Wake Up Better HSP 1 Simple Morning Routine Strategy

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33 Comments

  1. Fantastic advice and I was nodding the whole time I read. The connection to travel is helpful, too. I’ve had the same experience of checking messages first thing and now I wait until I’ve had a chance to get moving, hydrate, pray, etc. before doing an-y-thing else. Otherwise my stress was off the charts. Now I make sure I’m “in the zone” before checking email and social media. I even ignore texts from certain people now 🙂 Thanks for this!!

  2. Gail Purcell says:

    Hi Cheri,
    I am exactly in the same place as you regarding email (I don’t do Facebook much). I have learned to do other things (cleaning house, errands etc. first) . An expression I find myself using is that I feel like my brain is “smoking” – especially when I need to make lots of decisions. An example is organizing my cabinets, closet, or cupboards. I love things to be organized, but I don’t enjoy the process because I do get overwhelmed with decisions (will it work, is this the right product, will I like it. etc.) I find doing something brainless and especially if it is funny helps a lot. Fun music, gardening, a funny movie, or a walk can do the trick.

  3. Sharron Voorhees says:

    I understand…too much input is overwhelming.
    Being attentive to each of my 4 kids and 2 dogs in the morning is immediately overwhelming to me because I am sensitive to what I perceive to be their unspoken needs. Getting kids to school in the morning when I know that each morning they don’t want to go and they are tired and wore out, kills me emotionally. I come home, see my messy house from the morning rush, and my 2 adorable dogs looking at me as if to say, “Is it my turn?” I immediately shut down, fight the depression that wants to sink in as I picture climing back into my bed to show the day that it won the fight, and force myself to shower and dress to clean the house instead. I pray in the shower, and don’t turn the water off until I can say, “Yes, LORD.” I am here with you all. I love you all. I pray for us, wonderfully made as we are, today.

  4. So so very true. It’s so nice to have others who can put our feelings into words and make sense of them! Thank you, Cheri. I’m going to embrace your Minimizing Multitasking in the Morning this week, starting tomorrow. ❤️🙌🏻

  5. Yolanda Pack says:

    I enjoyed the article. I find Social Media so overwhelming! I though there was something wrong with me. My husband’s just the opposite. He can spend hours on Facebook. Glad I found this community!

  6. I struggle with this. I’m a teacher and by the time I get to 5th period I’ve got nothing left. Each class I teach is a different subject but by the third change, I’m lost in a sea of papers and overwhelmed by everything. And all I can ever think is “what is wrong with me? Everyone else manages, why can’t I?

  7. Brigitte L Ellis says:

    Absolutely agree

  8. I am relieved to know that I am not alone. I have said and even prayed countless times – “WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!!!!” This post is sooooo helpful. I know that spending too much time with emails and in my case WhattsApp, affects me negatively, and have tried to cut back unsuccessfully on more than one occasion. But hearing it like this…..that, as an HSP, it is the overload from whatever distraction sucks my time and energy, that actually kills my motivation to get my work done ….. is eye opening. I am encouraged to make a better effort by being strategic and scheduling specific times to read my WhattsApp or emails, or do anything that is not my priority for that day. It certainly will NOT be first thing in the morning. Thanks everyone.

    1. Brigitte L Ellis says:

      Thank you! I’m chronically ill, home bound for the most part. I made social media my way of participating in the lives of my family and friends. I must plan and limit my fb time as it depletes my body and mind almost always. Your words have made me see that this is not yet another thing i cant do because of illness. That its just something i need to tweek to to suit my HSP. That i do with peace and ease as its a part of how I live everyday. Can’t thank you enough!

  9. Why do I even go there…to FB…if they (my friends) are having a great time with my other friends then I feel left out and hurt that I wasn’t invited…and if there is food, I feel defeated in my diet as I see food as the enemy…if it’s quotes, I feel preached at…if it’s the news and other ‘junk stuff and ad’s’ then whats the point?
    But I still go there…

  10. Okay. Wow. This is how I am too, and you just put it into words. Now if I can just discipline myself to stay off social media, email and even blogs, in the morning. Yes, it truly does drain us! And for me, I find it so hijacks my morning time with God, in prayer and writing or reading.

  11. Yes! Sometimes I feel like I am an underachiever because I cant just get up and go at full speed. I need to ease into the morning. I prefer quiet before the busy. Its like I have to gather myself before I enter the day. One thing I have noticed is that when I eat really well, limiting sugar and carbs, I have more energy and life doesn’t seeming so hectic internally.

  12. I have the same problem in the mornings. My life is making more sense to me. : )

  13. A peaceful outlook and cheerful spirit is the result of a more focused morning schedule. I know too much input makes me want to crawl in a hole and stay there. I just cannot handle it. Therefore, I limit the input and the time I spend immersed in it.

