On Purpose with Jay Shetty - Liz Plosser ON: Becoming a Morning Person Even if You Aren’t One & How to Create a Morning Routine That Works For You

Episode Date: December 6, 2021

Liz Plosser chats with Jay Shetty to talk about the beauty of setting your morning right. The things that happen throughout the day are often beyond our control that leaves us frustrated and disappointed. This is why setting the right energy in your morning, after waking up, can help you become better prepared for what may happen within the day and still maintain a positive composure. Liz is the Editor-in-Chief of Women’s Health, overseeing the brand across its print and digital platforms and various brand extensions, reaching an audience of 47+ million women monthly. She is a marathoner, triathlete and boutique fitness–lover, and believes that sweat changes everything… positively impacting your mental, emotional, and mental health. Get your copy of Think Like a Monk today by clicking this link!https://thinklikeamonkbook.com/What We Discuss:00:00 Intro02:09 Doing something you love and get paid for doing it06:03 Useful skills that are integral to your purpose10:08 Having a partner who supports you all the way15:05 Leaders must remember the nuts and bolts on the ground level18:59 Most of the time, we can control what happenings in the morning22:21 Signs you’re a morning person25:03 How to become a morning person29:20 Have clear values and take little micro actions32:50 Mornings can just be chaotic35:56 Journaling can help lessen your morning mess38:28 You don’t have to wait to start making changes46:28 How to start a journaling practice51:07 How do you win your weekend and how does that transform the week?54:29 It’s better to say NO quickly55:16 Liz on Final FiveLike this show? Please leave us a review here - even one sentence helps! Post a screenshot of you listening on Instagram & tag us so we can thank you personally!Episode Resources:Liz Plosser | InstagramLiz Plosser | LinkedInLiz Plosser | TwitterLiz Plosser | BookAchieve success in every area of your life with Jay Shetty’s Genius Community. Join over 10,000 members taking their holistic well-being to the next level today, at https://shetty.cc/OnPurposeGeniusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Jay Shetty and on my podcast on purpose, I've had the honor to sit down with some of the most incredible hearts and minds on the planet. Oprah, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Hart, Louis Hamilton, and many, many more. On this podcast, you get to hear the raw real-life stories behind their journeys and the tools they used, the books they read, and the people that made a difference in their lives so that they can make a difference in hours. Listen to on purpose with Jay Shetty on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Join the journey soon. What if you could tell the whole truth about your life, including all those tender and visible things we don't usually talk about?

I'm Megan Devine. Host of the podcast, it's okay that you're not okay. Look everyone's at least a little bit not okay these days, and all those things we don't usually talk about, maybe we should. This season, I'm joined by stellar guests like Abbermote, Rachel Cargol, and so many more. It's okay that you're not okay. New episodes each and every Monday available on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you

listen to podcasts. Conquer your New Year's resolution to be more productive with the Before Breakfast podcast. In each bite-sized daily episode, time management and productivity expert, Laura Vandercam, teaches you how to make the most of your time, both at work and at home. These are the practical suggestions you need to get more done with your day. Just as lifting weights keeps our bodies strong as we age, learning new skills is the mental equivalent of pumping iron. Listen to before breakfast on the I Heart Radio app

or wherever you get your podcasts. How many hours a day are you in meetings? How much time are you spending having lunch? Are you working out? Like get clear on that, and that will help you hone in on like one, what are the things that you enjoy? And maybe you love those meetings, which is great. But this is also gonna help you find

where you have some room for improvement because maybe lunch isn't on your calendar. What are you gonna do for yourself today? Do you need time to take a walk or to journal during your lunch break? Do you need time to make yourself a healthy, yummy sandwich? Yeah. Yummy sandwich. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to on purpose, the number one health podcast in the world.

Thanks to each and every single one of you that come back every week to listen, learn, and grow. Now, you know that I love interviewing experts, thought leaders, influences, and people who have insightful things to share with us about our body, our mind, and even our energy and spirit. And today we're talking about a theme that is so close to my heart, and I get to talk with one of my favorite, favorite people in the world who I'm so excited to sit down with.

We're talking about our morning routines, and I'm sitting down with the one and only editor-in-chief of Women's Health Liz Plaza and talking about her new book, Own Your Morning. You know how much I love mornings, you know how much I love Liz if you've been following me and this book is beautiful. I feel like I'm opening up a ray of sunshine. Like literally, I just want you to take a moment to just look at how beautiful this is. And every page you turn, you just met with real great nuggets of wisdom. So while you're listening, what I want you to do is I want you to tweet, I want you to Instagram and share hashtag on your morning and you can

tag me and Liz in your post as well. I want to see how you're going to start owning your morning after this. Liz, welcome to the show. Thank you for being here. Thank you for writing this beautiful book, and I can't wait to dive into it with you. Oh, Jay, it is so awesome to be here with you in person too. I feel so lucky and grateful for that amazing introduction and just super grateful for your friendship and your support. And for you being a contributor to this book too, it's like, it's all happening right now and I'm filled with love and light and happiness. So it's awesome to be here with you. You are a powerhouse, you're a leader in the health and wellness space, you're a, you're an editor-in-chief, you have this huge responsibility, but your background wasn't in media or wellness.

Your background was that you were an investment banker. Yes. And I love that about you because it's the colliding of two completely different worlds, at least from an external point of view. But I'd love you to take us back as to Liz at college, trying to figure out what Liz wanted to do, and how you ended up as an investment banker. I will go back even further and say that an interest in fitness and health and nutrition has always been part of my DNA.

I grew up playing sports. I got really into running and training for marathons and sort of how fuel could help you perform at your peak. So that has always been hugely important to me. and sort of how fuel could help you perform at your peak. So that has always been hugely important to me. But honestly, Jay, when I was in college, where I was in English major, but I also took a lot of economics classes and really always loved business and learning about it. Even though I was an avid magazine reader back then, like the person who spent all her

allowance money at the supermarket buying all the magazines. Like I grew up doing that. It never occurred to me that you could do something you love and get paid for it. Like I thought work had to be hard. I went through the interview process as a senior. I went to Princeton and sort of the investment banks

and consulting firms descended upon campus and all my friends were going to them and I had enough background and economics and math courses to get an amazing job offer. Even at the time I was like, I cannot believe this is happening. You did see that I'm an English major, right? But to their credit, I think they saw value in somebody with a slightly untraditional background and perspective. And then I moved to New York and it was like my ticket to come to New York City and start my life and be able to pay for an apartment and all those things.

And I learned very quickly that it was not my life's passion. And I'm actually in retrospect so glad that I didn't land in some job that I was like sort of okay with. It wasn't that bad, it wasn't that great. Like I viscerally knew in my heart, this is not meant to be my life's work. And having that experience and feeling that in my gut really catapulted me to start learning about

what do you want to do and like networking with people and asking everybody about their jobs and do you like them. And the further I went on that path, the more this crazy idea of like, well, I love, love, love magazines. I love health and wellness. Could I explore that? Could I go there?

