BY AARDE WRITES for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 6/19/2026
Dear Aarde,
Something about the sunshine makes me want to create a new morning routine. What sorts of things could I do to get this started, and what tips do you have to stay inspired so it lasts?
Signed,
New Number
Hey New Number,
This is the beginning of a new era for you! Many look back on the decades and think of all the wasted time spent at the bar, on the couch, panic-pleasing others, or leaving themselves in the back seat. While reflection can be powerful, it’s easy to mistake it for regret; it’s natural to wonder where life might have gone with healthier habits, earlier examples of self-love, or more encouragement to put oneself first.
Now, I don’t know anything about your age, but that doesn’t matter; after 40, you’re 30 forever. And if you’re 20, hell, you’re going to do great if you’re starting now!
It might be annoying that my advice starts the night before, but really, good sleep is the best scaffolding for good choices. Failing to prepare the night before often creates chaos the next day. You are in control of transforming your mornings from a frantic scramble into a smooth start.
First, take a few moments in the evening to write down your to-do list. The chores will still be there in the morning, and your list will be ready for you when you wake up. There’s no need for your brain to work tirelessly through the night, keeping track and prioritizing tasks when it could focus on other things, like maintaining and regulating your body. Writing it down and setting it aside gives your brain space to relax and concentrate on other tasks more effectively.
Change is difficult, and this next one is the hardest part for many people, myself included. Try setting a timer to put electronics aside. You could put them in another room away from where you sleep, or turn them off completely. Either way, take the intoxicating frequencies away from your place of rest. Avoiding the blue light from electronics and switching up your evening lighting with red or amber bulbs for nightlights helps your circadian rhythm prepare for rest. Ancient humans went to bed with the sun, the sherbet sunset signaling their internal clocks to rest. Your body remembers this, I promise. It’s in our DNA.
You don’t have to be part of the 4 a.m. club, but you would feel the benefits of a habitual waking pattern at a preselected time. Find a time that works for you and try to stick to it. An old wind-up alarm clock works perfectly fine and looks cool, especially if you’re going for a retro aesthetic.
Reaching for your phone as soon as you wake up can quickly shift your attention from your own priorities to everyone else’s demands. When your eyes open each day, remember: You are not a robot, you are not a slave, you are not a consumer. You are being human. Say it aloud if you have to. This is where keeping your phone out of your bedroom is extremely helpful: It allows time to exist, unadulterated. Now, no one is suggesting you become a Luddite overnight, but it is possible and beneficial to integrate manageable changes. Try to integrate this a few nights a week and see how you feel.
Alarms have a way of startling humans back into this realm, so before you jump out of bed to a full salute, try making a conscious choice to stretch your lumbering muscles. Do a quick body check; mentally start with your head and work your way down to your toes, giving each body part a moment of your thought space. You’d be surprised what your body will telepathically tell you if you’re listening.
After that, and once you’re moving about, be sure to hydrate. You’ve just been fasting, so break your fast with a glass of lemon water. Bonus point if you can find a place filled with natural light to drink it. Even if it’s through the winter rains, sit by a window with your glass of sunny lemon water. Your body will thank you for hydrating; it was working hard to regulate your organs all night. Extra bonus point if you have a morning beeswax candle to sit with.
Your lemon water session is a perfect time to have your notebook with you. You could go over your evening list and plan the execution of each task for the rest of the day. You could meditate for a few minutes to improve your mood. You could follow Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way and write your two pages. Hell, you could read three Japanese Death Poems to really get you going. You can do anything that sets the tone for the hours ahead.
It can all seem a bit rigid at first, but you can create a morning routine that matches your personality and lifestyle. Designing a realistic routine that works for you will help you stay consistent; you may not want to write two pages of stream-of-consciousness to start your day, and that’s okay. Do what works, do what you enjoy, and do what you can maintain. It only takes 10 minutes to set yourself up right. You’re worth 10 minutes, right? You give 10 minutes in line at the coffee shop. You give 10 minutes on Instagram. Give it to yourself. This isn’t about perfection; it’s about slow, steady changes over time, building a nourishing nest with tiny twigs. And don’t judge yourself harshly if you need to make adjustments or adapt to busy periods or travel needs. It’s perfectly fine to be fluid when it makes sense.
Some believe your value lies in your production, but I don’t see it that way. What matters more is how we choose to show up in the world and how we contribute to something larger than ourselves, the universal frequency of love. We can begin to see ourselves as the CEO of our own lives, not in a corporate sense of pressure or performance, but in the sense of stewardship. We are responsible for the quality of what we put into the world. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that CEOs don’t have established routines for managing their lives. Focus less on external successes and more on building internal support. By setting yourself up this way, you create a baseline from which everything else flows. That quiet structure becomes the foundation for how you give and receive love throughout the day. And in that sense, the universe responds in kind. When we treat ourselves with intention, respect, and care, we begin to experience more of that reflected to us, not as a transaction, but as alignment. When we operate as the CEO of our own lives, we are not controlling everything; we are choosing the quality of what we contribute and allowing that to shape what returns.
