Good Morning! What’s Next?

Maybe everyone has a morning routine. I know I do. Maybe not everyone does. Maybe I do because

1. I am a Virgo and everything has to be in a list and belong to a routine. 
2. I am older and set in my ways — and have a lot of freedom in my schedule.
3. I have lived alone, or primarily alone, for 20 years or so.

If you tell me yours, I will tell you mine. In fact, even if you don’t tell me yours, I am going to tell you mine. It varies very little from day to day.

I usually set the alarm for 6:30. I don’t usually need to get up this early, but I am a person who loves consistency. Oh, here is something else about me. I am very attuned to the time and the clock. For example, if I have an appointment at 10:30 in the morning, I will count back to see what time I have to do each thing. For example: appointment at 10:30, need to leave the house at 9:45. So I need to get into the shower by 9 the latest. So I need to be at the computer by 8 to do what I  “need” to do there. That means I need to get the coffee/bedroom routine done by 8. 

So, sometimes I do hit Snooze and don’t get up until nearly 7. Don’t laugh at how regimented I am!! I turn on the bedroom light. I weigh myself. Then I proceed to the kitchen and start up the Keurig. I pull up all the shades and turn the computer on in the office. I take the one vitamin supplement I take in the morning and change the dog’s water. The coffee is now ready, so I dress it up and take it back to bed with me, Oh, and I usually take the dog out back before I settle down in bed with the coffee.

Coffee in hand, sitting in bed, I first check Facebook briefly. Then I check my email, mostly to delete 90 percent of it! I should unsubscribe and occasionally I do, but it is just so much easier to swipe and delete the emails.  Then I see if anything is new on my YouTube subscriptions. I follow Meidas Touch for the political, and then a bunch of manifesting coaches. 

Next comes my favorite part of this whole routine: The New York Times word games to which I subscribe. In this order (of course, they must be in order!!!) I do Wordle, Connections, Letter Boxed, The Mini crossword puzzle, and Strands. I share Wordle and Connections with my Facebook friends.

Sometimes I will listen to a You Tube video, nothing too long at this point. Otherwise, now I read for however long I have before I get up, which is 8:45 at the latest. 

I get up and feed the dog. Then I am ready to settle in my office for a while and “work.”

1. I check my books sales on the major two sites I sell on.
2. I check my credit card  and bank balances to make sure everything looks right. 
3. I find some word or tip of the day I can post on social media. 
4. I post on Bluesky and look at the timeline to see what I can repost or steal for my other social media sites. I search for grammar and coffee mugs.
5. I go to LinkedIn and post my tip, and I repost interesting things — and maybe steal some for my remaining two social media sites.
6. Next is Spoutible, mainly political, but I post my tip again and whatever I have found on the other sites that is relevant — and I also repost items of interest.
7. Finally is Facebook. I reply, I repost, I post whatever fun things I have found. Then I post my tip and my mug of the day from a list I have gathered. I then go to my Facebook Business  Page and post the tip and whatever else is relevant. 
8. Next, I go to my website’s email, where there usually isn’t too much. That is where blog post comments are.  I always reply.
9. Finally, I go to my regular email accounts, of which I have two, and see what is going on. Occasionally, I go through them and delete what I can, what has already happened. etc.
10. DONE

When I moved to Florida, of course someone taught me to play Mah Jongg. I played several times with a group of women, but I was always a substitute and never did it regularly. I have been asked a few times, but I really don’t want to spend four hours playing once a week. So, I play online with my free allotted four games a day while I eat breakfast at my computer. And thus ends my morning computer ritual. I do get derailed every so often when I have an early engagement of some kind. I am not opposed to changing things up a little or speeding them up!

The next step in my day is generally showering and getting dressed. From then on, who knows? Errands, lunch date, appointments???? Usually Starbucks is somehow involved. 

And yeah, I kind of have an evening ritual as well!

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