It's suddenly, the more I learn, the more I was like, I think this is where I want to go. So fast forward to today, as you mentioned, I'm the editor-in-chief of Women's Health. It's literally a dream job. I actually, when I was 23 years old, had a dream that I would have this job. So I still wake up every day,

and I feel the immense responsibility and just joy and gratitude that I get to do what I do every single day. But I'm also like really glad that I went down that little rabbit hole of investment banking because I have some quirky skills that actually are quite valuable in my line of work. Yeah, tell us about those because I think often when people are seeking transitions, we almost have this very binary view. What I'm doing right now is useless.

I hate it. It's not what I want to do. It's not my passion. It's not my mission. This thing over here is what I want to do. And we can be very negative and neglectful of the skills, the learning, the growth. So I was sharing earlier with you.

My corporate experience at Accenture, it wasn't my dream, but what I learned was so powerful, the mentorship I received, the incredible opportunities I got because I was a part of that company, and the great initiatives they had, the relationships and network I have, back at the company, and the people that left and are still there, and I look back at that and think that's been a strength for me in living a life that's truly authentic to my passion and my purpose. Totally.

So with you, tell us about some of the useful skills you brought along with you that have been integral to your purpose. Yeah, well, just as you were talking, I was thinking about my colleagues from my early investment banking days. And I'm still in touch with a lot of them. They were really proud of me and supportive when I completely changed industries, surprised, but also very, very supportive. And I was just thinking about how it was a very male dominated group that I was in as finance can be. But the woman who led our group was a powerful, compassionate, amazing woman.

And she was incredibly supportive. I remember walking into her office and like taking a thousand deep breaths beforehand to tell her, I'm going to leave this awesome, amazing group and job to go do this completely different thing. So I will always just have like a soft spot in my heart for the guidance and support and tips that she gave me on my way out. She was such a like a luminary in my life, even at that age.

And I have gone on to be so lucky to have so many other women who have been mentors and helped me along the way. So there's that piece of it on the completely opposite end of the spectrum. When I was talking about the quirky skills, I was thinking about how good I am at Excel and building Excel spreadsheets. I love that. That's not traditionally something that editors and chiefs do very much, but you kind of

actually do. Like, I now, because I am in the role that I am, I very much am focused on the content and the creative side. But I also have to look after the business. And are we using our resources and our precious editors' brains and times in appropriate ways that are good for the brand, not only for our readers, but also to make the brand flourish and be healthy.

So I can pull out a spreadsheet and run the numbers on something. And in instant, I made a lot of decks in PowerPoint back in the day. And I continue to love doing that and love sprinkling magic dust on them and tinkering with them. I have also found that when people discover what my experience was and where my first job was, in my industry, everyone's like impressed and appreciates that I bring a slightly different, not completely traditional perspective to my work. I think that's something maybe for your audience

to keep in mind wherever they are in their journeys is that a diverse perspective, and I mean that in all of the ways. That is really healthy and valuable, no matter what you do or where you are. Yeah, I read a really interesting study probably around four years ago now, and it was by MIT. And they looked at employees' networks online and offline.

And they found that employees who knew people, who knew people, who knew the same people had less innovative ideas, and were able to bring less creativity to the table. But employees, you had a network that was more diverse, where you'd be confused by how they know both those types of people. And so I often say that when I have ideas or thoughts,

I often think, well, what would a tech giant say? So what would Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs or someone like that think about this? And then what would the Dalai Lama think about this? And to me, that opposite spectrum of thought is where I try and work from. So I'm always trying to combine strategy with sincerity or assertiveness with affection.

And I feel like the more polar opposites you can put together, the more interesting your work becomes. And so when I hear you say that, I love that. I am terrible at Excel. So I was, I'm being a consultant and a researcher. I avoided Excel at Accenture like the play. Yeah.

I did never did it. I stayed away from it. I stuck to my strengths and skills. I did a lot of power points and all that kind of stuff. But what gave you the courage to make that shift and transition? Because you went to an incredible institution, you were almost trained to go off and do something

in this particular way. How did you disconnect from any expectations, any opinions, any noise, any thoughts that people would have had? Like, you're probably going to make less money. You worked so hard. All these things that you would have had. Like, you're probably gonna make less money. You work so hard. All these things that you would hear, did you hear them? And if you did, how did you deal with them? And if you didn't, how did you deal with it for yourself?

Oh, I love all of this. And it's fun thinking back on it because it's been almost 20 years now. So for starters, I shared my dream, literally my dream, with a group of strangers who I met training for a marathon. I did a marathon through team and training. We would get together in Central Park, you know, people from all over New York City,

all different ages, all different careers, but you make great, great friendships, I believe, when you sweat next to somebody, literally. And when you have 10 miles to run together, you've got a lot of time to talk about all the things. So this group already knew that I was struggling with my happiness in my career, but when I remember I had this dream

about being an editor at a health and wellness publication, and we had a 15 mile long run that next morning on Saturday morning. And a couple of miles in as we'd started warming up, I shared it. And I think maybe in my heart, I knew that these people knew me well enough by now that they would be honest and open with their feedback.

And I am so glad that they were like, you should do that. Like, could totally see you doing that. So this was a group of people who knew me through running, but they just got it instantly with my personality. And they thought it, they gave me sort of the courage to take the next step, which was then to start investigating and talking with people.

And like we were talking about educating and myself and learning more about the industry. There was plenty of pain and struggle and you know, dozens of interviews that didn't pan out and people that were not willing to take a chance on an investment banking analyst and finally it did work out. And it was through a ton of hard work and networking. And also, Jay, I'm going to be honest, it was a lot through through some privilege and luck because of where I've been in my life. So I don't take any of that lightly and I own it that I made the transition. And then it was terrifying. Like, okay, I've literally put everything on a limb. I'm going out on this limb, like, what if I don't like it?

What if it's not all, I think it's gonna be. And it was awesome from day one. And this is day one when I was fetching coffee and processing contracts for freelance writers, but just the energy of creating. So my first job in the space was as an editorial assistant at Self Magazine in the fitness department. And it was just amazing from the start.

Sparks were flying, I was happy. Yes, I was doing a lot of grunt work, but I was learning so much and I was willing to roll up my sleeves and be the one who didn't know and hadn't gone through the internships and all of that. One last thing I'll say is that you've heard me talk about my husband, Matt before, and we have a crazy chaotic life. He's got a big full-time job.

We have three children, we have a crazy chaotic life. He's got a big full-time job. We have three children. We have a puppy at home. Like, rewind back to 23-ish-year-old Liz, who is contemplating this change. And Matt and I have been together since our senior year of college. So we've known each other since we were 18. We ran Latin 104 together on day one of college. Matt was very much of the mind that like don't think about the salary.

