Cat Noone
Cat Noone is a designer, entrepreneur, and cereal lover originally from Brooklyn, New York, who currently lives in Berlin, Germany, where she co-founded Liberio; an eBook creation and publishing startup.
What is your morning routine?
As of last weekend my morning routine changed a ton! My significant other and I got a puppy, Dexter, and our mornings have definitely changed as a result. With that said, this is my brand new morning routine:
6:00am: The first time I wake up is to take Dex outside to use the bathroom, after which I go back to bed for about an hour while he does the same.
7:00am: I wake up a second time because Dex is officially up and chewing on his toy bear or kong (grateful we bought the both of them). While he occupies himself, I’m watching him play and going through email and notifications to see what I’m working with for the day.
I’ll then put my phone down so I can actually boot my brain up before I’m out of bed and working. I’m trying to get into the habit of not checking much on my phone until I’m fully awake and ready for the day to start.
7:30am: I’m out of bed (again) to feed Dex breakfast and walk aimlessly around the house before I pick out my clothes for the day.
8:00am: Breakfast time! I love eating, so this is one of my most favorite parts of the morning.
9:00am: Time to shower, brush my teeth, get dressed, etc.
10:00am: Dex goes for a quick walk, post-breakfast.
10:15am: My work day begins and I organize my to-do list for the day, prioritizing, adding, and checking off items as I go.
10:30am: I’m checking, responding to, and sending out emails that were on my list.
11:00am: I get to work on Liberio, whether it’s answering support tickets, designing, marketing, or business related stuff.
How long have you stuck with this routine so far?
This has officially been my routine since Saturday, May 24.
How has your morning routine changed over recent years?
A ton, but I’m happy with this one.
I’m up early enough to just enjoy the morning when it’s quiet, right before the chaos of the work day starts. Years ago my morning started at 5:30am, then switched to 9:00am, and so on and so forth. I’ve always woken up fairly early, and don’t mind doing so, so long as food follows not long after — otherwise I’m a monster.
What time do you go to sleep?
That all depends whether or not Ben and I stayed up late to catch up on our shows.
Typically, bed-time is anywhere between 11:30pm and 1:00am at the very latest. Since Dex joined the family, we lean toward the former — otherwise functioning at 6:00am is not a strong option.
Do you use an alarm to wake you up in the morning, and if so do you ever hit the snooze button?
If you consider Dexter an alarm, then sure. Snooze? laughs that’s funny, I wish I could snooze him at 5:30am. Ben sets his alarm, but even he will agree, it’s no longer needed.
How soon after waking up do you have breakfast, and what do you typically have?
About an hour or so after; It’s usually cereal, because I absolutely love cereal. Though depending on my mood I may have toast with butter or nutella and, of course, a cup of tea.
Do you have a morning workout routine?
Nah, any running that is done on a particular day is done in the evenings.
How soon do you check your phone in the morning, either for calls/messages or social media and news?
When I’m laying in bed and Dex is occupying himself with toys.
I check my email and social media notifications, but don’t really like to browse through them to see “What’s happening” until later when I’m on my computer. My idea behind it is, I haven’t even got myself together yet to start the day, I don’t want to nor should care about anybody else’s updates until I do laughs.
While having breakfast I’ll sometimes catch up on the actual news (usually CNN).
What are your most important tasks in the morning?
Making sure Dex starts his day off in a relaxed and routine way. He’s a puppy, so routine is super important and plays a big role in his behavior. If these things are thrown off, it can sometimes mean a wonky day for him, which ends up affecting my day — not the ideal situation.
My next high priority is organizing my to-do list for the day. I would die without Wunderlist.
What and when is your first drink in the morning?
Usually tea with breakfast.
I sometimes have juice, but there’s something about the routine of making tea followed by breakfast that I find relaxing. Probably because it’s become a habit, so it’s less work for my brain to process. Anything to save brain-energy after a 5:30am wake up!
On days you’re not settled in your home, are you able to adapt your routine to fit in with a different environment?
When I’m traveling it’s usually work related or personal to visit family, in which case I really switch up a lot of what I do. When I visit my family not much work gets done; I don’t see them often, so I try to limit the amount I’m working.
What do you do if you fail to follow your routine, and how does this influence the rest of your day?
It happens and I adjust.
Not everything goes according to plan, but it’s usually not the end of the world. If something derails my typical routine, I try to get the most important tasks done more than other miscellaneous ones. I just have to prioritise, then all is well.
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