Issue #180: 27+ Tips For Making Busy Mornings a Little Better

Your essentials for workday mornings.

📺 “Asura” on Netflix: This seven-episode Japanese family drama follows the lives of four sisters in the late ‘70s who have recently uncovered their father’s affair and son with another woman. It’s surprising how under-the-radar it feels since critics are obsessed with it—Margaret Lyons wrote in the New York Times that it’s so good, it “makes other shows look bad.” I’ve only watched the first episode so far, but it’s beautifully shot and told!

📚 This is a Love Story by Jessica Soffer: I was immediately hooked by this novel (out today!) but like many of the stories at its heart, that initial spark only deepened. I kept finding myself thinking, “Oh, I see what she’s doing here,” then being completely floored by the direction. Take, for example, the vignettes of love in Central Park that morph into the touchpoint storyline of Abe recounting memories for his dying wife Jane, which then shifts into several chapters told from the perspective of a student once infatuated with Abe. To borrow a sentence from Soffer on early love, “It makes everything lift.” Trust me on this one!

🎧 “Wild Card” Podcast with Rachel Martin: Pick a card, any card. In this new(ish) podcast, journalist Rachel Martin has big life questions primed on cards that she offers to her hosts to pick at random. The result is a delightful, random assortment of questions that encourage her guests, mostly actors and a few writers, to dive deep (“Has your idea of success changed over time?”) while jumping around conversation-provoking topics (“When you were bored as a kid, where would your imagination take you?”).

It’s been five years since I worked in an office with a 9-to-5 schedule, so I was dreading the transition from my work-from-home schedule to the rushed chaos of getting out the door for my clinical internship four days a week. I began to strategize well in advance of my internship, then steeled myself for my first day…

As it turns out, I’ve loved the structure of working in an office again and, with a few small swaps, have created a new morning routine that supports me through long days. And, when I asked you for your tips, hundreds (!) of you responded with things you do to make your mornings better. Below, I’ve compiled your tips and shared a few of my own into bite-sized recommendations, products, and routines you can mix and match to work for you! Read on for:

• The four morning “essentials” I kept coming across in your own routines

• Photos from a recent morning, with timestamps of my exact pre-work routine

• The supplement we’re obsessed with adding to coffee these days (and a video of how I make mine!)

• How I meal-prep my lunches for the week

Click to expand, so you can read the timestamps!