It's Andy Fish!

I keep in touch with many of my former college students– some of them are now *gulp* into their 40s! I got this email recently from one of my favorite students from back in the day;

I miss having some of your common sense advice during your lectures, things like not showing up for a client meeting looking like an unwashed bed, and your no holds barred strong opinions on how to behave “Like an adult.” The other day I got up and got to work and realized at 3pm I was still in my pajamas, I’d not had even a cup of coffee never mind any kind of breakfast (or by that point lunch) and I was incredibly embarrassed when the electric company guy showed up to put in my smart meter. I had an excuse in that I worked until about 2am on deadlines and had slept until 930am, but glancing at the clock at 315pm I realized I wasn’t acting like an adult and your words rang in my head. Any chance you can go through one of those morning routines we’d talked about?

Absolutely– I have a few regular readers here who feel my opinions on things like this are a bit arrogant and I should not be telling people how to live. To clarify 1- this is my blog– see how it has my name up there? So I get to talk about whatever I want. 2- I personally could care less how someone lives his or her life (yup two genders there, so pick one) and 3- I’m being asked so consider this a public service opinion piece.

I stay up pretty late myself, although I’m trying to change that because I don’t like waking up at 845am– I’d rather be up at 8, but that’s an issue I’m struggling with. But as is probably not surprising to anyone that knows me I have a pretty militaristic morning routine– and that is one of many reasons why I don’t like staying with people, because then I’m at the whim of YOUR routine, and my OCD gets very prickly.

1- First thing I do is say good morning to my wife. I have a very firm policy to treat her and those closest to me like I’m legitimately glad to see them each and every time I do– because in earnest, that’s how I feel.

2- I grab my clothes out of my walk in closet while checking the weather on my phone.

3- I hit the shower playing The Weather Channel on my phone because I don’t like starting with news but I do want to know the world still exists because if it doesn’t I’m going back to bed. I shave every other day, so every other day I have a five o’clock shadow– I adjust this so that I am clean shaven every Sunday and Monday morning- but I don’t let my beard grow longer than one day unless I’m actually growing it in– and my beard is completely white so when I do have it I look my actual age, which is fine, but without it I feel a lot younger.

4- Out of the shower and dressed– I take my vitamins, I straighten up/make the bed if Veronica didn’t do it– I hate unmade beds– see OCD above. Then I head downstairs, pour myself a freshly ground cup of brewed coffee, grab whatever small fresh pastry we have and say hello to my lovely wife again. If we’ve got anything for that day or the next to address we get that done, if not we talk about whatever we are both thinking/doing/working on.

5-I jump on my laptop, check my email, respond to everything important and then read the headlines before pouring a second cup of coffee and heading three floors up to my studio.

Usually around 11am Veronica brings me a breakfast sandwich, if I’m swamped with work I’ll eat it upstairs, if not I’ll join her at the table in the kitchen.

I do my first exercise routine of the day right after downing some protein and I continue that throughout the work day– not good to sit all day.

And that’s how I handle mornings.