Take Back My Morning (noun): an ideology that suggests mornings should be savored not rushed, a lifestyle that values the quiet a.m. hours, the choice to give yourself some peace and quiet before your day becomes a hectic sh*t-show.

Hi, I’m Kasia & I’m a morning person.

Although I’ve always naturally been an early bird vs. a night owl, I didn’t truly appreciate mornings until my senior year of college. My roommate at the time, Julie, used to drag me out of bed to go to 6 a.m. yoga–something that always seemed like a good idea the night before and not when you’re waking up at the crack of dawn. Yet, regardless of how groggy I was stepping onto my mat, there was always something magical about those quiet early morning hours and how much better my days were after that.

Fast forward to a year later–I’m at my first job at a small PR agency where the norm is to get to the office at 7:45 a.m. and immediately jump into endless emails. As I’m reading through said endless emails, my friend Deirdre (“D” for short) walks in and announces that she’s in the process of “taking back her mornings.” Me, thinking this is some kind of life-hack/self-help trick, asks her about it (because come on, I’m a new grad and need all the help I can get.) Deirdre explains: instead of running around every morning, grabbing an Uber and rushing into the office, she’s going to savor her mornings instead. Walk to work at a leisurely pace. Go to her favorite coffee shop. Call her dad. Some days she’ll go to spin class. Other days, she’ll make herself and her boyfriend breakfast. It’s all about slowing down the pace of her mornings so she can actually feel calm starting the day. (**See definition above)

Fast forward one more time–present day. I’m grabbing an iced coffee from a new brunch place near Nova (review coming soon!), and I notice a bunch of people in business attire grabbing breakfast before the workday, and I think to myself, “hmm, that must be nice to have a sit down breakfast on a Wednesday morning.” That same week, I make it to a 6 a.m. yoga class (the first one I’ve gone to in a while) and was legitimately in the best mood for the rest of the day. And it got me thinking: maybe it’s time to take back my mornings.

The concept is simple–pick something that makes you happy and calm, wake up a little earlier & start savoring your mornings. It could be something you do every day, or something you do once a month. And it can be anything. For me, I love going to a new coffee shop, having breakfast, writing with a real pen & paper and reading. For my friend Thomas, it’s disconnecting from his phone/social media, going to the gym and enjoying the peace & quiet. For Deirdre, it’s walking to work and calling her dad. The beauty is that it legitimately doesn’t matter what you do to “take back your morning” because it’s your morning & you can do whatever you want with it.

Go for a walk. Dance to your favorite pump-up playlist. Whip up a smoothie, try meditation, call a friend to say hello, anything that gives you a little pick-me-up boost before you start your day.

I get it–we’re not all naturally morning people. But most of us have to get up for work/class anyways, so why not enjoy our mornings a little more? And besides that, it’s about carving out some time just for you before you inevitably get sucked into your busy day of emails/homework/meetings/responsibilities. Do it because you deserve it. Do it because you owe some time to yourself.

Take Back My Mornings–It’s whatever you want it to be. Start savoring your day. (Hit me up if you want to take back your mornings together–I know really good coffee shops) &.