5 a.m.: I’m a naturally early riser, so I wake up without an alarm clock. This way, I don’t wake up my husband, who is a night owl and sleeps later.
5:05 a.m.: I drink some warm water, which soothes my stomach.
5:10 a.m.: I stretch and meditate in my yoga room for about 15 minutes.
5:30 a.m.: I have breakfast to send a signal to my body that it’s time to wake up—usually a banana and a decaf coffee.
5:45 a.m.: I sit down at my desk to start my day. I sit by a window, to start getting exposure to natural light as the sun comes up, which helps keep my circadian rhythm on track.
5:50 a.m.: Before I start working, I check in with my emotions, and think about something I’m grateful for. Then, I dive into deep focus mode for the next few hours.
9 a.m.: I take my dog Omo, a 10-year old pomeranian, out for a walk and for a quick play session in the nearby dog run. I grab a caffeinated coffee at this time.
12 p.m.: I finish my last cup of coffee. I never drink caffeine after noon, as otherwise it lingers in my system and makes it hard for me to fall asleep.
4 p.m.: I’m naturally most focused in the morning and tend to lose steam in the afternoon, which is why I start my workday so early. I stop working around this time, to give my brain time to wind down from the workday.
4:10 p.m.: I leave my apartment to meet a friend for a workout class.
5:45 p.m.: I have dinner with my husband. Tonight we’re having one of our favorites, Kalbi tang, which is a Korean short-rib stew. We eat early, so that my body has three hours to fully digest the meal before it’s time for bed.
6:30 p.m.: I go for a walk around the neighborhood with my husband.
7:15 p.m.: I spend about an hour reading a book. Right now I’m reading Maybe You Should Talk To Someone by Lori Gottlieb and I’m loving it. I read paper books, rather than on my phone or tablet, to minimize my evening exposure to blue light, which can suppress your body’s production of melatonin and make it harder to fall asleep.
8:15 p.m.: I take a warm bath.
8:45 p.m.: I do 10 minutes of restorative yoga, to get my body in tune with my relaxed mind.
8:55 p.m.: I turn down the temperature in my bedroom to 67 degrees, an ideal temperature for healthy sleep.
9 p.m.: I put on my eye mask and my ear plugs and go to sleep, allowing myself a full eight hours of sleep before waking up at 5 a.m. the next morning.