If you love this as much as I think you're going to and you think you're going to, that's all going to work out eventually. So having the support of a partner who loved me and knew me and cared about me and was like, you've got this, you can do this. I know it's scary. I know it's a lot less money, but take the next step. That was hugely impactful and helpful. Thank you for sharing that with us.

I love hearing that. It's, I think it's so refreshing to hear about that where we can hold space for our partners and we can create space for people to become who they want to be, rather than feel pressured to or shoehorned into something else. And even though you mentioned privilege and luck, I do also believe there is a lot to be said

for doing the grunt work. Often if there's privilege, there's a feeling of I shouldn't be doing this. But it sounds like in your journey, you've actually done a lot of that and been okay with that. Let's speak about that for a second because I feel the same way that there isn't a substitute for that and often our dream job or passion

is on the other side of some grunt work that feels beneath us even though I don't think anything's beneath anyone. But often that perception is actually what limits people. And I feel that more and more today than ever before where there is a certain disconnect. Tell us about how you made that fun or how you made it meaningful or how you felt at the end of a day of getting coffees and doing contracts. But how did you keep going? Because now you're at the top of the chain, but you started at the bottom.

Yeah. So how did you keep feeling that momentum at every stage because you don't get to the top in a year or even five? No, no, it takes a minute. It was very much about feeling the vibes and the energy of that office. And I was fortunate enough to work at a place

that the most junior of editors were allowed to come into the brainstorm meetings and see and hear things. That's right. It is. And I was just sort of like so bold and courageous of pitching stories. And I remember waving my hand like six months in saying,

I have this feature story idea, those are the big long stories with lots of pictures in the middle of the magazine. And I know it's crazy, I know I'm brand new here, but I actually want to be the one to write it. And my boss let me do it. I mean, it took a ton of hand-holding. And by no means did that mean I was like ready

to be promoted to senior editor because I'd pinned a feature. But working toward and having those moments or opportunities was enough to keep the spark in the energy alive. And so to kind of bring it full circle since now I'm at a different point in my career, I try very hard to keep that in mind with my awesome team members, and try to nurture an environment where no matter where you are on the totem pole or the mast head, that every single one of us has something to contribute and a great idea is like embedded in each of their brains. And also to give them access to things that are interesting to them, even if it's not

quote unquote part of their like, you know, little box job description. So I'm trying to pay that forward because that was really helpful to me in my career. And I'm sure you feel this way too. Just because we are where we are in our professional careers, doesn't mean that we're not still rolling up our sleeves and doing the grub work. Like a few years ago, when I started at Women's Health, I was only overseeing the print side of the brand, and we integrated print and digital, and then I began overseeing the website, social media, video, all the things. And I had experience in the digital space from my previous few jobs, but when that formally went into effect, I actually asked to like build stories in our CMS system and go through the SEO training and get the 101

and to experience what it was like to be in the system. And I'm not trying to pat myself on the back, but I think it's important to, as leaders, to remember what the nuts and bolts are on the ground level. I think it gives me more sensitivity and compassion for what every single team member is going through every day. And it's also just a good reminder that we all have so much to learn. And there's plenty of sweat left, no matter where we are in our careers. Yeah, thank you so much for opening up about that because I love what you just said that sweat is in every stage of the journey.

There is no substitute for it ever. Forget just the beginning. It's never gonna go away. But at the same time, I think for a lot of us, we need to find the meaning and the sweat early on when you feel the sweat isn't in stuff you care about. So I think you really gave a lot of people that are listening today, hopefully a lot more motivation

and inspiration to stick with it. Because you have to look at it, you have to play the long game, you have to look at the long term when you're in those situations. A good way to learn about a place is to talk to the people that live there. There's just this sexy vibe

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It doesn't always work out. I would love that, but I have like a Chihuahua who is aggressive towards strangers. I love the dogs. We learn about the places we're visiting, yes, but we also learn about ourselves. I don't spend as much time thinking about how I'm going to die alone when I'm traveling. But I get to travel with someone I love.

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Join us as we explore surprising and lesser-known corners of Latinx culinary history and traditions. I mean, these are these legends, right? Apparently, this guy Juan Mendes, he was making these tacos wrapped in these huge tortillas to keep it warm, and he was transporting them in a burro hence the name the burrito.

Listen to Hungry for History with Ivalangoria and Maite Gomez-Rechón as part of the Microtura Podcast Network available on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Not too long ago, in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest, this explorer stumbled upon something that would change his life. I saw it and I saw, oh wow, this is a very unusual situation. It was cacao. The tree that gives us chocolate. But this cacao was unlike anything experts had seen.

Or tasted. I've never wanted us to have a gun fight. I mean, you saw this tax of cash in our office. Chocolate sort of forms this vortex. It sucks you in. It's like I can be the queen of wild chocolate. We're all lost. It was madness. It was a game changer. People quit their jobs. They left their lives behind so they could search for more of this stuff. I wanted to tell their stories so I followed them deep into the jungle and it wasn't always pretty. Basically this like disgruntled guy and his family

surrounded the building arm with machetes and we've heard all sorts of things that you know somebody got shot over this. Sometimes I think all all these for a damn bar of chocolate. Listen to the obsessions while chocolate on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. I want to talk about your book on your morning, which is what we're discussing today. I want to, before we dive into the book, which I really hope everyone's going to get after listening to this episode, is let's talk about when did mornings become a thing that you thought were important, because people can be morning people, and we'll talk about what it means to be a mourning person,

discovering that your mourning is a powerful time to set up a successful day, when did that happen for you, and what was it that made you convinced that owning your mourning had to be important? Yes, so this has definitely been a journey for me, and lots of experimentation to arrive at the point where I am now. But I'm actually going to go back in time to that first job. We were just talking about a few minutes ago in investment banking. That was a job where anything could happen. And I feel like a lot of people can relate no matter what

industry you're in. Anything could happen during the day. A deadline could be thrown on my desk at 5 p.m. A friend would invite me to an event. The possibilities of the day, both good and bad, were endless. And I learned very quickly that, so sweat, a workout, is an essential part of my day, has been since I was a kid.

But I learned that if I said, okay, I'm gonna hit the gym on my walk home from work tonight. Maybe up to nine out of 10 times, something would happen. I would get derailed. I wouldn't be able to get there. And then the like perpetual like, ugh, cumulative effect of not getting that workout, something that powers me up, makes me feel clear and calm and confident.

