How to Meaningfully Use Your Mornings: Daily Rituals of Successful Creatives
Whether you're a morning person or not, facts show if you want to have a productive day, what you do to start it off truly matters. We've certainly seen article after article dispel the secrets for those in the professional world about how to start your morning, but how specifically do successful designers and creative professionals, our peers, prefer to use their earliest hours?
This exploration, for one, is about finding the best ways to be productive, which without question begins with an intentionally planned morning, but the other curiosity falls into maintaining a proper work-life balance. With many of us work 9-to-5 jobs that easily bleed into the later hours depending on our workloads, mornings are an especially valuable yet overlooked time to enjoy life and take the time to do things we all simply enjoy doing.
To get some perspective, we asked 12 different designers and leaders how they start off their mornings right:
Tina Roth Eisenberg
Founder of Creative Mornings, Tattly, and Friends Work Here (New York)
Enter a caption (optional)When exactly do you wake up?
I am an early bird and get up between 4 and 4:30 am.
What are the regular activities you get up to in the morning?
I wake up and the first thing I do is drink a giant glass of water. I stretch for about 15 minutes while trying to resist to grab my phone and look at Instagram and Twitter. Around 5 am, I make myself a coffee and sit down at my computer to do either deep thinking/writing work or to find items to post on my blog. Around 6 am is when I start the morning tornado also known as waking up the kids and getting everyone fed and ready to leave for school. At 8:15 am I arrive at the office and enjoy 45 minutes of alone time before the office starts buzzing.
Why are these rituals important for you?
The quiet alone time in the morning grounds me for the day. I notice when I get up late and rush out the door.
Any advice you have for people trying to have meaningful mornings that help them get into their element for the coming day?
To me, it's all about not rushing and time to think and stretch. And, most importantly, not instantly jumping on my phone or computer. Which, I admit, I sometimes fail to do.
Dan Mall
Creative Director and Founder of SuperFriendly (Philadelphia)
Enter a caption (optional)When do you wake up?
I'm an early riser. I usually get up at 5 am every morning.
What advice would you give to people trying to have a productive, meaningful morning?
After reading Jocelyn Glei's Unsubscribe, I start every morning with 'mission work' before doing any client work or checking email or social media. Mission work means work that advances your purpose in the world. If you do that first thing in the morning, even if you get nothing else done for the rest of the day, you're good.
(I also wrote up some thoughts about the rest of my calendar approach here).
Joseph Guerra & Sina Sohrab
Founders, Visibility (New York)
Sohrab (left) & Guerra (right)When do you wake up?
Sina: I wake up around 8:30. I've never been a morning person, so for me it always feels rushed; like there's never enough time. me it always feels rushed; like there's never enough time.
Joseph: Similar to Sina, I wake up a tad later but I make sure I'm in the studio by 9:30 in the morning. I love sleep and prioritize it as a necessity for a productive work day. In the morning I prefer quiet while my brain wakes up.
What are the regular activities you get up to in the morning and why are they important to you?
Sina: I find that the most meaningful part of my morning is in transit, on the way into the office. This time alone gives me a chance to reflect and think about the coming day. To me this is the most important thing; time for reflection, and though it's hard to come by, it's so vital.
Joseph: [Right after I wake up] I shower. I once read a quote from someone that said "I don't get out of the shower until I'm excited about my day." and I take that to heart. I do my best to be fired up and ready for what I'm going to work on by the time I leave my house. Regarding e-mail in the morning, I will read the push notifications but I won't open anything until I'm at my desk. Peace and coffee are paramount first.
Mason Umholtz
Senior Industrial Designer, Smart Design (New York)
Enter a caption (optional)What advice would you give to people trying to have a productive, meaningful morning?
My morning starts the night before with quality sleep ensuring that I set myself up for a productive day. I challenge that the productive all-nighter is really that productive. This follows the 'work smarter, not harder' mentality. Beyond sleep, I focus on three areas to make the most of the next waking hours: Gym, commute, coffee.
