Hi everybody—welcome back! In this cozy winter reset, I’m sharing my very first attempt at fixing my morning routine as a 3rd year physics PhD candidate. Before my written qualifying exam, I had this super solid routine (early wake-up, stretching/yoga, meditation, eating properly), and it genuinely made me feel productive and pumped for the whole day. But after I passed and shifted fully into research mode, I got way more laid back—waking up late, running late to the lab, and even if my adviser doesn’t mind… I mind. So I’m starting now (yes, even with the holidays coming up) because I want this habit to stick into next year. I wake up at 6AM (winter is brutal, not gonna lie), give myself 10 minutes to scroll with a second alarm as a time limit, then hydrate, make my bed, and start romanticizing my life with music. I do a quick YouTube yoga stretch, a short workout, and end with a dance because I want to stay active (I’m even trying to learn one K-pop choreography a week). Then it’s meal prep-ish (marinating meat for the air fryer), a quick shower (I don’t wash my hair daily in winter), skincare for Michigan-level cold, a faster everyday makeup routine, and the ongoing battle with my 2B wavy hair. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s day 1—and I’ll definitely do an updated routine once everything is more set in stone.