I felt like, ugh, so blah. You know, within like a week of starting that job, it's not rocket science, but I was like, oh, I get it. I have to set my alarm clock for way earlier and get myself to the gym and showered, et cetera, before I hit the work day. And then I'm so much better prepared for all the twists and turns that are in store for me

during the day. And I cannot control what happens during the day. None of us really can, but we can, for the most part, control what happens in our mornings. And so that was the beginning for me that I, when I got in my workout and did the things that powered me up in the morning, the whole rest of my day went a million times better. And I've sort of been hacking this over time and researching it and learning about it. And it's been a life's passion for me. And that's, so that's my, so now I'm a very early riser.

I don't run a marathon every morning, but I do have little micro actions I take that nod to the things that are most important to me and I'm a much better human the rest of the day because of it. I love it. I love it. And now the first chapter, I love the title when I first saw this. And you very emphatically say to everyone, you are a morning person. And I know a lot of people hear that and go, no, I'm not. Because there's such a cynicism around

or not even a cynicism, there's just a pessimism around our own selves of like, well, I love staying up late. And I mean my wife here this all the time, my wife wakes up at 5 a.m. every day. Yes. I wake up at 6 a.m. every day. When we're with our friends, a lot of people say to us, well, but we sleep at like 2 a.m. or 1 a.m. And, you know, I'm gonna be waking up at like 8 or 7, whatever it may be.

And this isn't about better or worse. This isn't about comparing. This isn't about, oh, we This isn't about comparing. This isn't about, oh, we're more healthy or it's not that. It's a conversation about what do you want from your life. Yes. When you tell everyone emphatically anyone can become a morning person, tell us what are the signs that someone's a morning person and then what are the steps we can take to become one. If we're sitting here going, Liz, I'm really not a morning person. Yes, I hear you.

And I'm so glad you brought this up because you are exactly right. I am also an early riser. You know this about me, but I wake up at 517. But this book is not about like, you need to be waking up at 517. There is no judgment whatsoever if you are in the camp of,

I actually want to wake up at 8am and that works for me. I am with you My goal is to help you make the most of the time you spend after you get out of bed to Set yourself up for the best day possible and to be honest Jay and what I hear a lot from people is they actually Wish they could wake up a little earlier, but like your friends, they're night owls. And it's just not in their nature. So, yep, so two quick things. As I share in the book, I was not a morning person.

I very much love to sleep in, especially as a teenager. There is a lot of science that suggests that we have a chronotype, so you might be more predisposed to enjoy popping out of bed in the morning or to staying up late at night. So early birds, night owls, some people get their rush of energy in the middle of the day. The cool thing is it's constantly changing over time. So even if a couple of years ago, that's how you are there right now, it might change just naturally, which is I think interesting. I feel like that's partially what happened to me.

But secondly, there are a lot of things you can do. If you do want to wake up earlier to set yourself up the night before, and also what you do when you get out of bed, exposing yourself to light, making it like this is what the book really breaks down. If that is your goal to wake up earlier, and you think you would be healthier and happier for it, this book can help you do that.

It really is possible. I think also when people think about becoming a morning person, they think they have to sleep less. Right. And that's not the thing. The point is you can still sleep as much as you want. You're just going to try and sleep earlier so that you can still have that amount of sleep. And so I think a lot of people struggle with the idea of being a morning person.

So I feel like I've always been a morning person, but I'm also someone who really appreciates sleep. And one's good sleep. Even though people are like, Oh, Jay, but you were a monk and you wake up, and I'm like, yeah, but I love sleep. I do. And sometimes I wish I wasn't a morning person

because sometimes I'm like, I wish I could wake up past 7 a.m. I wish I could wake up past 7 a.m. Like I can never wake up past 7 a.m. And so I wake up naturally, I haven't used it on a alarm clock for a very long time and my body will wake me up usually between eight hours to eight hours, 15 minutes of sleep and I'll naturally wake up.

When you talk about people becoming a morning person, what are some of the things that we need to stop doing in order to help us become morning people? Is there some of the techniques and tools you can share with us? Absolutely. So you're exactly right. As much as you wish or want to become a morning person, it's not just like you wake up and... Yeah. Oh, here I am, morning person. So for starters, let's talk about the night before, which I know is a little bit counterintuitive

in a book about mornings, but I devote a couple of chapters to it. First of all, you're exactly right. It's important to know how much sleep you need, and that can help you back into what time you need to go to bed. I know everybody is sick of hearing this, but the truth is there's so much science

about exposing yourself to blue light, which we get from our devices in the evening. It is going to amp up your melatonin production, which makes it harder to fall asleep and harder to stay asleep. So right there, if you want to have an awesome morning tomorrow, you want to have a good night of sleep. So do yourself a favor, pick up a paper book or stop scrolling on your phone, ideally at least an hour before you hit the sack.

I also talk in the book about sleep rituals. I interviewed all sorts of sleep experts and looked at all the latest and greatest research on this. And there are simple things you can do such as making your room a little bit cooler. That helps you sleep more soundly. Personally, I like to take a shower before I go to bed. Just I have this vision that it's like rinsing the good and bad energy off me and kind of creating a clean slate for me to get all the restoration that my night of sleep has in store for me. Let's talk about alarm clocks for a second too. So I'm sure you know this because you're also super into sleep.

The later phases of our sleep cycle are called REM sleep. And that's that's like where the magic happens and all the restoration happens. So if you're the type of person who snoozes your alarm button for like an hour or even just a time or two, you're actually disrupting that really powerful, sacred time of sleep. So I am really encouraging folks to think hard about what time do you have to get up? Like what's the latest you can get up and set your alarm for that. Like that is your sleep spot and sweet spot and then back into what time you need to go to bed.

Those are just a few examples, but they will all help a lot. They will help tremendously. I love that. That's such a great piece of advice because often we hear like, oh yes, set your arm half an hour before your ideal time. And actually what you just said is we're disrupting our own sleep. Yes. And so I couldn't agree with you more.

I think it's unhealthy to set up too many alarms. And also the repetition, what we don't realize is we're creating a pattern where we don't listen to our alarm. And so now that alarm is becoming less and less useful because you're so used to just pressing this snooze button. And so it's losing its impact because you reject it. It's like someone giving you advice. And every time they give you advice, you're like, nope, don't want it. Nope, don't want it. Nope, don't. That person's advice becomes less and less useful over time. So now an alarm becomes less and less meaningful.

Exactly. Whereas if it only rings once, and it rings at the time when you know you want to be up, you're going to respond, hopefully. Yes, and actually a note on alarm sounds because rings tend to be what we choose or like that angry, bleeping sound. And so one other tip or suggestion for folks who want to get up earlier just have a more graceful entry into their day, pick a sound that you like that makes you happy.

I use the chimes on my iPhone, but it could be anything. It could be a song you love. Start your day with something that makes you happy. It doesn't have to be like a loud annoying, really polite, polite. You know? What I love about these booklets is that it's so practical

and I want everyone to see that because often when we hear about books on health and wellness, there's good ideas and maybe a couple of good thoughts and pointers, but Liz's book is full of exercises and takeaways. And I really appreciate that when I see that in a book list because I just find that sometimes we're even like, I've heard that idea before, oh, I know that.

