Nadia Narain
Nadia Narain has one of the most beautiful websites I've ever seen, and is so in-line with the work of this interview series. She deeply cares about morning and evening routines and will be starting a self-care online course this year. I'd highly recommend staying connected via @nadianarain or @nadia.and.katia to hear when that launches.
Morning person, night owl or other?
I was a night owl, but now I'm a morning person. Maybe that's to do with age. I like my morning to set the tone for my day. I set my mood and how I want to feel. I have my disciplines and rituals, and it helps me to feel centred and grounded in my day.
I also like its quietness. I trained myself to be a morning person, and I like it very much.
Do you do anything before bed to make your morning routine easier?
I don’t drink alcohol, so that is definitely something that helps.
I like to be in bed by 10 or 10.30 pm and asleep by 11 pm if possible. If it's earlier, that's a super treat. It's just nice winding down and having time to read. God, I sound boring. But I do prefer it. A bath at night is a must, especially after teaching a lot of people. It's my night time ritual with salts and oils and candles. EVERY NIGHT. But obviously I'm flexible if it's not possible. Then a shower for sure!
Please describe your evening in 3 words.
Still. Too. Busy. (I'm not happy or proud of that )
Ickkkk. It’s still not quite as i would like it to be. I have perfected mornings and still need to work on evenings. I feel like I have a few hats on with my business. The teaching part means that I'm running around a bit and not sitting down at my computer,
which is where I like to be to do stuff like this. So then the evenings mean a bit of catch up. I only teach one evening a week now, and that feels very liberating. My evenings are mine now. How social I'm feeling or not feeling will also dictate how my evenings look.
What does the last hour of your day look like?
The last hour is bathed and in bed. I light candles in the bedroom and maybe have a diffuser going. It's calm and Im happy. I LOVE MY BED, and I love sleep. I have been very blessed with a healthy sleeping habit, and I'm very grateful.
Is there a trick for getting to bed on time?
DISCIPLINE
Saying no to things.
I can only say yes to 2 maybe 3 if i'm pushing it or feeling incredibly social.
Making sure you don't go down the social media rabbit hole.
I've noticed I could have been in bed a whole hour earlier, or read something great. So, I started turning phone off at a certain time and not bringing it into the bedroom. I don’t want to sleep with it or wake up to it!
What's your favourite thing about the evenings?
That it's my time. It belongs to me and the things I want to do. I like that at whatever time I finish, then it's me being me. No more teaching. It used to be filled with teaching.
Which was great and all, because I love what I do. But it means I'm giving my energy away, and it took me a long time to wind down at night.
Very weirdly I suddenly started to enjoy cooking. I just started this year, and it makes me really happy to cook in the early evening with a good podcast . My other new discovery!
What other habits are part of your routine (at other points in the day/weekend)?
To the best of my ability my Sunday ritual is to have no morning plans. I love staying in bed with tea, books, papers whatever I want. It's slow, and there's no rush. It's such a luxury, and I am perfectly happy doing nothing. Some people are not so good at that. I am.
Being self employed means that you can be on all the time: always answering emails, or packing things for my business. I'm learning to enjoy time for me.
I walk A LOT! I just discovered podcasts, which have been a game changer in my day! I feel like I have a college degree in so many subjects now. I constantly have to stop and take notes in my phone while I walk!
Return to Routines Menu
Morning person, night owl or other?
I was a night owl, but now I'm a morning person. Maybe that's to do with age. I like my morning to set the tone for my day. I set my mood and how I want to feel. I have my disciplines and rituals, and it helps me to feel centred and grounded in my day.
I also like its quietness. I trained myself to be a morning person, and I like it very much.
Do you do anything before bed to make your morning routine easier?
I don’t drink alcohol, so that is definitely something that helps.
I like to be in bed by 10 or 10.30 pm and asleep by 11 pm if possible. If it's earlier, that's a super treat. It's just nice winding down and having time to read. God, I sound boring. But I do prefer it. A bath at night is a must, especially after teaching a lot of people. It's my night time ritual with salts and oils and candles. EVERY NIGHT. But obviously I'm flexible if it's not possible. Then a shower for sure!
Please describe your evening in 3 words.
Still. Too. Busy. (I'm not happy or proud of that )
Ickkkk. It’s still not quite as i would like it to be. I have perfected mornings and still need to work on evenings. I feel like I have a few hats on with my business. The teaching part means that I'm running around a bit and not sitting down at my computer,
which is where I like to be to do stuff like this. So then the evenings mean a bit of catch up. I only teach one evening a week now, and that feels very liberating. My evenings are mine now. How social I'm feeling or not feeling will also dictate how my evenings look.
What does the last hour of your day look like?
The last hour is bathed and in bed. I light candles in the bedroom and maybe have a diffuser going. It's calm and Im happy. I LOVE MY BED, and I love sleep. I have been very blessed with a healthy sleeping habit, and I'm very grateful.
Is there a trick for getting to bed on time?
DISCIPLINE
Saying no to things.
I can only say yes to 2 maybe 3 if i'm pushing it or feeling incredibly social.
Making sure you don't go down the social media rabbit hole.
I've noticed I could have been in bed a whole hour earlier, or read something great. So, I started turning phone off at a certain time and not bringing it into the bedroom. I don’t want to sleep with it or wake up to it!
What's your favourite thing about the evenings?
That it's my time. It belongs to me and the things I want to do. I like that at whatever time I finish, then it's me being me. No more teaching. It used to be filled with teaching.
Which was great and all, because I love what I do. But it means I'm giving my energy away, and it took me a long time to wind down at night.
Very weirdly I suddenly started to enjoy cooking. I just started this year, and it makes me really happy to cook in the early evening with a good podcast . My other new discovery!
What other habits are part of your routine (at other points in the day/weekend)?
To the best of my ability my Sunday ritual is to have no morning plans. I love staying in bed with tea, books, papers whatever I want. It's slow, and there's no rush. It's such a luxury, and I am perfectly happy doing nothing. Some people are not so good at that. I am.
Being self employed means that you can be on all the time: always answering emails, or packing things for my business. I'm learning to enjoy time for me.
I walk A LOT! I just discovered podcasts, which have been a game changer in my day! I feel like I have a college degree in so many subjects now. I constantly have to stop and take notes in my phone while I walk!
Return to Routines Menu