Morning & Evening Routines

I have very specific morning and evening routines. If I didn’t have these routines, I know I could be in bed at a more reasonable hour (and get my day started more quickly, too). But alas, I am a girl who has a multi-step skincare routine and a bunch of little “to-do’s” I like to take care of in the midst of these routines. Since I am someone who struggles with doing one thing at a time (I’m working on it), I’ve built a morning/evening routine that incorporates little substeps within each bigger step. AKA: I don’t wash my face and then swipe on toner and then do my serums, etc. I wash my face… and then I make my bed and tidy up an area of my apartment. Then, I do my toner. I don’t know why I’m like this but I find it enjoyable to mark off a bunch of little steps in the midst of my skincare regimen. Plus, it allows the different products to sit on my face for a longer period of time. Is this effective? I have no idea, but I like to believe it helps a little.

This also means my morning and evening routines take a lot longer than they normally would. My morning routine isn’t too bad (it takes me about 20 minutes on average) but my evening routine takes forever. Usually an hour to an hour and a half from start to finish, but I take lots of breaks during this routine. Usually, I’ll set a timer for 10 minutes, do as many tasks as possible, and then when it goes off, I get 10 minutes to sit at my laptop and work on blog posts/read blog posts/catch up on personal email/etc. I usually need four 10-minute sets to get through the entire routine, so yeah, it adds up!

I want to note that many nights (like maybe half the time?), I do an abbreviated version of my morning or evening routine. Usually, I just don’t have the energy at the end of the night to do the full routine. You’ll see what that abbreviated version looks like at the end of each bullet list.

Without further ado, here are my morning and evening routines! (Like I mentioned above, each big task has two subtasks beneath it. I need to complete those subtasks before moving onto the next big task. AKA, I brush my teeth, get dressed, and empty the top shelf of the dishwasher before getting started on my skincare routine. Then I wash my face, make my bed, and empty the silverware from the dishwasher before doing toner. Etc etc.)

MORNING

• Brush teeth
  • Get dressed
  • Empty the top shelf of the dishwasher
• Step 1 of skincare: Cleanser (La Roche Posay Toleriane Purifying Facial Cleanser with Niacinamide)
  • Make bed
  • Empty silverware from dishwasher
• Step 2 of skincare: Toner (La Roche Posay Effaclar Salicylic Acid Clarifying Toner)
  • Fill up water bottle
  • Empty bottom shelf of dishwasher
• Step 3 of skincare: Niacinamide serum (The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% with Zinc 1%)
  • Take meds
  • Tidy bedroom and bathroom
• Step 4 of skincare: Vitamin C serum (innisfree Green Tea Enzyme Vitamin C Brightening Serum)
  • Disinfect CPAP mask and dump out humidifier water
  • Tidy kitchen
• Step 5 of skincare: Moisturizer (CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Face Lotion)
  • Do hair/makeup
  • Tidy living areas

Abbreviated version: brush teeth, fill water bottle, take meds, and do CPAP duties. Mayyybe empty the dishwasher if I have the energy.

EVENING

*Anything listed with the asterisk is the same as the morning

• Scoop litter boxes
  • Do one chore (like cleaning the toilet, vacuuming the bedroom, or wiping down the bathroom sink)
  • Tidy bedroom
• Brush teeth
  • Put on pajamas
  • Tidy main living area
• Step 1 of skincare: Cleanser*
  • Fill water bottle
  • Tidy dining area
• Step 2 of skincare: Exfoliator (Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant)
  • Do my nightly psoriasis treatment
  • Tidy dropoff zone (the ledge above my kitchen counter that is right near my front door)
• Step 3 of skincare: Toner*
  • Fill humidifier with distilled water and click it back into the CPAP machine
  • Tidy bathroom
• Step 4 of skincare: Niacinamide*
  • Fill in my One Line a Day journal
  • Make tomorrow’s to-do list
• Step 5 of skincare: Hyaluronic acid serum (The Ordinary’s Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 Hydrating Serum)
  • Tidy left side of kitchen
  • Wipe down counters
• Step 6 of skincare: Glycolic acid serum (La Roche Posay Dark Spot Corrector Glycolic B5 Face/Anti-Aging Serum)
  • Tidy right side of kitchen
  • Wipe down counters
• Step 7 of skincare: Moisturizer*
  • Put away any lingering cat bowls/fill up their water bowl
  • Start dishwasher

Abbreviated version: Brush teeth, swipe face with a makeup wipe, fill up water bottle, and make sure any dirty dishes are, at the very least, inside the dishwasher (even if I don’t start it that night).

Do you have ridiculous morning/evening routines or are you normal?