But that's never been the issue. We know we need to sleep earlier and wake up earlier. We know that we need to put our phones down. But we need activities and exercises to actually help us do that. And I'm really glad that you put some in. Are there any favorite activities or exercises that are in the book that you're just like,

this one really worked for me or this one really worked for a friend? Could you share one with us? The chapter about learning what your personal core values are. That one is near and dear to my heart. I think it sets this book apart from other publications or books that have dabbled in mornings. Because to your point, when we first started this conversation, my goal is not to get you up at 5.17 AM like I do.

My goal is to make your morning more magical. And what I learned is that when you are really clear on what your values are and what fills you up and lights you up, and then when you can actually take little micro actions nodding toward them every single morning, you are just prepared in ways you cannot even imagine to be a better parent, employee, pet parent, like sister, brother, friend, all the things. So there's one exercise in that core values chapter. I mean, I take you through several activities

to sort of hone in on what they are for you. But the one I think is simplest and fastest and you could even open up your phone right now or your computer right now and do it without having to put pen to paper, is to take a calendar inventory and look at where you're spending your time. How many hours a day are you in meetings? How much time are you spending having lunch? Are you working out? Like, get clear on that, and that will help you hone in on like one, what are the things that you enjoy,

and maybe you love those meetings, which is great. Maybe that means collaboration and teamwork are one of your core values. But this is also going to help you find where you have some room for improvement, because maybe lunch isn't on your calendar, and what are you going to do for yourself today? Do you need time to take a walk or to journal during your lunch break? Do you need time to make yourself a healthy, yummy sandwich? So anyway, that's one exercise that can help you get clear about what your personal core values are. And then the rest of the book is really like choose your own adventure, or you could read the whole thing and get ideas, but say fitness or meditation, which I know is so integral in your life, are things that you want to add

to your morning and they align with your core values. Then there's advice for how to actually bring those to life every morning. Yeah, I love that. I want to ask you this because I get asked this a lot and I'm always conscious of it when I'm answering the question and now I get to ask it as someone who's actually dealing with this. So, you're a mother, you're an editor in chief, you're a wife, you play a lot of roles in your own life,

and I find that in my opinion, mothers, especially with young children, have the hardest mornings. I look at my mother, and that's where I remember it from. My mom used to wake us up, get us dressed for school, me and my younger sister. She'd make our breakfast, she'd make our lunch. She'd then drop us to school,

and she was an independent financial advisor at the same time, so she also had her own mini company that she was setting up. So my mom was, and then she'd pick us up from school, make us dinner, and help us with our homework. So I lived in a house with a super power powerhouse mom that I love and adore. And I just saw now, and I think about, I'm like, how does anyone do all of that? Like, how is that even possible? And today life's supposedly become easier and we have more support and we have more help here and there or we have tools and technology.

But as a mother, as a experienced professional, as a successful professional, how are you getting through your morning? How are you still waking up at 517 or how did you manage it when your kids were slightly younger? I wanna hear about the messiness. Because I think often mothers also are the ones that end up judging themselves the most

about not being there for their kids and they're not feeling like they can perform and then feeling all the responsibilities on them too. So glad you asked about the messiness because I also want to be very clear that although I've got a good thing going with my mornings, that does not mean that every morning goes as I envisioned that it would without, you know, a little tornado here, a little disaster spilled milk there. I'm also kind of truckling because here we are, it's fall. My kids just started the school year again, which is awesome. So all three of them murdered my cat school. They are, yes. So for the first time in a long time, on Monday, the school bus, you know, it pulls up at 8.04 a.m. and I'm like, oh, I have to like get everything together.

Like, this is no joke because for a long time, they were doing school from home and, you know, if I went to my first work meeting wearing leggings, so be it. So I knew I was going into my office. I had some reasons to be there. So I commute from Brooklyn to Manhattan. So it, honestly, Jay, it was like, I had to put all the stuff I talk about in own your morning into practice. Like, practice what you preach Liz. And for me, that meant doing a lot of prep the night before, pulling out what my outfit was going to be having my children do the same, having them pack their backpacks. I made the lunches the night before because, oh, my outfit was going to be, having my children do the same, having them pack their backpacks.

I made the lunches the night before because, oh, it's just like one more thing and everybody has opinions, you know, they don't want the whatever they, with my kids, they're very picky. Jelly sandwiches, I can't believe I'm admitting that. But despite it all, despite it all, it was like a morning of madness. And I did get them to the bus, everybody got to school, they had lunches in their backpacks.

But when I got to my desk, my hair was still wet, like I was slightly disheveled and frazzled. And I did not feel like I wanted to that morning. And that's okay too. I knew in that instant, if I hadn't done the stuff the night before, if I hadn't been trying all the tips and tools that I write about in

the book, this morning would have been like, you know, if it was a seven on a scale from 1 to 10, it probably would have been a two or a three. And that's no fun. And I have a job to do that I love to help women live their healthiest, happiest lives. And I have to like show up and be ready for that. So my mornings are not perfect. I just posted on my Instagram recently, a reel that was sort of like Instagram versus reality. Like, you know, me like sipping my coffee.

And the reality version is like my giant Bernese mountain dog puppy is like, tumbles in and knocks it over, and I have to like clean it up. So I get it. We all, that's real life. Like that's gonna happen to each and every one of us. How do you make and prioritize time for yourself? You're leading a team with the kids, a company.

Like how do you actually even prioritize and make space for that time? I know you work about 517 as much as you can, which is incredible. But how do you make sure that that's a priority when you are serving so many other people? Yes, it goes back to the heart of this, which is mornings are the only time I can really control and to have space to fill myself up and to take time for myself. And I think it's a lot like what you hear on airplanes about how you have to put on your own oxygen mask before you can help the person next to you.

I, 1000% believe that is true. It's sort of counterintuitive, like, wait, what? I'm gonna leave the apartment and go to the gym and do this Liz thing. I'm gonna take the time to journal for 10 or 15 minutes. I'm going to do all this Liz stuff when I have like life and career and people pulling on me in every direction. But the reality is once you start doing that, you very quickly see the benefits and that you are able to give so much more to everybody else and everything else you do when you've

stopped and filled up your own, your own t-cup first. Yeah, yeah. I remember I used to just keep giving and going and giving and going. And then I asked myself this question, do I want to give people my best or do I want to give them my leftovers? And I realized I was just giving people my leftovers. But these were people that I love. You don't give the people that you love your leftovers.

And that's when I started realizing that self-preservation was so important. And my morning was the most important time to preserve. Because it was the only time that was truly sacred in mine. And I could carve out. And I found that even recently, this week I've been thankful enough to have a beautiful morning routine.

