My Pre-Shift Ritual: How I Start My Day as a Nurse

By Alice Benjamin, MSN, ACNS-BC, FNP-C

There was a time when getting ready for work as a nurse was pretty straightforward. I got up, got dressed, grabbed what I needed and headed out the door. But after years of working in healthcare, I’ve learned there’s a difference between being ready for work and feeling ready for the day.

When you work in healthcare, you already know that you can’t predict everything waiting for you during a nurse shift. Some days start quietly and stay that way for all of five minutes. Other days, you barely put your things down before someone needs you. There are patients to care for, families with questions, coworkers who need help and a long list of things competing for your attention. I can’t control any of that before I get there, but I can be a little more intentional about my morning routine and how I start my day before a shift.

For me, that has become an important part of self-care as a nurse and finding some balance in a job that can ask a lot of us.

My Nurse Morning Routine Starts Quietly

One of the biggest changes I made was deciding that I didn’t want to wake up feeling like the day was already coming at me. I traded the loud, jarring alarm for something more pleasant and started paying attention to how I wake up in general. Instead of turning on bright lights right away, I start with lower lighting and gradually brighten the house as I move through my morning. It’s a small thing, but I’ve found that easing into the day feels a lot better than starting it with a jolt.

I also don’t reach for my phone first thing in the morning. That means no email, text messages, social media or news for those first few minutes. I know myself well enough to know that once I pick up my phone, one thing usually leads to another. I might check a text and notice an email, then see a headline and suddenly I’m thinking about five different things that have nothing to do with how I wanted to start my morning.

All of that can wait. There will be plenty of time during the day when other people and other things will need my attention.

Once I’m up, I drink a glass of room-temperature water before I eat or drink anything else. Then I make my coffee, which is one of my favorite parts of the morning. I like being able to actually enjoy it instead of grabbing a cup as I’m running out the door.

While I have my coffee, I spend some time journaling. I don’t have a complicated journaling system or a list of things I must write every morning. Sometimes I write about something I’m grateful for. Sometimes there’s something on my mind that I need to work through. Other times I’m simply thinking about the day ahead. It gives me a chance to get some of my own thoughts out before I start taking in everybody else’s.

My Pre-Shift Routine Continues on My Way to Work

Once I leave the house, my drive becomes part of the routine. I usually listen to uplifting music because I know music can change my mood. Some mornings I want something encouraging, and other mornings I just want a song that makes me feel good and has me singing in the car.

I’m also careful about what I don’t listen to. I don't need to spend my entire drive taking in bad news, getting irritated about something happening in the world or thinking about work before I've even arrived. There will be time to deal with serious things later. On my way in, I would rather fill that time with something that puts me in a good mood.

By the time I get to work, I've had some quiet time at home, I've written down what's on my mind, and I've had a drive that hopefully left me feeling a little better than when I started.

The Last Few Minutes Before I Walk In

The last part of my routine happens right before I go into the building. I like to take a moment outside, feel the fresh air, take a few deep breaths and clear my mind. This is really where I get myself mentally ready for my nurse shift. 

I remind myself that I am only human. I can only do so much in one day, and I can't be everything to everybody. I can, however, do my best with the time, knowledge and resources I have. I also remind myself to give myself some grace when things don't go exactly the way I hoped they would.

Just as important, I try to extend that grace to the people I'm going to meet.

Working in healthcare means meeting people when they may be sick, scared, hurting or worried about someone they love. Sometimes people say things out of frustration or fear. They may be impatient or not communicate in the nicest way, and while that never means we should accept abusive behavior, I try to remember that the person in front of me may be having one of the worst days they've had in a long time.

That reminder helps me not take everything personally.

I also make a point of seeing the glass half full. There will always be things during a workday that don't go the way I want them to, but I don't want to walk into the building already looking for what might go wrong. There will be good things too. There will be people I can help, coworkers who make the day better, conversations that make me laugh and those little moments that remind me why I do what I do.

Self-Care Can Start Before the Workday

We talk a lot about self-care and work-life balance in healthcare, and I think sometimes we make both sound more complicated than they need to be. I don't consider my morning routine some big wellness practice. It's simply something I've learned helps me.

It starts at home with a quieter morning, no phone, water, coffee, prayer or meditation and journaling. It continues with uplifting music during my drive. Then, before I walk into work, I take a few deep breaths and remind myself to give my best, give myself some grace and give other people some grace too.

None of this guarantees that I'm going to have a great day at work. That's not realistic. What it does is give me a little time to take care of myself and get my head in the right place before I start taking care of everybody else.

And sometimes, a few good minutes at the beginning of the day can make a difference in how you handle everything that comes after.

About the Author

Nurse Alice Benjamin, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, FNP-C, is a board-certified nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, and health correspondent with more than 25 years of experience in healthcare. Learn more about Nurse Alice.