My Unfiltered Morning Routine as a Working Mom

Skincare, makeup, lunch prep, supplements, some general chaos...

Am I alone at being weirdly stalkerish about morning routines?

I feel like it started back in the early aughts Us Weekly days, when I would devour stories of celebrities waking up at 6 a.m. to drink hot lemon water and make green smoothies. Then of course the wellness blogger era (affirmations! journaling!), and then finally today’s TikTok “come along with me as I get morning sunlight, eat protein before coffee, down some coconut cult and get a head start on my 10,000 steps” videos (which I’m watching, obviously).

The morning routine that I see only once in awhile, that strikes me as being very rare and exciting (kinda like seeing a pink car or an actually clever billboard IRL) is that of a working mom. Maybe it’s because working moms are too busy sprinting to get out the door to find time to chronicle out a routine. Or maybe because our morning routines are too chaotic to even be classified as a “routine”…because they’re less calming mantras, more scrambling to fill water bottles and find as missing sock.

As part of Whatever She’s Doing, I’ve started interviewing other working moms about what mornings look like for them, so I figured now is as good a time as any to lay out what really happens in my house, starting before the sun comes up (sob).

I have two daughters (kindergarten and second grade), and their school starts at 7:50 a.m. Which means we need to be out the door by 7:35 a.m. to walk up the (massive) hill and get there before the bell. So things get going…early.

And a quick heads up that this post includes affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. And as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These are all products I genuinely love and purchased with all my own money :).

5:30 a.m.

Let me start by saying…I don’t ENJOY waking up at 5:30 a.m. In fact I would prefer NOT to wake up at 5:30 a.m. My natural wake-up time is closer to 6:30 or 7. But the peace of mind I get from waking up before anyone else in the family, having a few minutes just to myself, and getting a jump start on the day makes it beyond worth it. I try to go to bed by 9:30 p.m. to make this wake-up less painful, but it always sorta is.

The first thing I do is the “morning shed” (which I have unknowingly been doing for years before this term was coined). That means take off my silk hair bonnet, take out my ear plugs, and remove my super-sexy mouth guard and retainer. Yes, I’m 40 and still wear a retainer (cue the sound of my inner middle schooler groaning). But I don’t want my teeth to get crooked again, dammit! The heartache of going through three years of braces WITH RUBBER BANDS is not something I care to do again.

Hot hair bonnet

Then I rinse off my face, pat it dry, and get right back in bed with my red light mask. This kind of eases me into the day (because hey, I’m still lying down under the covers!). I have it on for 3 minutes, during which time I try to just breathe deeply and think positively about the day ahead.

After that, I’m into the bathroom to tongue scrape, brush my teeth, put in my contacts (I keep meaning to get Lasik but…life), and do my skincare routine:

• Naturium Azelaic Acid

• CosRX Snail Mucin

• Roc Retinol Eye Cream

• Weleda Skin Food (I know it’s thick and greasy but as I get older I’m trying to keep in ALL the moisture)

• Sunscreen (I switch it up but currently using Beauty of Joseon, bought in Korea)

I take a few minutes to massage it in with my fingers, scraping along my jaw toward the ear and gently massaging out under my eyes, and up and out on my upper eyelids and brow bone to drain fluid. This helps my eye area look more awake and my whole face look less puffy.

5:45 a.m.

At this point I go upstairs to the kitchen, where my morning decaf coffee is already hot and waiting for me (I set my coffee maker the night before). I add in stevia, 1 scoop of chocolate marine collagen powder, and some steamed soy milk. I also have a 16 oz glass of filtered water with 5g creatine mixed in, my daily multivitamin, and fish oil (I take the rest of my supplements—iron and magnesium—later in the day).

Morning wellness stack

I pop on my red light hat for 10 minutes. I got it about 6 months ago as part of a VERY comprehensive “make my hair grow longer and thicker” campaign (which is actually working, details coming soon). It was expensive, but I was willing to invest in my hair and scalp, and it’s super easy to wear while doing the chores (I probably wouldn’t wear it out of the house though, xo).

With the hat on, I spend a few minutes ice rolling my face, which feels refreshing and also helps to depuff. Then I unload the dishwasher, which I run every night before bed. I lay out a cutting board and 2 kids’ bento boxes to create a “lunch making station” for later in the morning (as much as I’ve tried, I just can’t get it together enough to make lunches the night before).

6 a.m.

From 6-6:30, I do one of two things: work out, or catch up on life admin.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday I do a Peloton workout. Either a 20-minute progressive strength class + 5 minute ab class, or on Fridays I do a 30-minute spin class with a few girlfriends who join me virtually (if anyone’s interested in joining, let me know!). The Peloton Strength membership is only $12.99/month, which I think is a great deal for the TONS of very high-quality classes available. I keep a yoga mat and 3 sets of weights in my living room, and the bike is in the garage (I gave up the pricier spin class membership and just prop up my phone on the bike handlebars).

I also LOVE (love) Solidcore classes, but now with two kids in early school, I’ve had to give up morning classes and instead go Tuesday and Thursday afternoons before pick-up (which is ONLY possible now that I don’t have a corporate job anymore).

And to be very honest…this workout routine is a “best case scenario” routine. Some days it doesn’t happen. That’s ok. I plan for 5-6 workouts per week, knowing it will realistically be more like 3-5.

Tuesday and Thursday mornings I catch up on life admin on my laptop. This is stuff that could very easily creep into the workday, and piles up enough that once a week leaves me behind. A few examples of life admin:

• Book all types of doctor appointments

• Booking family holiday photo shoot session

• School paperwork (field trip permission slips, picture day order forms)

• School sign-ups (what food am I bringing into the literacy breakfast, when am I bringing in second grade snacks, when am I volunteering in the classroom)

• Paying bills

• Ensuring Google calendars are all up to date

• Etc.

