Zara Terez Tisch
Zara Terez Tisch is the co-founder of Terez, a producer of playful leggings made with pride in the United States. She currently lives in New York City with her husband, David, her two kids, and her three dogs.
What is your morning routine?
I try my hardest to not be awake between 5:00-7:00am, but with two kids and three dogs it’s not easy.
My alarm is always set to 7:30am, and I pray I’m able to sleep in until then. But what usually happens is Chilaquiles (Chili for short, our new bernedoodle puppy) wakes us up earlier to go to the bathroom—usually around 5:16am sharp—crazy that he is so punctual right? We have got to a point where he will go back to sleep afterward in our bed, which has been an incredible improvement for us. The next one to wake up is usually my son, Ty, at around 7:00-7:30am, and after that the whole house begins to explode! Dogs barking and kids running around, which doesn’t really allow me to have a quiet sleepy morning. That’s when the day officially starts.
Sometimes I try to get a little more sleep and let David (my husband) go help with getting the kids ready for the day… I love to sleep as long as possible! Once I get up, I check my phone for anything urgent with Terez, then I wash my face, brush my teeth, moisturize, put on deodorant, take my vitamins, and get dressed—in that order! I’m a creature of habit.
How long have you stuck with this routine so far?
My puppy is only fifteen weeks old, so my morning routine has changed a lot as of recently. Before I had kids I would try to sleep in as long as possible, and even move any meetings I had to later in the day—sleep and self care have always been important to me. Now that I have kids, my days begin earlier and I actually think its proven to been better for my body. As life has taken all it’s turns, my routine has had to adjust. It just comes with the territory.
In terms of the self-care portion of my routine, I have been using the same face wash since I was fourteen…
How has your morning routine changed over recent years?
Over the past two and a half years I’ve had two kids and now a third puppy! The time that I wake up has definitely gotten earlier and earlier… and the me time has gotten less and less. Nowadays I just try to be as quick and efficient as possible.
What time do you go to sleep?
One of my favorite things to do is watch television, movies, etc. It’s how I turn my brain off. My favorite show of all time is Sons of Anarchy, like I wish I was in an “MC.” For my thirtieth birthday, David got me my own cut so I could feel like I was a part of the crew. Even though that’s my favorite show, typically my favorites consist of historical European time periods with or without fantasy—everything from The Tudors to Game of Thrones.
So, I will hopefully get in bed at around 10:00pm, but not fall asleep until about 12:30am.
Do you do anything before going to bed to make your morning easier?
I try to get through all my emails at night so that I have a fresh, clean inbox in the morning.
How soon after waking up do you have breakfast, and what do you typically have?
Breakfast foods happen to be my absolute favorite type of food, but I hardly ever really eat breakfast. I usually have a big cup of ginger tea and a coconut water. I’ll make it up by having waffles for lunch or dinner once in a while!
Do you have a morning workout routine?
Not really, I try to squeeze in a Pilates session or spin class when I can, but again, I reference my three kids and three pups! I love horses, and my daughter does too—she calls them naynays. During the summer, I love to start my morning horseback riding.
Do you have a morning meditation routine?
The only thing I try to do as much as possible is take a couple of moments in the morning to lay on the floor, stretch, and do a little deep breathing.
Do you answer email first thing in the morning or leave it until later in the day?
Depends on the email. If there is any urgent Terez business, I’m all over it; otherwise, I will try to stay present with my family in the morning and answer emails when I get into the office (or late at night for those I don’t get through). That’s the goal at least, but that is almost never the case, as I regularly received a large amount of email overnight.
How soon do you check your phone in the morning?
Immediately. It makes David very upset; he believes that it isn’t healthy for my emotional well being or for my eyes to be looking at a phone screen as soon as I wake up in the morning.
What are your most important tasks in the morning?
Giving kisses to my kids.
What and when is your first drink in the morning?
I drink water, usually within 10-15 minutes of waking up, followed by the ginger tea and coconut water a little later.
How does your partner fit into your morning routine?
We are usually on different schedules and like to give each other space, but [when he has time] he has been known to comment on my print-on-print pairings! I love to wear a Terez printed legging with a printed top, sequin blazer… sequin anything, really!
Do you also follow this routine on weekends, or do you change some steps?
It depends on the weekend activities! I always love sleeping in, but I get upset sometimes because I don’t want to miss a thing!
That said, we don’t really have any strict weekend rituals. Something that David loves to do is take our daughter Elle Jay to breakfast every single morning. It’s their time together. I will meet them at the end of their breakfast and then take Elle Jay to summer camp. She is in love with horses (naynays), so we always make sure to drive by the horse farms on the way to camp so she can say hello and wave to them.
On days you’re not settled in your home, are you able to adapt your routine to fit in with a different environment?
A lot has happened in my life where you need to be able to adapt and deal with what is going on around you at any given time. So I would say yes, I am able to adapt to different environments. David and I like to make sure that we are as organized and efficient as possible so that we can take advantage of every moment.
What do you do if you fail to follow your morning routine, and how does this influence the rest of your day?
It used to bother me a lot more, but now I try to simply tell myself that it’s okay if I skip a small part of my routine here or there.
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