Morning Drives

I woke up really, really early last Thursday. It was 5:20 a.m., I was up an hour before my alarm went off, and I could not get back to sleep. I was tired, too, but my body just refused. My mind was very busy that day, and has been ever since.

It's that back-to-school sort of giddy excitement, but about other things in my life.

So after another 20 minutes or so, I knew I wasn't going back to sleep. I decided to drive.

I had created a brand new Halloween cd, so I listened to that while I drove. (This is not surprising. I have been listening to the Monster Mash since April.)

This is going to make me sound like a creep, but once I was in the car, I decided to drive to the neighborhood Tom and I want to move to this spring. It's not too far, the roads to get there are rarely busy, and I like to think if I go there enough, the neighborhood with just invite us to live there. So there's my reasoning.

I drove around the sleepy neighborhood, imagining what we needed to get there, and planning out my life for the next seven months or so. I have some very big plans, and only recently have I decided that they might actually be possible.

I drove again on Monday morning. That was helpful because the car was running on empty and I pass a gas station on the way.

I can't drive every morning because it costs gas and we are working hard to pinch every penny right now, but it has changed my view on mornings. I am a morning person, and I usually get up early and start doing mindless things, but those drives are a sort of meditation. And on days when I don't drive, I wanted to continue that feeling. I have been using every single morning lately to focus on my goals, and get into a mindset that will make me the most productive and creative for that day. 

And for the past month, I have been trying to do one thing every day that gets me closer to my goals. The morning is a fantastic time to do that.

It doesn't have to be a drive. It can be a morning workout, a journal entry, or a cup of coffee outside. Yesterday I lit candles in my room and made the bed, and if felt therapeutic.

Do you use your mornings to kickstart your day? Or do you prefer to sleep until the last possible moment?

Happy Wednesday!