. Holiday Morning Routine + Updated Workout! | Blogmas

Now that school is out and I'm finished with work, I've got four more days completely to myself until I fly home. I've been really enjoying having mornings to myself to relax and take my time starting the day as mornings really are my favourite time of day! If every day could be Sunday morning I'd be in heaven. 

In the spirit of the holidays and blogmas, I thought I'd share with you my chilled out, holiday, no rush, no fuss, morning routine! 

I've been waking up naturally- no alarm- around 7:30am. Instead of getting up straight away, I've been spending some time in the morning reading The Fault In Our Stars (for about the eighth time) in my bed until around 8:15am or so. By this time getting out of bed is a MUST as my bladder will be screaming haha. Once I void my bladder, I fill up my water bottle and do a little 15-20 minute workout. 

For my workout as of late I've been doing:

100 high knees

25 jumping jacks

20 leg kicks

20 standing knee to elbow crunches

15 squats

50 mountain climbers

10/side fire hydrant donkey kicks

10 pushups

10/side one leg raise with crunch

5 pilates roll ups

Repeat entire circuit x3

Sun salutation

Big stretch

Once my workout is complete, I will wash my face, brush my teeth, and put my water on the stove to boil for a cup of cinnamon tea. My makeup takes no time at all, so once that's done my water will be boiling to make my cinnamon tea. I then take my tea into my bedroom and sip it whilst I do my hair and get dressed. Hair wise, I've been doing one of two things: curls with my straightener (which you can see how I do in my holiday hair post) or dutch braids!

By the time I'm all ready for the day it's about 9:45am-10:00am; time to prepare some breakfast! Like always, I make a bowl of oatmeal with raw cacao and cinnamon, topped with a dollop of greek yogurt. Whilst I eat my oatmeal I will write in my journal and spend some time with my Bible. This morning I read through Thessalonians 1 and 2. 

After breakfast I have been enjoying going for a little stroll around my neighbourhood (still bitter about not having snow in December!) as well as writing blog posts and catching up on social media until lunch time!

I hope you all enjoyed my very relaxed, holiday morning routine! What is your favourite thing to do on a morning when you're not rushed? Please do let me know in a comment!

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn

Tips and Tricks for An Early Start | Morning Routine

Am I the only one who feels like 8am classes just should NOT exist? What purpose do they serve in my life and education when there are so many other hours in the day that aren't 8am.

But alas, 8am classes do exist and they probably always will, so we've got to suck it up and make the most of it! I've put together a list of 5 tips/tricks that help me to sleep a little longer while still getting out the door on time, all without cutting corners!

1. Pack your things the night before

It's a pain in the butt to have to run around looking for all the things you need for your class- it's so easy to get organized the night before an early morning. What I like to do is pack my agenda, folders, notebooks, pens, highlighters, and Macbook into my backpack before going to bed. This ensures that in the morning all I have to do is grab my bag and head out the door.

2. Pre-make your meals

Making and eating breakfast in the morning can take anywhere from 15-30 minutes! I like to hack this by making my breakfast the night before: 1/2 cup greek yogurt, 1/4 raw oats, 1 tsp raw cacao powder, and a pinch of cinnamon. I mix it all up in a tupperware container and take it along with me to class. If you're in a lecture hall then you're able to eat whenever you get hungry, there usually aren't rules against food in a lecture hall. If you're in a program like mine, you won't be allowed food in the class room because of the technology. In this case, odds are you professor will provide you with a break half way through (my class is 8am-11am and we usually get a break between 9am and 9:30am) when you can eat, drink, and use the washroom. I also pre-make my lunch the night before so I'm not stuck at school having to buy something over-priced and unhealthy from the cafeteria and it doesn't add any extra time to my morning routine. The easiest way for me to pre-make my lunch is by making enough of my dinner to take along the next day!

3. Lay out clothes in advance

Choosing an outfit in the morning can be an absolute chore! I always find trying to put an outfit together in a rush frazzles me and makes the task harder. I choose 2 outfits the night before; one fancy outfit and one more casual outfit. This gives me options! When I do this I lay out everything including bra, panties, shoes, etc.

4. Perfect a go-to look
The last thing you want to have to worry about in the morning is how to tackle the task that is hair and makeup. Having a quick makeup routine for busy days is a really helpful hack. Mine includes concealer, powder foundation, blush, highlight, mascara, and filling in my brows. Hair takes me the longest to figure out in the morning- it's definitely not my forte. Because of this, I have a few quick goto hair styles for day 1, day 2, and day 3 hair that I shared in this post!

5. Wake up tech-free
Yes, this does sound daunting and impossible, but I can honestly say that avoiding all social media in the morning really helps to speed everything along! I find that I can save myself about half an hour in the mornings just by not checking social media right away! If you think about it, spending just 5 minutes catching up on each major social media platform; FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest  and Snapchat, adds up to 25 minutes. Throw YouTube into the mix and you're looking at a good chunk of time! My best advice is to keep your phone on airplane mode so you're not tempted by notifications. Get through your whole morning routine and then check social media when you're all ready for the day!

My Morning Routine for an 8am Class
5:45am: wake up, stretch in bed
6:00am: get out of bed, get glass of water
6:05am: yoga sun-salutation
6:20am: bathroom/skincare routine
6:35am: go-to hair and makeup
6:45am: get dressed
6:50am: get lunch bag from fridge and pack into school bag
7:00am: head out the door and walk to bus stop
7:20am: catch bus to school, check social media on bus
7:45am: arrive at college and head to class

I hope these 5 tips will be useful to some of you who are stuck in the 8am club! If you have any hacks I could use for my morning routine do let me know! What does your early morning consist of?

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn