Reflecting on our morning routine…

Hello beautiful SMASH crew,

Sammy here, I don't always have the pleasure of writing these emails, however Ash is currently having a well earned rest and enjoying some sun on holiday, so we thought I could share something with the SMASH community.

SMASH has always made me think about my own mental health, how I relate to mindfulness and what I can do to improve it. That has escalated since teaching you all, I have got into books, podcast and the ever faithful TED talks about the subject and what a big subject it is. One thing it has made me evaluate is my 'morning routine'.

I work a 9 to 5 desk job outside of SMASH and like so many of us I have pretty much been working at home since March last year. That led me to a morning habit of seeing how long I could stay in bed before I had to roll out of it, have a quick shower and be in my office chair for a 9 am "morning" chat on Teams. As for breakfast, that was usually me rushing at 10.30am for what would tie me over till Lunch.

I had stopped prioritising myself. Yes, I got an extra hour in bed or even more time on instagram. Did I feel better for it, not really. I didn't want to jump out of bed and get 'stuff done' before I started work. I just wanted to be kind to my body and give it time to wake up and ready for the day. So I started reassessing my 'morning routine' or in other terms breaking old 'bad' habits to make way for new 'good' habits.

Three things I wanted to go by;

1- Everyone is different, what works for someone else may not work for me.

2 - Every day is a new day, It takes 21 days to create new habits and leave old ones behind.

3 - No pressure, do what feels good!

My morning now starts by breaking a few habits, stop snoozing my alarm and avoid jumping straight on my phone. This has given me time to enjoy myself more and include, for example a morning meditation, sitting down to eat my breakfast and to move my body (a walk or maybe completing a house chore) all of which puts me in a great mood to start my day.


Writing this down it seems so simple, but it's easy to be overwhelmed with having the 'perfect' routine thats on trend or to procrastinate. When I started to change how I looked at that time I stopped putting pressure on myself to achieve set goals in my routine. I take each day as a new day, and choose to spend my time on what works for me. Now I really look forward to my time before work, instead of having a corridor between the bed and the desk. I have space to focus and to relax.

Maybe take a little time today to reflect on your morning routine, Has it changed much over the last few months? Are there habits or aspects in your morning routine that you would like the evaluate to set you up for a great day?

Sam, Ash & the SMASH team