It's almost back into flow again. Yes. And I'm feeling all the benefits of it. And I'm prioritizing going to bed earlier, saying no in the evening. And there's parts of me that wanna go out and do this thing and I have to keep pulling back. What happens?

See, here's the challenge. When we talk about morning routines, a lot of people think, oh yeah, they must wake up every day at the same time, like we talked about the messiness. How do you get back on track? Yeah. Because I feel like we all get on track, maybe for three days, maybe we even do the 21 days and it's meant to be a habit

and it was safe forever. But then we fall off. I get on and fall off all the time. Me too. How do you get back on once you fall enough? I'm Mungisha Tikular and to be honest, I don't believe in astrology, but from the moment I was born, it's been a part of my life. In India, it's like smoking.

You might not smoke, but you're going to get secondhand astrology. And lately, I've been wondering if the universe has been trying to tell me to stop running and pay attention. Because maybe there is magic in the stars, if you're willing to look for it. So I rounded up some friends and we dove in and let me tell you, it got weird fast. Tantric curses, major league baseball teens, cancelled marriages, K-pop! But just what I thought I had to handle on this sweet and curious show about astrology, my whole world can crash down.

Situation doesn't look good. There is risk too far. And my whole view on astrology? It changed. Whether you're a skeptic or a believer, I think your ideas are going to change too. Listen to Skyline Drive and the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, wherever you get your podcasts. The therapy for Black Girls Podcast is the destination for all things mental health, personal development, and all of the small decisions we can make to become the best possible versions

of ourselves. Here, we have the conversations that help black women dig a little deeper into the most impactful relationships in our lives, those with our parents, our partners, our children, our friends, and most importantly ourselves. We chat about things like what to do when a friendship ends, how to know when it's time to break up with your therapist, and how to end the cycle of perfectionism. I'm your host, Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia, and I can't wait for you to join the conversation every Wednesday.

Listen to the Therapy for Black Girls Podcast on on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Take good care. In the 1680s, a feisty opera singer burned down a nunnery and stole away with her secret lover. In 1810, a pirate queen negotiated her cruiseway to total freedom, with all their loot. During World War II, a flirtatious gambling double agent helped keep D-Day a secret from the Germans. What are these stories having common? They're all about real women who were left out of your history books.

If you're tired of missing out, check out the Womanica podcast, a daily women's history podcast highlighting women you may not have heard of, but definitely should know about. I'm your host, Jenny Kaplan, and for me, diving into these stories is the best part of my day. I learned something new about women from around the world and leave feeling amazed, inspired, and sometimes shocked. Listen on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Oh, I'm very glad you brought this up. This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes, which full disclosure, I don't know who said it or where it came from, but it's really stuck

with me over time. And the quote is, let's make better mistakes tomorrow. Oh, wow. So, that was like my mantra on Monday as I arrived at work with Slightly Damper. I was like, okay, okay, we're going to learn from this list. But I, I too get off track or I have something happen in the evening and it means I can't wake up at the hour I want to. I'm always looking for reasons to reset. And the beautiful thing is it doesn't have to be a huge life transition like starting a new job or moving into a new home or you know a change in relationship status. Those are all awesome reasons to have a reset. It could be as simple as the changing of seasons. But also Jay I think it could

be as simple as like it's a new week or it's a new day tomorrow. You don't have to wait for January 1st or the changing of the season or a huge massive shift in your life. You have the power to choose that tomorrow is going to be better and different. And I would recommend embracing those moments of like, ah, that morning did not go like I wanted it to

or I stayed up way too late last night, nothing went like I hoped it would. To have a moment and reflect on that, like sit with that, and now you can do something about it, and you're gonna make tomorrow better. Yeah, I love that. I think what you're saying is so true, that judgment and guilt don't get you anywhere.

Nope. When I judge myself or I guilt myself because this has been such a bad week, I'm now just creating more guilt and creating more judgment. And then now I'm feeling worse. Yes. And now I don't feel like getting up tomorrow. It's like a death spiral.

Totally. You're just going to get lost in your mental health. It's such a tough one. And it just keeps going. And so I find that actually me saying, yeah, I gave myself a week off last week, but tomorrow is going to be different. Totally. It's such a healthy, a way to move and make progress. One of the things I think I love that you talk about in this book

is power breakfasts. Yeah. I love talking about practical things to actually do eat in the morning. I'd love to hear the science about it. I struggled for a long time with bloating in the morning. And so for a lot of time, I had to wake up and I'd eat really well at night. I don't eat late. I consider myself so for a lot of time, I'll wake up and I'd eat really well at night. I don't eat late.

I consider myself to have a really good diet, but I think over time, I haven't necessarily been mindful and so things have happened, but I remember waking up feeling bloated. I remember waking up feeling no matter what I ate in the morning, I would end up feeling, you know, just not good. And then finally, in the very recently, there are two things that solved it.

It was celery juice and chia seed pudding. Cool. So chia seeds in the morning and celery juice has transformed my life. I feel they celery juice is almost like a cleansing. I feel completely clean and internally and fresh. And then the chia seed pudding is really grounding. And so to me, that's really worked for me.

I wanted to hear what you found through the science of breakfast, because I think so many people skip breakfast, or they grab a bagel on the way, or they're eating on, you know, we're not commuting anymore, but I think breakfast is an untalked about meal or unheard of nowadays. Yes, I love the breakfast chapter in the book and I love actually the morning magic essay that was penned by this woman Kate Mercker who oversees food for women's health. There's a morning magic essay in every single chapter, but Kate talks about the ritual of making toast for her family and her kids and she talks about how it fills them up, the smell of it, the ritual of it, they put cilantro on it, sometimes it's with avocado,

it can be all these different things. And to me, what's so beautiful about that story and about your chia pudding is that it's gonna look different for every single one of us. Yeah, that's why I asked, because I was like, I don't think everyone's eating it. No, and I get asked this a lot as the editor

of Women's Health like, oh, do you intermittent fast? Or do you skip breakfast? And should I be eating before my workout? Or right afterward? And Jay, there's like, there's a study for everything. And what it really comes down to is what works for you. And you felt icky in the morning, you felt off. And so you probably tried all sorts of different things.

So many things. And that's what you have to do. You have to experiment. I will never say to somebody, yeah, you should do your workout fast in a fasted state, which yes, there is science that suggests you'll go into the fat burning zone more quickly if you do sweat without eating first.

However, if you feel weak or you can't give 100% in your workout because you didn't put any calories in your body, then who cares with that research study said it's not going to make a difference. But maybe you're like me, and I actually, I feel like I get stomach cramps and I feel off if I eat right before I work out. But it takes trial and error and experimentation and it might take trying some different foods and just seeing what works best for your body.

