1. Q: How many years young are you and what is your living situation?
1. I am 22 years old. I live in a house of seven: my mother, father, three younger brothers, my younger sister, and me.
2. Q: What's the biggest challenge you faced in changing your morning routine? How have you dealt with it/got over it/are still dealing with it?
2. The biggest challenge that I face right now is getting up in the morning. I live in a house of 7 (mom, dad, me, three younger brothers, one younger sister) and I share a room with my younger sister. It’s hard to get adjusted to an alarm while also trying to be cognizant of the fact that my sister is trying to sleep. There have been more than one day where my sister angrily wakes me up because the alarm woke her up and I am sleeping right through it. Since I am a really hard sleeper, I need a loud alarm and my phone so far works best. I am still trying to find a way for this remedy. But for now, I am going to continue with trying to wake up with my phone alarm until I am able to get my own place.
3. Q: What time did you wake up and go to sleep before you started using the Morning Sidekick Journal, and what time do you wake up and sleep now?
3. Before I started the journal, I was going to bed at all hours of the night. Early or late did not matter. The latest I have gone to bed is six am and the earliest I have woken up is not going to sleep for three days straight. Now, the latest I have gone to bed is 2am and the earliest I have woken up is 6:45am. I am trying to get a better routine now while I am in school as it’s the perfect opportunity to create a habit while also being able to stay busy.
4. Q: What did your mornings look like before you started using the Morning Sidekick Journal? What do your mornings look like now?
4. Before I started the journal, my mornings varied. When in school, the earliest I would be awake was 8:30 on days I had a 9am class and 10:30am on days I had a 11am class. When I wasn’t in school, I slept when I wanted, took long naps, and pretty much hibernated in my room. Now, (since I started school again), I wake up between 6 and 8am. The two-hour difference is only because I am still getting used to the earlier hours. I am hoping to stick with a 6am morning start. It used to be 5am but I think 6am is more realistic for me. it gives me at least two hours of self-care before a crazy day of work, classes, studying, and running a business.
5. Q: In one sentence, what's your favorite thing about the Morning Sidekick Journal?
5. My favorite thing about the journal are two; writing in my magical moment and how I can improve life by one percent.
7. Q: How has using the Morning Sidekick Journal and doing your morning routine impacted your life overall?
7. I have seen a significant difference since starting the journal. As I have mentioned before in the Facebook group, I have depression and anxiety with episodes that run from mild to severe. After reading several articles about different ways to help depression and anxiety, (and also my counselor telling me to stop putting other before me all the time), I found that one of the best ways to help is to create a morning routine and also incorporate a daily dose of self-care. I love journaling and own almost three dozen journals. Having a morning journal allows to me really hit all three at once. I can journal about my morning (forcing myself to be completely honest), create an effective and affective morning routine, and add one or two components of self-care to my day. I have something to look forward to every morning.