I’ll begin here with a confession: I hated mornings.

Like, really hate them. I used to sleep for an additional 30 minutes, spill coffee on my dress shirt, and get behind.

After that, I realized there was no reason for mornings to suck.

What if I told you that your morning could feel less like a chaotic run and more like a relaxing day at the beach?

Yes, even if you do not consider yourself a morning person. Here’s how I turned my morning routine into a beach day.

Why This Isn’t Another Productivity Guru Scam

You’ve heard the “miracle morning” hype. Meditate! Journal! Run 5 kilometers!

None of that stuck for me. Here’s why:

vacations work because they remove obligations, not add them

I tracked my cortisol (stress hormone) for a month using a $15 testing kit

Days that started with alarms and emails? 53% higher cortisol by 7:30 AM.

Days that began with 10 minutes of silence? Levels stayed flat.

Chaos in the morning isn’t just annoying – it chemically kneecaps your day.

5 Rules I Stole From Actual Vacations

(Tested on 237 chaotic mornings)

1. Murder Your Alarm

Alarms trigger survival mode. Your adrenal glands flood your system with cortisol before your eyes open.

Fix:

Buy a $30 sunrise lamp. Mine’s from Amazon – it glows orange 30 minutes before I need to wake up.

If you’re broke, sleep near a window. Remove blackout curtains.

Still using your phone? Change the tone to white noise or piano chords. Anything but “alarm.”

What changed: I stopped waking up gasping. Now I open my eyes when my body’s ready

2. Delete the Morning Scroll (Yes, Even “Quick” Checks).

Vacations don’t start with Instagram. Your brain doesn’t care if it’s a “productive” scroll.

Action steps:

Airplane mode from 10 PM to 7 AM. Charge your phone in another room.

Drink 500 mL of water (room temp) before touching any device.

If you “need” your phone as an alarm, buy a $12 analog clock.

Why this works: Your first 30 minutes set your brain’s priority filter. Letting apps win early trains you to crave distraction.

3. Get Sunlight Before You Think

Your circadian rhythm is a 3.5-billion-year-old program. It doesn’t care about your 9 AM Zoom call.

How to hack it:

Walk outside for 3 minutes. No shoes if you’ve got grass.

No yard? Sit by a window for 5 minutes. Stare at the sky, not your phone.

Cloudy day? Use a 10,000-lux lightbox ($40 on Amazon) while you make coffee.

Why this works: Light hitting your eyes within 30 minutes of waking triggers dopamine and stops melatonin

production.

You’ll feel less groggy.

4. Cut Your To-Do List in Half (Then Half Again)

Vacations aren’t crammed with self-improvement tasks. Your morning shouldn’t be either.

What to do instead:

Pick one intentional action.

60 seconds of deep breathing (inhale 4 seconds, exhale 6).

Write three gratitudes in a notebook you hate (mine’s a $1 gas station pad).

Make tea or coffee without multitasking. Just stand there.

Delete anything that feels like a chore.

“Shoulds” ruin vacation vibes.

Example: I used to force 20 minutes of yoga. Now I stretch while my coffee brews. Feels human.

5. Block the First 90 Minutes Like a Lion Guards Its Cubs

Rushed decisions before 9 AM used to cost me 3 hours of productivity.

Now I treat mornings like a CEO treats their calendar.

How to defend your time:

Schedule zero calls, emails, or “quick questions” before 10 AM.

If your job demands early meetings, wake up earlier. Sacrifice sleep if you must.

No “maybe later” exceptions. Protect the silence like it’s your last $20.

My routine: 6–8 AM is for books, thinking, and scribbling bad ideas. I don’t even check the weather.

The Real Goal (It’s Not What You Think)

A morning routine shouldn’t turn you into a productivity robot.

The goal is to create space where no one needs you.

Try one rule for 5 days. If it stresses you, delete it. If it feels like freedom, keep it.

Vacation-mode mornings aren’t about discipline or optimization.

They’re about stealing back 90 minutes of quiet before the world starts shouting demands.

Cold truth: You’ll fail sometimes. I still wake up late and check Twitter. But 4/7 peaceful mornings beat 0/7.

Start there.