But like you, over time, I've experimented with all sorts of different meals and the timing of them. And what works best for me is making myself a smoothie right when I get home from the gym. So this is like, while I'm making my kids their breakfast, which might be scrambled eggs, it might be cereal and apples, it could be a little different every day. For me, I like to have a banana with some peanut butter powder and some whole milk and ice, and sometimes I'll add cinnamon or some other anti-anflamatories like that.

But it fills me up. It's satiating. It feels refreshing after I've moved by body and gotten all hot and sweaty. And I feel like energized and ready to tackle the day. But it took me a long time to arrive at that meal, that to learn that this is what helps me really perform at my peak in all the hours that follow.

I'm so glad you made that point. And hearing the editor-in-chief of Women's Health said that it's so refreshing and helpful because I think that's exactly it. That none of us are the same. Right. None of us have the same goals or core values as you said. Right.

And therefore fat burning may not be your priority. Your priority may be feeling good. Right. Your priority may be getting energy. Your priority may be losing weight or gaining weight. Whatever it is, it's just your core values and your priority has to be, and we have to be able to experiment. I think that's what I'm hearing from you.

It's just how many different types of things have you tried. I remember trying oatmeal, I remember trying cereal, I remember trying avocado toast, I remember trying just dates and nuts. And finally, I found a win with this. And I feel so good about it. And again, I don't go around saying, hey, everyone, you do this. I think you should try these two things that I've found

to be beneficial and celery juices, lots of benefits. But at the same time, you may have it and be like, Jay, I feel terrible after that. Right. And I love that you're just giving us permission to say, just try stuff. Yes. And stop thinking that it has to be this way.

Yes. Well, that is very much the ethos of women's health. Yes. We are determined to help our readers live healthier, happier lives. And our job is to give you science-backed, expert-based, soundly researched ideas and tips and suggestions. But the truth is, the magic happens when something resonates for you and you decide to try it

and then it unlocks a whole new part of you. You feel better, you feel happier and it's going to look different for every single person. Yeah, absolutely. You talk a lot in the book about, obviously, your journaling practice, too. We've spoken about this before. And I am such a big believer in journaling. I think it's such a powerful practice. My wife as well, oh, journaling, she talks about journaling in the same

way as you do. She feels so connected to it. And she will often do a lot of free journaling, where she just let everything out and everything go. And I want to hear how can someone start a journaling practice if they feel scared by it? Yes, and I identify with those people because it seemed like just one more thing to take on.

But I have aspired to journal for many years. And this summer, it really clicked like as a non-negotiable ritual that I do every single morning. And the way I wrapped my head around it was by giving myself permission to stop after two sentences if I didn't have anything else to say or just wasn't feeling it. And that was like the game changer for me. And I think you can apply that to a lot of different areas in your life, like even workouts.

I've told people, just go to the gym or start the workout for a few minutes. And if you feel just, ugh, I'm not feeling it today, you can stop. Why for four minutes? Where did you come up from? So four minutes, there's actually very cool science about four minutes.

Physiologically, that's how long it takes for our body to acclimate to the work of a physical exertion. Your oxygenation changes, your joints and muscles, lubricate, essentially you warm up. So it's the difference between being warmed up and coming in cold and nine times out of 10 when I make it to the four minutes point on those days,

I just am not feeling motivated and don't feel like it. By four minutes in, I'm like, but I feel like a new person. I've got this and I go ahead and do the whole workout. Same thing with journaling though. Some mornings I'm like, I don't have time. I don't have anything to say. It's okay, Liz. Just two sentences is enough.

Wait until you get into two. How did you figure out two? I literally pulled it out of thin air. It felt like... You can do two. is enough. Where did you get it to? How did you figure it out to? I literally pulled it out of thin air. It felt like short enough. Like I gave it some effort, but also short enough that it didn't overwhelm me. And Jay, I have never stopped a two sentences. It always goes beyond that once you get going.

I love those two pieces of advice. I think it's so important. We always set like a target, but what we need to do is set a minimum. Yes. It's like the opposite. Like we always used to say like, this I wanna write a page a day,

but we don't just say, well let me just write two lines a day. It's like a reframing of that. Yeah, it's a reframing. And actually you're so right that you develop more confidence, more excitement, more enthusiasm when you break what you thought you were gonna do, rather than when you fall short of a target.

So if you even wrote nine lines out of ten, that would feel worse than if you stopped it too. Yes, I love that. One of my favorite studies is about the power of accomplishments and taking a moment to reflect upon them. It's a psychology principle, the psychology of momentum. When you accomplish something, that propels you forward to accomplish another thing.

And over time, it raises your expectations, but you gain that momentum. So if you are able to reframe and say, I did it, I did four minutes, I did two sentences. Actually, I believe that out of the water, and I did 10 minutes and 10 sentences, whatever it is, that little perspective shift will be extremely powerful,

and everything else you tackle the rest of the day. Absolutely, yeah, I was watching a video recently where one of my friends, Jason Goldberg, he was talking about a study in the Olympics, and he was saying that people who get bronze are happier than those who get silver. Because people who got silver were so close to being so fascinating.

That that pains us so much that we feel less happy was when you got bronze, you're kind of happy because I made it to the podium. Yes. And so I feel like every day we need to just make it to the podium and not try and aim for this number one. Because when you aim for that number one, you kind of just set yourself up for,

I'm not saying we shouldn't aim high, that's not the point I'm making. I'm just saying that on a daily basis, you don't need to be number one, you just need to make it to the podium. This is gonna become a new Liz mantra, make it to the podium. I'm obsessed with that.

Yeah, it's from that study that he shared in a video and I thought that was fascinating. One of the things that I love in this book that you talk about also is winning your weekend. Yes. And when I read this, I couldn't agree with you more because I think I think about that every week where I'm like the quality of my week

is based on the quality of my weekend. And the quality of my weekend is based on my week. And as monks, we were taught that the quality of your day is based on my week. And as monks, we were taught that the quality of your day is based on your two hours of meditation, and the quality of your two hours of meditation is based on your day. And so they're symbiotic. And often I think we look at our weekends

as a way of making up for the week. How do you win your weekend, and how does that transform the week? Definitely. Weekends are so powerful. And I'll just speak for me Definitely. Weekends are so powerful. And I'll just speak for me personally. Weekends are the time when I actually, I do not set that 5, 7, 10 alarm.

I'm gonna sleep as late as my kids and dog let me. But I am also in many ways bringing to life those core values that I bring to life every single weekday morning too. I wanna spend quality time with my kids. I like to go to a farmer's market and take the time to pick up the fruits and veggies and meet some of the farmers who are there

and think about what do I want to cook this week, get excited about putting all the fall apples into a beautiful bowl on my kitchen countertop. And the other thing is, Jay, for me on weekends, I have to be clear about all the plans and invitations and things that could come my way. And it's so easy to be like, well, that sounds like fun. You know, this party or this event or this dinner.

