How Photographer and Illustrator Chikae Howland Spends Her Mornings
Morning Rituals is an ongoing interview series exploring the way artists and entrepreneurs spend their mornings.
Our guest today is Chikae Howland, a photographer, illustrator and the founder of Hikarui.
Based in the UK, Chikae is the multi-talented founder of Hikarui, a lifestyle blog that offers an alternative take on wellness inspired by Japanese essentialism, slow country living and mindful home-making. Chikae’s work has appeared on Harper’s Bazaar and television shows like Great British Menu. She currently splits her time between London and the British countryside.
We asked Chikae to walk us through a typical morning.
What time do you wake up?
On weekdays I used to wake up at 7am, but my new daily rituals have allowed me to wake up feeling ready to go at 6am. I honour this by going to bed earlier, before 11pm – something I haven't done ever since I can remember. I am lucky that my biological clock naturally wakes me up, and I have never had to wake up to an alarm in my adult life since my body intuitively knows when it is ready to wake up.
What’s the first thing you reach for?
I would have to say my phone. Nowadays, it's more to look at the time and then I quickly check my text messages before immediately putting it down. Some mornings, I reach for a glass of water.
Walk us through the rest of your morning.
My weekday schedule goes like this (not necessarily in this order but always the same routine):
I start each morning with a meditation and stretch for 15 minutes, followed by a Theragun massage for another 15 minutes. I then brush my teeth, eat breakfast and drink a glass of water.
I also have a Workday Startup ritual, which helps me prepare for the work day. I spend the first 10-15 minutes sorting through my inbox until I reach inbox zero. Then I check my project management tool Asana for 5-20 minutes. I review my annual goals for a brief minute, then I spend 5 minutes setting the Daily Big 3, or top three priorities for the day. I then check my schedule for a brief minute and catch up on social media for about five minutes. I then review and delegate tasks before getting to work for the day.
How does your morning ritual influence your work?
This ritual has changed my life for the better. I learnt about it from the amazing Michael Hyatt. I came across his Full Focus Planner – I don't even remember how – and took a chance on it.
Michael has four rituals in the day: the Morning Ritual, the Workday Startup, the Workday Shutdown and the Evening Ritual. I must stress the key factor here is that the Workday Startup and Shutdown rituals are strictly for planning only. No work allowed!
Taking this extra time to plan for the day allows me to focus all my time and energy into my work with no distractions. I even turn all my notifications off on my phone and computer. By ritualizing my mornings and pre-work hours, I conserve my energy in ways that I cannot even describe to you. For an introduction to Michael Hyatt and all his amazing tips and tricks, you can visit his website or even better, ease yourself in with the Focus on This Podcast which are short 20-minute podcast episodes that talk all about this, along with more productivity tips!
Speaking of work – what are you working on right now?
My most recent work has just been shown on television twice and recently aired on the show Great British Menu, where I was commissioned to do illustrations based on classic children's literature to accompany the dishes of 2-Michelin-Star-Chef Niall Keating.
I am also currently working on a more personal project with the lovely Haruka to bring to you something that I have dreamt of bringing to life for the last 13 or so years. I am in no rush to put it out into the world – I believe that timing is everything – so I can't tell you when it will go live, but hopefully sometime towards the mid-end of this year!
Chikae Howland, Photographer and Illustrator
Chikae is a UK-based artist, content creator and founder of Hikarui. Her primary mission is to educate artists and creative thinkers on how to cultivate stress-free lives and living spaces. Drawing inspiration from her Japanese heritage and English upbringing – not to mention her unique perspective as a Third Culture Kid – Chikae travels extensively to provide lifestyle content and travel advice for creative thinkers, whom she hopes to inspire to take a slower and more meaningful approach to living.
How do you spend your mornings?
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