Slow Mornings: What They Are and Why You Need Them
Slowing down at the start of your day can help you get things done that are important and meaningful to you.
I’m a morning person. Most days I roll out of bed a few minutes before my alarm goes off at 4 am.
The first thing I do is get my workout in. I know if I wait until later in the day I’ll miss it. That’s why I make sure it’s the first thing I do, no matter what.
Mornings are the most productive part of the day. After a good night’s rest, your mind and body are full rested for the day ahead. And because the rest of the world is fast asleep, it’s harder to get distracted.
But for most people, the morning is also the busiest – and, thus, the least productive – part of the day. Whether you’re getting ready to go to work or sending kids off to school, the morning can feel hectic and stressful.
By the time you get to work, fill up your coffee mug, chit chat with coworkers, and scan your inbox, it can feel like the entire morning has been wasted. Over time, these feelings compound, leading to burnout and a feeling that you’re not making as much progress towards your goals as you would like.
Productivity gurus will tell you to just wake up earlier to cram as much productivity as you can in before you start your work day. As a member of the 4 am club, I know early mornings aren’t for everyone.
The older I get, the more I realize there really isn’t much of an ROI to waking up earlier just to hustle harder. It doesn’t matter whether you work a 10 hour day or a 16 hour day, burnout is burnout.
What’s more important is the quality of work you’re doing and the personal fulfillment that work brings you.
Rather than trying to get more done in a given day, you should strive to do less. That doesn’t mean you should slack off though. It just means you should prioritize the right things at the start of the day to create a more balanced life for yourself.
Just like slow productivity might be the antidote to our overworked and hyper optimized work culture, slow mornings could be the answer to reclaiming your time. By taking time out of your day to give yourself proper rest and rejuvenation, you could find yourself becoming more productive overall – not less.
What’s a slow morning
Based on the words “slow morning” you might think a slow morning is an excuse for sleeping in or being lazy. That’s not it at all. A slow morning is a way to intentionally carve out time for things that matter to you at the start of your day.
Let me give you an example. I love to learn and I think reading is the key to learning. But if I don’t intentionally block out time in my schedule to sit down and read something, guess how many hours I spend per day reading?
Zero.
That’s where slow mornings come in. When I practice a slow morning I prioritize reading before I dive into whatever work I need to get done for the day.
By doing something I love – learning – and working towards a goal – reading all the books on my bookshelf – I fulfill a deep need while making progress toward a goal.
Most people mindlessly go through the day as it unfolds. If you start your day in a state of stress, stress is only going to continue proliferating throughout the day. A slow morning helps you start your day on the right foot, elevating your mood and your likelihood of being more productive throughout the day.
More importantly, a slow morning gives you time to pause and think about what really matters most to you.
Why slow mornings matter
Resets your brain
Your brain needs time to rest. You’re not meant to be ‘on’ all the time. These days that’s exactly what happens. The boundary between work and rest has become so blurred that most people can no longer distinguish between the two. Our days are filled with a neverending list of tasks that we convince ourselves we can accomplish but rarely ever do.
Instead of diving into your todo list first thing in the morning, slow down. Give your brain a chance to reset by exploring other things you’re curious about. For some people that’s reading, for others it might be music, art, or quiet contemplation. As one Redditor said their ideal slow morning would allow them to satisfy their curiosity:
My ideal slow morning would also be on a weekend. I'd wake up whenever my body told me to, without an alarm, and sip on a cup of hot coffee with brown sugar while making a gratitude list in my head. Then I read two newspapers - but only the stories that make me curious and want to learn more. Then I read a book while eating breakfast. Then I yawn and go back to sleep for another hour. It's simple because I am using my brain to learn about the world and to satisfy my curiosity instead of using my brain for a series of specific tasks often not dictated by me like I do on weekdays.
Gives you a chance to confront guilt
You are a human, not a robot. You have interests and hobbies you’d love to pursue if you just had more time in the day. The problem is you don’t have enough time. Between work and family obligations, there’s little time left over for you.
What you might not be aware of is just how much the prioritization of work shapes your perception of yourself. According to one survey, half of workers feel guilty for taking a vacation, and if they do, they end up working during it anyways.
This reveals workers harbor an immense amount of guilt for doing things that benefit them. And because remote work and constant access to Slack and email has made it difficult for workers to establish boundaries in their own homes, you’re stuck in a constant guilt trap.