  14. Gosh, if I could put off the kids – or wake up before them!! – then I could spend some quiet time with God first. I’ve gotten to a decent place, by the Lord’s grace. I prepare for the next day, quite a bit, before I go to bed. But I still can’t seem to be awake before the kids, so that I can focus on the Word. :\

    1. And I DEFINITELY don’t do FB or emails first thing! Ha! In fact, I’ve unsubscribed from almost all blogs that I followed and my Mom sometimes gets on my case (“Did you see what I posted?” “Did you show the kids what I posted?”) when I’m not on FB for a while. But it is just. not. worth. it.

  15. I’m exactly the same! If I get on Instagram first thing, it’s pretty well guaranteed that my morning is shot. I’m going to give this a try and see how it goes!

  16. Wow! Truly I thought I was the only one in the world who gets overwhelmed by Facebook and email. I canceled my Facebook page over a year ago because I couldn’t handle it and I didn’t know why. Now I know. My densities get totally overwhelmed. I finally have an answer to all the people who think I’m “crazy” for not being on Facebook and actually get down right mad about it.

  17. Julie Landreth says:

    I love this. This explains so much. I avoid FB and email because it overwhelms me. And traps me down a path I never intended. Like taking a wrong detour on the way to Mendocino. Thanks for some clarity.

  18. I struggle also with email / facebook early in morning. I now wait until I get some things out of the way….

  19. Hi from one HSP to another! What you said makes so much sense. …..I’ve noticed that being away over Christmas in a house with no WiFi or TV was so restful for me. I definitely an going to be limiting my time, especially in the morning, for media!

  20. I stopped getting on FB first thing in the am too. I knew it was a time waster and now to think about how it affected me with too much input is even more eye opening. My goal this month (I started last month but knew I couldn’t finish) is to cull my emails. I have set up a new email address and have unsubscribed to countless emails, but I have to continue to be brutal. The information overload I get from all the emails is truly overwhelming. So I plan to make a list of the blogs I like to read and check them out as I have time instead of receiving their emails constantly.

  21. Lisa Whitney Sprague says:

    I am fine first thing in the morning, but once everyone else is up,I feel like I have to be the perfect wife,mom,etc. I have to be supermom to my disabled stepson, and wonder wife to my husband…. Plus,keep a perfectly clean house, a good meal,3x a day,and be chipper,loving, and mellow all day. If I feel tired,or sick….that seems like a big task. ? I don’t know if I can do it anymore….

  22. Andrea Torres says:

    I struggle with anxiety and I can destroy an entire day by looking at FB first thing. If something has happened that gets my anxiety going – for whatever reason – I’m done for the day, and I haven’t even had a drink of water. Thank you for writing and sharing this article.

  23. I definitely try to multitask in the morning before work. I try to make everyone’s breakfasts, lunches, and check Facebook while I eat breakfast. I end up not getting a chance to eat much of my breakfast. So, I think I need to stop checking FB in the morning and just get the things done that I have to. FB will always be there when I get back home.

  24. Ooooohhh….yes. That makes perfect sense!! I definitely need to schedule my time differently in 2016 because NOW (vs. at the start of 2015) I know that I am an HSP AND more introverted than extroverted…and my #1 goal is to publish a book. I’ve got to eliminate time and energy-wasters and cut down on intrusions and distractions. And save my mental energy for more important things!! Great post, great thought! To answer the Q: more morning focus = more energy spent in the right areas!

  25. Stephanie A. says:

    I had always attributed spending an inordinate amount of time in the morning on email and FB as a form of procrastination. After reading FB I would feel tired –almost like I had been working. It is definitely not productive, so why do I do it? Even after reading your post I have a difficult time accepting that perhaps it is too much input for my nature. I will try to break that habit and see if I feel more productive.

    Your story about how you feel about traveling struck a chord with me. I hate traveling and have done so all my life. The thought that it could be related to being a highly-sensitive person is mind-boggling.

    Lots to think about. Thank you.

  26. Cheri, you are not alone in this phenomena. As an HSP, I’ve found the same alarming non achievement by noon. You said it correctly; too much input. I lose focus, motivation, and direction. I will join you. No more FB/ email in the morning. The sensory overload kills my goals. Thank you for clarifying the culprit for me! Happy New Year!

  27. Ah ha! Thanks Cheri. We got ‘smart phones’ a couple of months ago. And I told myself I was saving time by using it to check email and FB. Not.

    I was reading everything first thing. My morning writing rarely happens. And I feel like a slug.

    Now that you have shown me the connection, I can choose the solution. What a great feeling!

  28. Liz Fenstemaker says:

    Wow! I’m an HSP & have had the same struggle. I have found much freedom & productivity in minimizing my FB time to pre-scheduled 15 min. times [with a timer set or I won’t stop! :P] -otherwise, morning or afternoon or whenever- I will get sucked in & the joy, motivation & energy sucked out of me as my wonderful intentions for getting things accomplished goes down the drain! My brain gets befuddled & my body tired. AND I find myself beating myself up for getting sucked in & sucked dry again. Thank you for the gift of knowing I am not alone -it isn’t just me. Actually, you encourage me that way a lot & have helped me to appreciate the beauty of being an HSP & helped me to recognize, celebrate & encourage my HSP daughter. Thank you! 🙂