The gym in the morning hours is full of fresh-eyed optimism and is an outlet to jump-start your brain with a bit of physical activity. This is also time to zone into an inspiring podcast about business, sociology, technology, or science. An NYC train commute is usually not filled with the contagious positivity found at the gym but it is a necessity that can be made the most of. I spend the ride sketching ideas for a project or laying out an outline for an upcoming presentation. My surroundings impact the way I think and therefore impact the way I sketch. It is a chance to generate a varying set of ideas and thoughts that I otherwise would not while at the studio. Coffee plays a large role in the culture at Smart Design and gives me a ritual to look forward to. The pattern here is to start with something pleasant to get things moving (for me it's the gym), then get the highest friction point out of the way and done with (my commute), and end it with something rewarding (coffee and coworkers).
Alex Daly
Founder, Vann Alexandra (New York)
Enter a caption (optional)When do you wake up?
I am not a morning person, so I wake up at about 7:30 and snooze until 7:45am.
What are the regular activities you get up to in the morning?
I roll out of bed and head downstairs to our little gym to do some high-intensity exercise of sorts: sprints and core exercises, or a ton of jump rope and weights. I have to do some sort of exercise every morning; otherwise, I feel too tired or anxious. And I hate long workouts, so after about 20 mins I head back to my apartment to get ready for the day. I leave at about 8:50 to arrive at the office by 9:30 am.
Any advice you have for people trying to start their day with a meaningful morning?
In the past year, I have started a no email rule between 9:30 pm until the next morning when I leave to catch the subway (I also don't have my phone in my bedroom at night!). This has helped substantially when it comes to a work-life balance. When I first started my company, I would wake up in the middle of the night and actually check my emails! That's terrible. And getting up in the morning and immediately checking your inbox in bed is not great, either. So when I am on the train I then check my email, answer any urgent messages, and check out my calendar for the day. When I get to the office, I say hi to my team, grab a cup of coffee, and get to work.
Jon Grossman
Industrial Designer II at frog (San Francisco)
Enter a caption (optional)When do you wake up?
My days actually start the night before. I tend to go to sleep on the early side, between 10:30 and 11 pm. I read before going to sleep (currently: This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein, which should be required reading for all industrial designers). I then wake up between 6:30 and 7 am.
What are the regular activities you get up to in the morning?
Over the past few years, I have run in the morning and biked to the office afterward. I track my runs with Strava so I can tangibly see how much I've progressed; unlike growing as a designer, with its vague valleys of despair and arbitrary senses of improvement. Just getting out and doing something gives me the accomplishment to start my day. No matter how much work I have to do that day, I've already done something I am proud of.
Why are these rituals important for you?
As I've grown as a professional, finding ways to push my life and interests outside of design has been truly refreshing. Giving myself that space to learn and grow really impacts how I design, and I can't recommend enough finding inspiration for your work outside of the ID bubble. For me, that means a morning routine that starts with a personal success in keeping myself healthy and active.
Pip Tompkin
Founder, Pip Tompkin Studio (Los Angeles)
Enter a caption (optional)What are the regular activities you get up to in the morning?
My day starts at 5:30 AM. If the waves are good, I will go surfing. If not I jump in the shower. Showering is where I ponder the problems of the day before and solve the problems of the day ahead. This occurrence is known in the studio so much so, that my team is always interested to hear about my latest "shower thoughts". I then read the news. I first read international news , then US focused news, and finally tech news, all while the TV is on, tuned into a local news network to catch up on Los Angeles neighborhood events. I then read my email. The time is now 6:30 AM, and I wake my four year old boy. We have breakfast together and talk about the day ahead. Where this next hour goes I never know, but those with children will understand that they are like black holes. When you get close to them, time alters and warps, and before I know it, it's 8:00 AM; time to drive my son to his preschool. It takes only 10 minutes to drop him off, and another 40 minutes to drive to work. While the freeway would get me to the studio quicker, I choose not to take it. When I lived in London, I realized how much I gained from riding the tube every morning; observing the people, fashions, trends, colors, smells, sounds, books, papers, advertising etc. While driving the side streets of Los Angeles does not have the same cultural potency as riding the London Tube, it does increase the odds of an accidental and unexpected observation that could help inspire a later decision. At 9:00 AM I walk into the studio.
