Brian Barry and Noelle Kelly
Brian Barry and Noelle Kelly are an Irish couple who left home behind to begin a life of travel, building their lives around the idea of visiting as many countries and experiencing as many cultures as possible.
What is your morning routine?
Our morning routine differs a little depending on where we are.
When we’re travelling, what we want to do or see that day has a big impact on things; but no matter where we are breakfast is normally our number one concern when we wake! We’ve just started jobs teaching English in South Korea, so our morning routines are becoming a lot more consistent, so let’s go with that one for now.
How long have you stuck with this routine so far?
We’ve been teaching English in Korea since August, so about four months or so now.
How has your morning routine changed over recent years?
Our morning routines have changed quite a lot over the last few months.
We were travelling non-stop around Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and Sumatra for fourteen months, so we didn’t have a home to have a routine in. During this time we used to wake up and boil some water for tea/coffee first thing while chopping some fruit for breakfast, something we’ve kept up since settling down in Korea.
What time do you go to sleep?
During the week, we’re usually in bed by midnight and the alarm usually goes off around 7:20am.
Do you use an alarm to wake you up in the morning, and if so do you ever hit the snooze button?
We wouldn’t trust ourselves not to use an alarm and we’re definitely fans of the snooze button.
It’s a habit we’re trying to break at the moment, so it’s usually hit at least once, sometimes twice, then it’s time to get up to prepare food ready for school. Normally we bring some snacks to get us through the afternoon slump, so we prepare them and then get breakfast ready.
How soon after waking up do you have breakfast, and what do you typically have?
We have breakfast as soon as we’re up. Chopped fruit with raisins, nuts, oats, and yoghurt with a cup of tea does the job for us!
Thinking ahead, we brought plenty Barry’s Tea back with us from Ireland this time, and it’s a good thing we did because no other tea comes close, no matter where we go!
Do you have a morning workout routine?
We’ve just switched our evening yoga classes to 7:00am to give us more time to cook and relax in the evening after work. So far it’s going well, we definitely feel more awake and ready for the day when we get to school.
Do you see to email first thing in the morning or leave it until later in the day?
We’ll both glance at Facebook, Twitter, and email when we get to school. But as for writing back to messages or emails, that’s usually done later in the day when classes are finished and we have more time.
How soon do you check your phone in the morning, either for calls/messages or social media and news?
We’ve only recently gotten our first smart phones so we’re still getting used to having everything at our fingertips! It’s not a priority.
On days you’re not settled in your home, are you able to adapt your routine to fit in with a different environment?
We travel as much as we can so we’re very used to changing routines regularly.
Waking up to an alarm, hitting snooze, and getting up and having breakfast is something we always manage to keep going no matter where we are! If we’re in a new place we’ll either go off a recommendation or spend time finding a place that has a good breakfast.
What do you do if you fail to follow your routine, and how does this influence the rest of your day?
Travelling a lot, we’re used to not being completely in control of our morning routine so it doesn’t really bother us that much.
Being adaptable is important when you’re moving around a lot, so if we can’t follow our routine for some reason, we’ll find a work-around; as long as we get breakfast and a cup of tea in everything will be okay!
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