And that stuff can be really fun and being social and being around people is wonderful and can have tons of health benefits. But I also try to be really fun and being social and being around people is wonderful and can have tons of health benefits. But I also try to be really careful about not overextending myself and making the weekend like a new different form of hustling. I have to build in time to just chill and relax. And sometimes that means saying no to going out to dinner with friends.

You know, just being honest that what my body and heart and soul need are just some like alone time watching the latest Marvel movie with my kids and my husband and petting my dog. How have you got better at saying no? I think that's something that's so many of us struggle with. And when you talk about owning your morning, winning your weekend, saying no, is such a big part of that because the night before,

like I don't mean my wife, because we've found our morning groove right now. We're making sure that we're in bed by 9.30 in the evening because that's really important to us, but we're saying no to so many things. It's so true. I think a lot of us feel like to live fuller, happier lives. We need to add things and you're exactly right. Removing some things and decluttering is just as powerful and important. So I as a lifelong people pleaser who squirms at the thought of somebody being mad or upset

or disappointed, it's taken me a long time to learn this. That the kindest and most authentic thing to do is to say no quickly and not let the invitation sit there and fester where it's occupying your brain power, probably stressing out your friend who invited you and is like, what's up, why isn't J.A. responded to me? Like, can he come? Does he wanna come? And you don't have to go into the paragraph

long reason why you can't be there. You can just simply say, thank you so much for the invitation. I'm really sorry that I have a conflict and I can't come, but I'm looking forward to seeing you blah, blah, blah. You're a version of that in your own words in an authentic way, but that's been very powerful for me, is rather than letting it sit and thinking about it, and then there's more drama and internal, like, oh, I can't say no now. That's been just handle it in the moment.

And that does require that you get clear about what your weekend is gonna look like. Are you gonna have one social commitment? Is next weekend one where you actually just need to lay low and not have any? And then when the invitation comes in or the thing pops up, you're more prepared to answer in the moment. And imagine like the the amount of space that that will release in your brain and the emotional energy it unlocks for you to not have that sitting around hanging over you. I love that. I love that. I want to encourage everyone who's been listening and watching today to make sure you grab a copy

of Own Your Morning. We'll have the link in the caption and everywhere else. And of course, I really want to see what you are all learning from this session. So I want you to tag me and Liz and I want you to hashtag Own Your Morning Liz. You've been so generous with your time. I want to end as we do with every on- purpose episode with the final five or the fast five. Okay. We shall, the rapid fire questions.

Yeah. We have to answer every question in one word or one sentence maximum. Okay. So you have a bit of flexibility. Ooh, I like, I like a challenge. Good. I know you do.

So the first question that I have for you is what is the best piece of morning routine advice you've ever received? Ha ha ha. I mean, I literally wrote a book about this, Jay, you're making me say one word. Okay. Oh, one sentence.

I'll say one word. One sentence, yeah. Okay, light, light. Light. Mm-hmm. Okay, let me to expand. Yeah, I want you to expand. For a sentence, yeah.

It is scientifically proven that exposing yourself to light. ASAP after waking naturally makes you feel more energetic and alert. I love that. Beautiful. I work about 6 a.m. and you work about 517 when it's not very light. I mean, this is getting more challenging as we're moving into wintertime and it's just for the morning. But light, like even a bright light from a lamp,

that's good for you too. Yeah, I love that. Question number two, what's the worst piece of morning routine advice you've ever heard? The worst piece is that there's one right way to do it. It's gonna look beautifully different and unique for every single one of us. Yeah, that's a great answer.

Third question, how would you describe your current purpose? Service. That's, I'm gonna leave it at one word, service. Of that. And question number four, what's the most recent thing you've been tinkering with or playing around or experimenting with in your morning routine? I love listening to music to set my energy

and I'm having a lot of fun tinkering with different types of music. I love that. And using it to go where I want to be energetically and to take me down a notch when I'm a little overly or journalized and hyped up. That's brilliant, I really like that one. That's so awesome.

I think we all listen to the same songs again on the same playlist. So important, I love that. Okay, fifth and final question. If you could create one morning routine habit that everyone in the world had to do, what would it be? I think we could change the world if everybody began their day with gratitude.

I personally write a gratitude list. It can be short, it can be long, but that is some incredible energy to begin your day with. I love that. Liz, plus for everyone, the author of Own Your Morning, I make sure you get the book, make sure you tag us. Please, please, please. I think Liz says so many awesomely insightful things today. And I want to see everything that resonated with you.

So you can tag Liz on Instagram, tag me as well, and please, please, please share that hashtag Own Your Morning so that we can follow along and see all of your insights. Liz, is there anything that I didn't ask you that you wanna share, that you wanna tell my community? You are the most awesome interviewer, and it's super fun to talk to somebody else who loves mornings. And yeah, I just wanna say that you don't have to be

a morning person to read this book. It will have some tweaks and ideas to elevate your morning to help you level up, but it's also for those of you who think you're a night owl and tweaks and ideas to elevate your morning to help you level up. But it's also for those of you who think you're a night owl and that you can never change your morning. I promise you, I promise you, you can. I will help you, Jay will help you, and I can't wait to see everybody's hashtags because I'm inspired by how different everybody's mornings look. And that's the fun part. I'd love to share them and inspire more. Create a little morning movement. Yes, morning movement.

I love that. Hashtag only a morning. Tag us while you're doing your weird, funky, interesting, curious morning routine practice. I can't wait to see it. And Liz, thank you so much again for coming on on purpose. And I can't wait to share this with my community. It was wonderful to be here with you.

Thank you so much, Jay. Thanks, Jay. What if you could tell the whole truth about your life, including all those tender and visible things we don't usually talk about? I'm Megan Devine. Host of the podcast, it's okay that you're not okay. Look, everyone's at least a little bit not okay these days, and all those things we don't usually talk about, maybe we should. This season, I'm joined by stellar guests like Abbermote, Rachel Cargol, and so many more. It's okay that you're not okay.

New episodes each and every Monday, available on the iHeartRadio app, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hi, I'm Brendan Francis Nunehm. I'm a journalist, a wanderer, and a bit of a bond-vivant, but mostly a human just trying to figure out what it's all about. And not lost is my new podcast about all those things. It's a travel show where each week I go with a friend to a new place

and to really understand it, I try to get invited to a local's house for dinner, where kind of trying to get invited to a dinner party, it doesn't always work out. Ooh, I have to get back to you. Listen to not lost on the iHeart radio app or wherever you get your podcasts. I am Yomla Van Zant and I'll be your host for The R Spot. Each week listeners will call me live to discuss their relationship issues. Nothing will tear a relationship down faster than two people with no vision. Does y'all are just flopping around like fish out of water? Mommy, Daddy, your ex, I'll be talking about those things and so much more.

Check out the R-Spot on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Check out the R-Spot on the iHeart Video app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.