I’ve been trying to regain a feeling of control over my days, which have recently felt both hectic and unproductive (which seems somewhat paradoxical, but we’ve all been there, right?).

For me, that means regaining control of my mornings. I am oddly obsessed with reading about other people’s morning routines (and routines in general, this website is a rabbit hole that I both love and hate to lose myself in). I always end up wildly jealous of those remarkable folks who manage things like meditation and yoga and quietly planning out a productive day before they even have their first cup of coffee. Not that I drink coffee in the morning, but you get the point.

But, while an actual routine is non-existent for me during this season of life, I have found two things to be true:

1. I need some quiet reading time before I begin work for the day.
2. Reading fiction in the morning is delightful but impossible to leave.
3. Reading the news first thing in the morning is a terrible idea, because it makes me unhappy and never ends.

If I start by reading the news in the morning, then before I know it it’s lunchtime, and my stress levels are unbearably high. But, if I sit down to read fiction, even if I tell myself I’m just going to read one chapter, I will not be able to put my book down for hours.

So, I’ve had to find a few other things to fill my morning reading. Things that are sweet and thought-provoking and cozy and inspiring by turns. And, helpfully, things that have concrete end-points. Many of them are newsletters that I have signed up for (turns out, it’s much nicer to have an inbox full of interesting reading than one full of sales emails). A few current favorites:

• Richard Rohr Daily Meditations – Spirituality with a side of intellectual thoughtfulness and historical context, which is my favorite kind. Delivered to your inbox, you can subscribe to the daily or weekly option.
• Me & Orla‘s Month in Hashtags – A newsletter of monthly, seasonal hashtags to explore, from a professional Instagram expert. She chooses new, interesting, seasonal ones, rather than the ones that are popular and overused. Like #thisjaneaustenlife, a personal favorite.
• Organized Home – From the team behind Gardenista and Remodelista, a site devoted to pretty spaces, well-organized. Inspiring and soothing to browse through, if not entirely practical or realistic.
• The Paris Review – Not really a site that needs an explanation, is it? If you are worried that you will run out of good ideas for what to read next (ha), worry no more.
• Girls at Library – Literary interviews and book recommendations that cover everything from non-fiction to classic literature to romance novels. The variety is delightful, the interview subjects fascinating.
• The Book Smugglers – Discovered this site years ago, and it has been such fun to watch it grow and expand. Book reviews, cultural commentary, and a micro-publishing house for short fiction. They also have a newsletter than you can sign up for.
• Erstwhile Dear – One of the rare personal blogs that began almost a decade ago and hung on without turning pro (no shade to the blogs that did turn pro, I love so many of them!). Rachael doesn’t write on a regular schedule, but when she does her thoughtful mini essays are always a joy.
• This Victorian Life – The design of this blog always bugs me a little, because it clearly hasn’t been updated in a while. But given that the site owners practice living history, focusing on (obviously) the Victorian era, I can forgive them for technology that looks a little dated. A fascinating resource for anyone interested in the 19th century.
• The Daily Finish – Part of The Finishers, a “Netflix for writers” resource created by award-winning journalist Mridu Khullar Relph. Daily inspiration delivered to your inbox to motivate you actually getting work done, rather than (as I might otherwise do) reading other people’s excellent writing all day.
• The New York Times Morning Briefing – Because I don’t like to avoid the news entirely, but browsing the headlines and deciding what to engage with is a lot easier on my mental health.

Your turn! What are you reading in the morning these days?