It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Los Angeles)
We've been talking about MORNING ROUTINES for a number of weeks. CLICK HERE to read the previous posts. We've talked about "SPACE", "MORNING PAPERS", "LECTIO DIVINA" and just the value of a MORNING ROUTINE.
Today we're talking about COFFEE.
When I began asking you to share your morning routines, one of the constants that was shared was the role of COFFEE in our morning routines. I resonate with this, so today I want to share some things that others have shared.
First, if you're a NON-COFFEE DRINKER, I have a nice blog post here for you to read instead: "13 THINGS ONLY PEOPLE WHO DON'T DRINK COFFEE WILL UNDERSTAND". There are people like you all over, and I don't want you to feel left out. Read and enjoy.
However, just to be fair, he's a post from Lifehack entitled: "14 THINGS ONLY COFFEE DRINKERS WOULD UNDERSTAND".
Now, back to COFFEE.
When COFFEE and our MORNING ROUTINES connected, there was a common thread of the simple ritual of coffee, or the habit of coffee.
Tim shares: "What I've learned is that drinking coffee is not about the caffeine, it's about the routine. Often I get a full cup of steaming java, take one sip, and then start working it. Just having it nearby signals me to lock-in on whatever I'm doing. It's a prompt to focus and be productive."
John shares: "Your comment about coffee made me smile. My wife and my morning routine is so wrapped around coffee that it starts the night before. My job is to grind the beans and prep the coffee before I go to bed. Yes... we grind the beans every day. Her job when she wakes up is to 'push the button' on the coffee maker, or sometimes I do it, but usually her. When one of us asks, 'did you push the button' the other knows we're talking about the coffee maker."
David shares: "I like it HOT! and by choice I do not drink very much, about one cup per morning, so I serve it up hot two times, one half of a cup two times. Sound crazy, well so be it."
For me, it's that RHYTHM. When Gina or I get up, we get a cup of coffee for the other person, and our day starts. It's a trigger. It's a ritual. When we travel, it's one of the constants in our lives... we drink coffee every morning, wherever we are. It starts our day, it alerts our senses, it signals a new day.
If taking some time in the morning for some routine activities of focus and purpose is important, then having some triggers and rituals to help us find that space is just as important.
The other day, I grabbed my cup of coffee, my journal, my Bible and a book and spent some glorious time in a favorite chair simply thinking, praying, processing and contemplating so many things over the course of about 90 minutes. My coffee cup was filled 3 times that morning, and for me, it was RHYTHM.
Coffee wasn't the important part of that morning, it was simply getting some much needed time with myself, with God and in some deep thoughts.
David shared that it wasn't just the coffee that was significant, but it was the mug that he drank it in each morning that triggered some deep memories of God's work in his life.
John shared that "coffee is our routine... it's like a trellis our lives grow on".
Tim shared that sometimes coffee is simply a prompt, and one sip is all it takes to get centered.
So, we've looked at some elements of a morning routine. We could probably go on for another couple of months, but let's take a break from that. Keep working on what you do each morning that brings focus, clarity and purpose to the rest of your day, and keep sharing your thoughts with me.
If you want to take a couple of fun coffee quizzes, there are two below:
Next week I want to have some conversation around "PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY"and share some thoughts, ideas, tips and tools that can help others in this area.
"I don't need an inspirational quote... I just need COFFEE!"
