Whether you lazily roll out of bed or kick-start your mornings with bright lights and cold showers, how you start your day can affect how your next 8-12-16 hours unfold. Each week, with the troves of newsletters from sites like Greatist, Refinery29 and WebMD that find their way to my inbox come the countless tips for how to best spend your mornings - the "according to the pros" and "backed by science" secrets like how you should journal right when you wake up and start each day with a work-out. Ha!

Regardless if you take the advice or leave it, sometimes seeing how others spend their precious A.M. hours can help us assess our own morning rituals.

So here's a peek at how my days start:

• 7:30 - Wake-up with D and make coffee, listen to German news on radio.
• 7:45 - Get ready for day, includes shower, dressing and make-up (!) - this is such a crucial thing for me, when I stay in PJs, I'm less likely to get my day started in the most productive way. Getting dressed for the day helps me prepare physically and mentally (especially for the days when I stay home).
• 8:15 - See D out the door, make breakfast and second cup of coffee.
• 8:30 - Check emails and social accts, make note of to-do list for day. I'll admit that I fall victim to social media in the mornings. Chalk it up to the time difference from friends and family in the U.S. - I feel like the mornings are when I "catch up" on all the things that have happened on the East Coast while I was sleeping. I also use this time to send any important emails that need to go out. 
• 9:00 - More coffee, start studying German: when I ride the train to class I'm either reading a book or listening to the Being Boss podcast - an awesome podcast for creative entrepreneuers. When I stay at home I try to avoid all distractions and often listen to Coffitivity - an amazing web app that simulates coffee shop noise! 

I study German until the afternoon, then I have lunch and the rest of the day proceeds with my freelance gig, followed by projects for Etepetete Design Co., and finally, working on this blog. Miscellaneous appointments like my painting lessons, fitness classes and various coffee/wine friend-dates pepper my week, but the mornings are generally the same.

What does your morning routine look like? Do you have any tips or tricks for maximising your productivity for the day? Let me know in the comments below!