Jean Lee & Dylan Davis
Founders, Ladies & Gentlemen Studio (New York)
Enter a caption (optional)When exactly do you wake up?
Dylan: I'm more of an early bird who gets up around 7:00 am
Jean: I'm more of a night owl who gets up more like 9 or 9:30, but would stay up a lot later.
Collectively: We start at 10:00 am
What are the regular activities you get up to in the morning?
Dylan: Stretching + podcasts then breakfast: Lots of water, then veggie platter breakfast, typically with a soft boiled egg, carrots, radishes and half an avocado. Then I try to spend an hour working on something really important for the business before I've gotten distracted by other things during the day.
Jean: I can't function without coffee and I don't really do breakfast.
Collectively: When we get into our studio, we try to do this group activity with our team we like to call "sketchercise" in the early part of the day for 30-60 minutes. It's a sketching exercise where we do quick 1 minute sketching of ideas to brainstorm on projects we're working on or new ideas we want to explore.
Why are these rituals important for you?
Dylan: I am particularly susceptible to having my brain scrambled by a busy day. The morning ritual is something I can control and focus on and it helps me better deal with the rest of the day.
Jean (on coffee): It's about the only thing that can wake me up. To be honest, I'm just addicted to it.
Collectively (on sketchercise): it's a good way to loosen our minds and train ourselves to come up with ideas quickly and engaging our own intuitions/instincts. We tend to often overthink on ideas and so it's a good way to condition ourselves to be quicker on our feet.
Any advice you have for people trying to have meaningful mornings that help them get into their element for the coming day?
Dylan: Start with doing a positive thing immediately after you wake up - the first thing. For me, that's drinking two large glasses of water. Make it a habit and you'll find that other constructive things follow because you've started the day in a focused way.
Jean: Keep whatever designated workspace clean and organized so your mind is free of visual or physical clutter.
Collectively: Make a list the day before, so you wake up the next day with a more focused direction on what to do.
Scott Thibeault
Senior Industrial Designer, frog (San Francisco)
Enter a caption (optional)What are the regular activities you get up to in the morning?
I generally wake up at 7 a.m. and begin by meditating for five minutes out on the patio while my wife practices yoga. Meditation helps me mentally prepare for the day; a chance to reflect and try not to think about work. I see morning as a sacred time for my wife and me to be together given our very different jobs during the day. It's a common ground for us. After our respective practices, we step out to walk our dog Elvis for about two miles. I don't eat breakfast or drink coffee, and I try to not look at my calendar before leaving the house. Then, it's time to rip up to the city; I ride my motorcycle 26 miles from Redwood City. I am passionate about motorcycles and the culture, so this is the most zen part of my day. I've noticed on days that I can't ride, I'm a little more on edge. Once I get to work, I begin to address my day by looking at my calendar, eating a light breakfast and drinking coffee. Striving for the balance of life and work is definitely a priority for me, and having a meaningful morning helps me achieve that.
Michael Kritzer
Principal, Always Good (Seattle)
Enter a caption (optional)When exactly do you wake up?
My mornings start around 6:15 AM -- and sometimes earlier (in the Pacific Northwest, it starts getting light as early as 4:30 AM!)
What are the regular activities you get up to in the morning?
I usually think about projects throughout the night and I like to review them when I wake. Some ideas are good, others.. not so much. But, in those fleeting moments of regaining consciousness, there's a neat time for seeing opportunities. Kind of like Dali and his key but with real sleep..
I also make sure to chat with my wife in the morning. She has an amazing ability to make me focus on life as it's happening, rather than getting lost in details.
Like others, I love my shower time. And thanks to the stream, I draw out my ideas on our glass door and problem solve. Such a wonderful time to think and work.
After showering and getting ready, I make an honest attempt to unplug. If I have time, I like to study in the morning and learn something new. It never ceases to amaze how a newly learned fact or theory can become useful almost immediately, whether directly or indirectly.
Lastly, I usually don't like to discuss my personal beliefs. but I do put on tefillin in the morning and while doing so, I like to take a moment to realize and state all the things I appreciate in my life. It's amazing how much joy realizing what you're thankful for can bring, and I try to carry that feeling throughout my day.
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