According to the experts what you do first thing in the morning has the greatest impact on the success of the rest of your day. In this series we asked our soloist community what rituals they use to kickstart their systems before getting on with work for the day.

Do you action/plan/do anything specific to prepare for the morning the night before?
Nope. I try to get a good night’s sleep but often fail.  Sometimes I wake up with my brain buzzing so I have a pad and pen by my bed to brain dump, clear my mind and then hopefully go back to sleep!

What time do you wake up? And how do you do it? Ie, alarm, someone wakes you up or it just happens naturally.
I wake up generally around 6.30am, with my dog throwing himself against my bedroom door. I would literally kill for a lie in. 

What is the VERY first thing you do after you wake up? If you eat, what do you eat?
Hangs head in shame.  Checks social media, quick squiz through FB and Insta. Then music on and shower.  Next I head out with my CFO (Chief Furry Officer) for work and to grab a coffee, generally listening to a podcast.

What is your first drink of the day? Where are you when you’re drinking it?
Coffee, absolutely. Walking home from the coffee shop these days I buy two (in a Keep Cup) so I have one to sip on when I eventually get to sit down at my computer.

What part of your morning routine makes you feel the best?
The morning walk. It’s so much a part of my daily ritual I get really down when I don’t do it. It’s not just the fresh air, but also the coffee, the thinking time and the interaction with people in my village.

What part of the routine could you really live without?
The school run.

Describe your ideal morning

Because I have a small human and some days I take him to school and others I don’t – my mornings aren’t consistent. And as I’m a creature of habit I do crave consistency. Ideal mornings are waking up not feeling like something pulled from the vacuum cleaner tube, hot shower with good tunes, walk on the beach with dog and podcast and coffee, then a nice cooked breakfast, veggie bacon, egg, toast, avo. Then to my #tooncave and my computer.

I generally try to take five minutes to pick three big goals for the day before I open my inbox and get sucked into the vortex of being responsive.