6:30 a.m.

If I just worked out, I’ll take a sprint body shower (aka, 3 minutes with soap). Then I’ll get dressed. Since I work from home but still want to feel presentable (to myself and to other parents at drop-off), my typical “uniform” is a loose-fit pair of jeans (Levi’s or 12th Street lately), a white t-shirt (Gap), a cozy sweater (American Vintage, Everlane, Gap), a few layered necklaces (Gorjana), and sneakers for the walk to and from school (Adidas, Veja).

From there, the 5-minute makeup routine. As someone who worked in the beauty industry for 13 years (10 at Benefit, hence my die-hard love of several products), I live to try new products and mix it up just to keep life interesting, but when traveling I just bring one from each category and call it a day.

• Tinted sunscreen (currently rotating Avene and Drmtlgy) OR It Cosmetics Nude Glow CC Cream (SO good)

• Brow pencil (Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil, always)

• Brow gel (Benefit Precisely, My Brow Wax or Benefit Fluff Up Brow Wax)

• Cream, liquid or gel blush (currently rotating Tower 28, Merit, Rare Beauty)

• Mascara (Benefit Roller Lash is my go-to for lifted, separated lashes but I’m ALWAYS trying new mascaras, and I love to layer two kinds)

• Lip liner (currently Fenty, Make Up For Ever, Maybelline Lifter Liner)

• Lip gloss (currently Eadem, Maybelline Lifter Gloss, Summer Fridays)

Final (unfiltered, unedited) 5-minute morning makeup

6:45 a.m.

The kids’ alarm goes off (chirping birds, so nice right). That means it’s showtime.

Sometimes they will spring right out of bed, some days are rough. With kids, every day is different. So, we give them a little buffer to ease into the day. I turn off their sound machine and open all the blinds.

7 a.m.

By 7 we need to be upstairs making breakfast…typically protein waffles with a cup of milk, or cereal (I try my best to get healthier brands that they also like, a recent favorite has been Magic Spoon fruity cereal. I use the Yuka app to try to make semi-healthier choices). If we have time, I’ll make a scrambled egg sandwich on Challah bread, which we get from a local bakery. My kids love a leisurely breakfast so this takes up a good chunk of the morning. I’ve learned over the years not to rush this time or it will not be pretty.

While the kids eat, I make their lunches. The typical formula is sandwich (turkey + cheese for one, sunflower seed butter + jelly for the other), veggies (baby carrots + cucumber slices + spinach), fruit (apple or berries or clementines or peaches etc.), cheese (string cheese for one, Laughing Cow slice for the other) + a wild card (veggie straws, pretzel sticks, freeze-dried fruit, crackers, etc.). I also pack them each a snack, which is can be a low-sugar yogurt, applesauce, Z bar, a Trader Joe’s fruit leather or fruit buttons, pretzel sticks, you get it.

7:20 a.m.

Now it’s crunch time. The kids know their morning chores: clear their plates, get dressed, brush teeth, put on sunscreen (a small stick sunscreen is the easiest for them to do themselves, and for me to pretend to myself that they’ll reapply during the day…lol). The kids’ socks, shoes, har ties, hair brush, leave-in conditioning spray, and sunscreen are all in baskets at the front door which makes things easier.

My little one still needs help with a lot of these steps so I’m shepherding them along the way (also so they don’t get distracted by playing…or arguing with each other). I’ll do my best to get their hair looking presentable, and if I have a spare 5 minutes I’ll throw a few curls into my own hair. Imagine that.

No matter what, by the end we’re RUSHING to get out the door. I feel like a drill sargeant most days, sometimes literally shouting “GO! GO! GO!”.

7:35 a.m.

Out the door (hopefully), walking to school.

7:50 a.m.

Morning circle with the whole school, saying good-bye to the kids and watching them line up and run off with their respective friends and teachers, chit-chatting with other parents.

8:00 a.m.

On Mondays, we have a Parents’ Run Club where a group of us jog 2 miles together. It’s a really nice way to kick off the week and also get to know other parents. Every other day, I walk to a nearby Philz Coffee and grab my second decaf of the day (large Luca’s Unplugged with light cream and sweet stevia). On Wednesdays a good friend of mine joins, and we hang and catch up for 30 minutes, but most days I get it to go. Then I walk home. At this point I’ve totaled about 3,700 steps (more on Mondays!), which is pretty good for that early in the morning

8:15 a.m.

Now that I’m home (and I no longer have to commute into the office), I use this time for chore catch-up. I’ll clean up the breakfast dishes, throw in a load of laundry or fold any laundry leftover from the day before, and do some general tidying-up. Some days I’ll vacuum, others I’ll clean the toilets if it’s a desperate situation. I have a house cleaner who comes once a month for a deep-clean, but the rest of the time it’s on me, and I like to keep the house at least decently tidy.

I’ll also have my Power Drink during this window. It’s a 16 oz glass of filtered water with AG1 greens powder, a drop of the liquid Vitamin D (it comes with the powder), psyllium powder for fiber, and Armra colostrum (again, back on the “make my hair grow” train). It tastes decent and I chug it very quickly. I feel like it gives me energy for the day, makes me get sick less often, and helps my hair and nails (although that all may be placebo but oh well). It also tides me over til I eat breakfast, usually between 9-10.

8:45 a.m.

Log onto my laptop and “start” my day!

—

Let me know about your morning routine, and if you think this could be interesting to your Substack people, please share!