A slow morning is a chance for you to take time for yourself to do what’s important to you. The more you practice slow mornings, the easier it’ll become to confront any guilt you feel and establish boundaries between work and your life.
Forces you to get better at prioritizing things
Slow mornings can be challenging to implement because they make it feel like you’re wasting time you could otherwise be using to get things done.
Instead of framing it like that, look at slow mornings as a forcing mechanism. If you suddenly had an hour or two less to get work done, how would you structure your workday differently? What would you prioritize getting done and what would you hold onto for another day?
While it might seem like an inconvenience at first, a slow morning is a way for you to get better at prioritizing things. It requires you to think critically about your todo list so you can still get what you need to get done but in a shorter window of time.
Carves out time for projects that are important to you
You might love your job but there’s a good chance there’s things you do that you don’t particularly like. Maybe I’m biased but I don’t know a single person who finds pleasure in attending meetings that could’ve been emails.
Because your job is so time consuming, you probably don’t have much time or energy left over at the end of the day to work towards your personal goals. That’s one of the reasons why you never do the things you tell yourself you’re going to do someday.
A slow morning is an intentional block of time that you can commit toward projects you want to accomplish. By starting the day working toward a personal project, you ensure you’re making progress so that you know someday it’ll actually get done.
Invites peace into your life
Jobs are stressful. Whether you realize it or not, you’re always one day away from being fired or laid off. If the stress of your work isn’t bad enough, knowing deep down that your job doesn’t provide you with real security is probably taking a toll on your body and mental health.
A slow morning gives you time to be present in your life. Even if you can only commit to one hour a week, that’s one hour less your employer has over you. How could that change your relationship with yourself, with others, and your overall outlook on life?
How to implement a slow morning
Begin the night before
The night before a slow morning, start by getting ready. Set out your clothes, prepare your space, and set your coffee so you’re ready to go as soon as you wake up.
Anticipate what you’ll need before you close out your work day. If you plan on coming into work late let your boss and coworkers know. Set an out of office on year email so everyone knows not to expect a response from you until later in the day.
Put the screens away
Aside from work, the other drain on your time is your phone. Gen Z spends about seven hours a day on their phones. Most of this time is spent mindlessly scrolling through social media posts and videos.
To get the most out of your slow morning, put all your screens away. Turn off your phone and close your laptop. If your slow morning includes writing, disable the internet. Set a block on your router, use Opal to avoid distracting websites, or invest in a “dumb” device that makes it impossible to mindlessly surf the web.
Establish a ritual
In Atomic Habits, James Clear writes about the importance of eliminating friction when it comes to adopting a new habit. Establishing a ritual for how you conduct slow mornings can do just that.
Create your environment. Designate a space to have your slow morning. It can be sitting in a cozy chair, drinking a cup of coffee on your front porch, or going to a quiet spot in a park or by a body of water near your home. If you know this is your space for slow mornings, it will prime your mind when you’re ready to begin.
Set the tone. Engage all of your senses in your slow morning. Get a comfy blanket, light a candle or fire, and play some relaxing music. Create a clear distinction for yourself that you are not in work mode.
Prepare your space. Give yourself something to look forward to. Get a nice bag of coffee that you can make a cup from (or tea if that’s what you fancy). Take a break from your usual regimentation. If you want to have a bowl of Reese’s Puffs during your slow morning then give yourself permission to indulge.
Make it a date
You can have a slow morning every day if you want but you don’t have to. And honestly, I don’t know if I’d recommend doing this all the time. Creating some scarcity makes it more enjoyable. I’d recommend taking a morning once a week or twice a month to slow down.
Choose whatever frequency best suits your lifestyle. Once you have a sense of when you’d like to do your slow mornings, put it in your calendar to make it official. If slow mornings become real on your calendar you’re more likely to stick to them.
Final takeaway.
While slow mornings can feel counterproductive they may have the opposite effect. By giving yourself time to reset and permission to engage your mind in doing things that you’re naturally curious about, you’re more likely to be more productive on other things.
Implementing a slow morning requires you to become more aware of your time and how you’re using it. As a byproduct, you’ll be able to allocate it more effectively to actually do the things you want to do.
Have you tried a slow morning? If so, share your experience in the comments.