Reading in the Morning

This post is inspired by The Ardent Biblio who wrote a beautiful little post being an early morning reader. I was inspired to write about my own routine as well!

Every weekday morning I wake up at 6AM, which gives me about an hour and a half to get ready for work, make myself some breakfast, pack myself a lunch, and take a bookish photo before I head to the train and into the city. It’s better for me to have this routine than to deviate from it. It’s too easy for me to deviate.

But on the weekends, I work at a different schedule. Instead of waking up at 6AM, I sleep in a few more hours. My husband sneaks out of the bedroom and starts his day while I rest off the stress of the week. I try not to linger in bed and instead take my time to get up and pick up my coffee from the coffeemaker. The brew is just the thing I need to wake myself up.

I prop my pillows up on my bed and cozy myself into my blankets. It’s time for me to read. I usually take this time to finish up the book I started earlier in the week. Writing blog articles and traveling to work doesn’t lend a lot of time to actually reading so the weekends are important for this time. Once I’m in bed for my morning reading, I try to keep away my phone and social media and spend the next few hours reading.

Since I’m up so early, there isn’t much for me to do in the morning. I feel lucky I get a spare two hours to read. There’s so much that can happen even on a weekend day from errands to chores to catching up on some articles I didn’t get a chance to write. If I don’t get at least two hours of reading done then I feel like I haven’t done any reading. I stomp around the house huffing about all these chores I have to do and errands I have to run when all I want to do is stay cozy in my pjs and messy hair and read.

Being an introvert also lends a hand here and I love to read when I’m recharging from a night of hanging out with friends. Mornings are always a good time to get some of that in especially when you might have plans later and falling deep into stories gives you a different outlook to your day.

I will admit that if I spend my mornings reading, I find myself lost in my imagination for the rest of the day. I want to wield magic or jump off ledges and battle against the forces of evil. Books take you on a journey and if you start your journey early, it sticks with you long after you put the book down. I don’t think I could ever trade that feeling.