Started the day well?

The daily routine begins with waking up before dawn, now that it's dark at around half past six, sunrise being a little before 7am now. Slippers on, a wee, make the bed – and then, before anything else, the first set of exercises of the day. Pull-ups. Eight in one go, from full-dangle to chin above the bar. This is now the standard; I remember the elation at managing six for the first time in November 2022, eight in February 2023 and nine on 18 September 2024. 

Doing the eight pull-ups first thing in the morning gives me a real boost and sets me up for the day. If I fail to do this, I feel that laziness has got one over on me; consequently the rest of the day either slips or is coloured by atonement and doubt. Waking up with a headache, the result of dehydration or a heavy night, is the one excuse I give myself for not starting the day with a burst of exercise.

Next up is a review of the to-do list in my day book. This gives shape to how the day is likely to unfold. What needs to be done, what's urgent, travel plans (when I need to leave to catch the train). The list is usually about four to seven points long. Whatever can be put off until the future generally is. Stress is to be avoided, as is guilt.

Now the laptop can be switched on. I like to tune into BBC Radio 4's Farming Today (05:45 UK, 06:45 in Jakubowizna) followed by the Today Programme which starts with the 6am news headlines, a review of the papers and the business news. I switch off with the sports. While listening to Radio 4, I make and drink my daily coffee.

The morning coffee is an integral part of the morning ritual. Grinding the beans (125 turns of the crank, enough ground coffee to fill the basket of my three-cup Bialetti), boiling water, filling the tank to the safety valve, dropping the basket in, screwing the top on and putting it on the hob. I heat it with the lid open, surfing the flame so as to quickly stop the brewing process before the angry sputtering starts (which leads to burnt coffee smell and taste compromising the brew).

Once drunk, the coffee does the trick, the digestive process is complete, and having emptied by bowels, I give thanks for my regularity and that everything's working properly, time to experience the sensation of gratitude for my health. 

And another eight pull-ups. After the caffeine jolt, before breakfast, and moving less weight (see above), it's this set that breaks records. This gives me a rush of adrenaline and endorphine, and I'm up for the challenges of the day. Which begins with breakfast. Porridge followed by smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, or a tuna sandwich. Protein and carbs. And fresh apple juice.

Generally, my morning ritual is the same across the week – early morning starts and business travel (something I try to limit these days) are the exceptions. This also means being in bed shortly after ten pm, so as I can get in a solid eight hours' of sleep. I do not use an alarm clock. Travel that necessitates the use of one to wake up at stupid o'clock is something I have cut out of my life. Too much stress. And given the clocks going back at the end of this month, once more, I shall not move my daily routine to accommodate the time change; rather I shall go to be one hour earlier, waking up one hour earlier, in other words at the same time relative to the sun.

This time eight years ago:
The rich get richer – hence Brexit and Trump

This time nine years ago:
Respect for pedestrians' lives? Not among Polish MPs

This time 12 years ago:
Autumnal gorgeousness in Warsaw