My Real Morning Routine as a Dad and Full-Time Blogger at 51

My Morning Routine as a Blogger, a Dad… and a Man in His Fifties

I’ve always believed that the way you start your morning shapes your entire day. And for me, the day starts strangely precisely: 6:42am. Not 6:40. Not 6:45. Somehow my internal clock has decided that 6:42 is the perfect moment to open my eyes and begin again.

The house is silent at that time : four kids, one wife, and not a single sound. Just me and Marlow, my faithful Cocker Spaniel, blinking into the early Bristol light. If fatherhood has taught me anything, it’s that solitude is a luxury. And for those first few minutes, I enjoy it.

Then, because I’m 51 (and every man over 40 will understand this), my first stop is the toilet. No polished Instagram routine shows you that part, but this is real life.

From there, it’s straight into the shower and my quick three-minute skincare ritual that wakes me up more gently than any alarm ever could. A face serum, a good moisturizer, eye cream, and a fragrance I’m in the mood for. By 7:05am, I’m already downstairs.

Being French, I’ve tried switching to “healthier” breakfasts over the years… but honestly, nothing beats a warm croissant and a proper espresso. While I eat, Marlow sits patiently at my feet, waiting for his own breakfast. We’re creatures of habit, both of us.

Those minutes are my quiet time. I sip my coffee, check my emails, skim the affiliate earnings from overnight (blogger life — you’re always curious), and catch up on a bit of news. Ever since deleting Facebook, my mornings feel lighter. No doom scrolling, no negativity, no drama. Just peace. But that peace doesn’t last long.

Around 7:30, I turn into the household’s unofficial alarm clock.

Four kids. Four different wake-up techniques. Four different breakfast preferences. And one wife who gets the same thing every morning: a croissant or pancake and a cappuccino, prepared with love.

While I make the pancakes, slice fruit, warm croissants, or pour cereals, I also assemble four packed lunches, each one different because apparently, coordinating tastes is not something my children were born with. This is where my French-Italian DNA kicks in: animated, loud, but always loving. And yes, I shout once or twice: “Breakfast is ready! Let’s move!”, but it’s all part of our morning soundtrack.

By 8:05, Marlow and I are out for a quick walk. Ten, maybe fifteen minutes. Just enough to breathe before the second half of the morning rush. The cold lately has been brutal, but a freezing morning walk has its own charm.

Back home, I launch into my final round of “motivational shouting,” and slowly, the house starts to come alive. Shoes on, coats zipped, water bottles found at the last second. If the cars are frozen (which happens more often than not ) I add 3–5 minutes of frantic defrosting, mumbling about British winters like a true middle-aged dad.

For years, we all left together: twins to secondary school at 8:35, the little one to primary at 8:45, and my eldest to college at 9:30. But with the massive roadworks in our area, the routine has changed. My wife now takes our youngest to primary school, while I’m responsible for the rest. First the twins to secondary, then my oldest to college. Three drop-offs, three different timetables. It’s not the most relaxing part of the morning, but it’s ours.

By the time I get home ( usually around 9:50am) the house is finally quiet again. And that’s when another part of my routine begins: the first laundry of the day. I’m in charge of laundry in our house, and with six of us, I usually run two loads a day. It’s oddly therapeutic, a domestic ritual that bookends the transition from dad-mode to blogger-mode.

Only then do I make myself another espresso with my beloved Casabrews machine and sit down to work: writing, editing, taking pictures, filming, planning new posts, answering emails… the creative part of my life.

Some mornings are messy, some are smooth, but they’re mine. They’re ours.

And as I often say, being a blogger isn’t just about the products you review.
It’s about the life that happens around the work.
And my mornings ( chaotic, warm, caffeinated, loud ) are a reminder of how lucky I am to live this chapter.

Jerome