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A whole pocket of the day opens up when you don’t have to commute to the office, stand in line for your morning coffee, or help your kids get out the door for school. Routines all around have shifted in quarantine, but none quite as dramatically as the things we do in the morning.

Those few extra hours that might normally be spent in a car or train or on a caffeinated walk now have a greater sense of leisure. While your nighttime rituals can help you disconnect from work at the end of the day, the way you get started is just as important to set you off on the right foot. Here, 11 creatives share the new routines they have embraced since social distancing, which have helped them to appreciate the little things. 

The Nutrient Boost

We’ve been getting weekly deliveries of Tom’s Juice, which we add to wellness shots of oregano oil, vitamin-B complex, ginger, and some lime. They certainly make us feel ready to take on the day. —Helena Barquet and Fabiana Faria, founders of Coming Soon

The Active Start

Prior to social distancing, I would run to a Pilates or spinning class most mornings. Now I’ve gotten creative with my workouts (and for what it’s worth, I’m also nine months pregnant). I’ve been trying to get 10,000 steps in before 8 a.m., and I bring my kids along with me. It’s great to not have to commute anymore—it saves me at least an hour in the morning, allowing me to spend more quality time with my family. Kat Schneider, founder and CEO of Ritual

The Nourishing Start

I’m starting work later than usual and trying to work less. I used to begin at 6 a.m., but in quarantine, I want my mornings to be full of things that brighten my day. I do yoga, clean the house, FaceTime my parents, make chai and stash it in the fridge for my midafternoon pick-me-up, fill up a pitcher of lemon water for my desk, and eat a hearty brunch—usually some kind of rice bowl. Nowadays I’m getting to work only around 11 a.m., but I’m so much happier for it, and get so much more done the rest of the day because I’ve taken good care of myself. —Sana Javeri Kadri, founder of Diaspora Co.

The Neighborhood Jaunt

I go for a quick drive with my dogs. Just getting out of the house and rolling the windows down is a literal breath of fresh air. Sometimes we do a curbside coffee pickup. Matthew Herman, cofounder of Boy Smells

The Kitchen Moment

I would normally start my days grabbing coffee with another entrepreneur before heading to the office, but now it’s nice to afford myself the luxury of preparing a light and easy meal to kick off the day. It’s also rare for me to cook breakfast in general, so it’s been fun to experiment and try new things. I’ve been making a lot of eggs, but I also mix things up by making a stir-fry with potatoes and vegetables or taking things very slowly à la Chrissy Teigen. —Jordan Nathan, founder of Caraway

The Roll-Out-of-Bed

With no commute and meetings in the morning, I practice waking up according to my body’s natural rhythm without setting an alarm. I feel much more rested and focused over the course of the day, compared to being roused from sleep artificially by a jolting alarm. I think it’s more important now than ever to limit any additional stress on the body, and uninterrupted sleep is a great start. —Kathrin Hamm, founder of Bearaby

The Home School

Our home is now an office and classroom, so my two boys—who are in third and eighth grade—are busy with school, as my husband, Kelly, and I work closely beside them. We’ve set up a defined space in our dining room. Every morning, I have a meeting with my team the same time my third grader has a classroom Zoom. It’s the daily consistency and expectation that we all have a job to do that works for our family.—Lori Coulter, founder of Summersalt

The Mental Reset

The addition of meditation into my morning routine has been so helpful for me. It started out being kind of tricky, but now I know how to shut out any distractions and keep focus. —Eva Zuckerman, creative director and cofounder of Eva Fehren

The Video Check-In

I was never a morning workout person—I always went straight to email starting at 7 a.m. Since the quarantine, I’ve started doing BeachBody in the mornings with my girlfriends on Google Hangouts. It’s a new habit that I will continue on with after the quarantine ends. —Kerry Benjamin, founder and CEO of Stacked Skincare 

The Clean Sweep

I’m not a neat freak, but I am really energized, positively or negatively, by my space. We have a big island in the middle of our kitchen and it’s really the focal point of the house. If it’s cluttered with food and dirty dishes, it makes me crazy, so now I make sure it stays tidy by always cleaning up after breakfast. I also didn’t used to regularly make my bed, but since I work from my room so much, now I make it every morning. —Amy Liu, founder of Tower 28

The Shake-It-Off

Stretching and getting my blood pumping after waking has been really helpful. I have a very active 3-year-old, so yoga all day simply isn’t realistic, but taking moments to reengage my body feels so good. Occasionally, I can even convince my little one to join in—fun dance music helps start the day off right. —Lauren Gannes, founder and formulator of Highborn

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