I did a little research and, according to "the experts," here are honest-to-goodness real recommendations of the things you should accomplish before 9 a.m.:

Now, once you complete this to do list, you can start your day!

OK, to be fair no one suggested you should do all of these things before you hit 9 a.m. — and don't get me wrong there are a lot of good ideas on this list. But as we start this new year, with many of us eyeing personal growth and improvement as part of our roadmap going into 2024 (myself included), we need to have a conversation about how out of hand the idea of The Perfect Morning Routine ☀️ has become.

There are so many "absolutely essential" recommendations out there for what we're all supposed to be doing each morning as go-getters who want more out of life than the status quo, it almost feels like we need an extra 24 hours before the sun rises to do everything we're supposed to do.

So, where is the line between a healthy morning routine and a morning routine that is toxic and unrealistic? And how do you make the right choices for your own morning routine? 

“Every morning you have two choices: continue to sleep with your dreams or wake up and chase them.”
— Unknown

“Meditate five minutes each morning and see it wake up your entire life.” ― Waylon H. Lewis

“Your energy in the morning is a clean slate, and you get a chance each day to build it up the way you want.”
― Mridula Singh

“There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing. It’s not a matter of time; it’s a matter of desire.” – Nina Yau

“Lose an hour in the morning, and you will spend all day looking for it.” – Richard Whately

“New morning, new moment of miracles.” – Lailah Gifty Akita

“The first hour of the morning is the rudder of the day.” – Henry Ward Beecher

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius