Aden Niebuhr

Most of us don’t wake up chasing nirvana, but the internet keeps insisting that the first hour of our day should be a spiritual practice instead of the messy scramble it actually is. Optimizing your morning for self-improvement creates a jumble of journaling, meditation, reading, skincare, and exercise all before 8 a.m. If you don’t do all of these things, you may feel like you’ve “failed” your day. But this “universal” routine isn’t the only way to be productive in the morning.