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4[[quoteright:320:[[Webcomic/YokokasQuest https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/morning_routine.png]]]]
5%%
6->Tumble out of bed and I stumble to the kitchen\
7Pour myself a cup of ambition\
8And yawn and stretch and try to come to life
9-->-- '''Music/DollyParton''', "9 to 5"
10
11Wake up. Take shower. Comb hair. Brush teeth. Trim nosehair. Get dressed. Eat breakfast. Miss bus.
12
13Look familiar? It should. Sequences that show a character following their average Morning Routine are incredibly common. It's a standard story opener, for several reasons: it's a way to introduce a character immediately, it shows the normal routine (to better contrast when wackiness ensues), and it's something we're all pretty familiar with--[[NotAMorningPerson even those of us who rue mornings]].
14
15This can also be used as an EstablishingCharacterMoment -- we know a character is ObsessivelyOrganized if they follow a strict schedule down to the minute, and [[ThePigPen a slob]] if they sniff their armpit and decide they can skip the shower.
16
17Like the WhiteVoidRoom, it's something of a cliche and is commonly perceived as an opening that serves until the plot takes hold. Then again, [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools like all tropes]], it can be used to great effect -- for instance, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej8-Rqo-VT4 the opening sequence]] of ''Series/{{Dexter}}''. Surprisingly, SliceOfLife works can avoid this for quite some time -- mainly because there's a choice of ''other'' routines.
18
19Using the toilet is usually conspicuously absent from the routine, because in fictionland NobodyPoops.
20
21SynchronizedMorningRoutine is a subtrope. WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld isn't. See also DayInTheLife. Compare EasingIntoTheAdventure, GoodMorningCrono. Often ends with the character LateForSchool or work.
22----
23!!Examples:
24[[foldercontrol]]
25
26[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
27* ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'': In Chiyo-chan' DayInTheLimelight, it's shown how she gets up early so she can prepare her lunch and then goes to wake up her parents.
28* ''Manga/ChainsawMan'': Aki wakes up, grinds and brews coffee, and reads the newspaper while smoking on the balcony, all before Denji wakes up (and Power moves in).
29* ''Anime/{{Free}} Dive to the Future'': The third episode shows Rin waking up, making breakfast, and jogging from his apartment to the Sydney Aquatic Center.
30* ''Anime/FromUpOnPoppyHill'': Umi is introduced doing her morning routine of making food for the family and hissing the flags. This routine is shown or varied several times again.
31* ''Manga/FruitsBasket'': At the beginning of the manga, Tohru Honda is shown waking up, admiring the beauty of the day, and then saying goodbye to the photo of her mother and taking a walk before she goes to school.
32* ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'': After the ActionPrologue that takes place a few episodes after the start of the show, the first scene is of Miho, the main character, waking up in the morning, and hastily going through her daily routine before realizing that she's not at home anymore.
33* ''Literature/GoblinSlayer'': The titular character wakes up before dawn, puts on his armor, and inspects the farm's perimeter. After, that he trains until the sun comes up, then uses the light to do maintenance on the defenses. He sits for breakfast with Cow Girl, then goes into town. If he were to ever find a skulking goblin, he would kill it with 100% certainty.
34* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
35** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable Diamond is Unbreakable]]'': Rohan's routine before drawing manga is stretching his arms while opening and closing his fingers.
36** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureTheJoJoLands The JoJoLands]]'': Dragona goes jogging on the beach every morning after eating a watermelon for breakfast.
37* ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'': In the first episode, Nanoha is shown waking up and getting ready for school. The same scene plays out in her first scene of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'', but with indications that Nanoha is eagerly awaiting the day she can see Fate in person again. 14 in-universe years later, the first episode of ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid'' would have a similar scene [[GenerationXerox following Nanoha's adopted daughter Vivio]] as she gets ready for her first day of fourth grade.
38* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': In "A Human Work", this is done to compare Misato's [[NotAMorningPerson slobbish ways]] with Shinji. Then the same sequence happens again but with MusicalisInterruptus and a mutual JawDrop from Shinji and [[AnimalReactionShot Pen Pen]] as Misato exits her room done up neatly in her uniform because she's attending a conference. She might be a slob at home but [[ConsummateProfessional not at her job]].
39* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': The first episode shows Madoka's morning routine, starting with her waking up from [[DreamingOfThingsToCome a strange dream]], waking up her family members, getting dressed, eating breakfast; all sorts of everyday normal activities. Used to show Madoka's roots in normality, and provide contrast for the changes that come.
40* ''Anime/SailorMoon'': Some episodes tend to start this way, usually as a setup to a "[[LateForSchool Usagi is late]]" joke.
41[[/folder]]
42
43[[folder:Asian Animation]]
44* ''Animation/SimpleSamosa'': In the morning, the alarm clock wakes up Samosa and he gets out of bed, brushes his teeth, and takes a shower. This is shown in the episodes "Sumo Momo" and "Pimple Samosa".
45[[/folder]]
46
47[[folder:Comic Strips]]
48* ''ComicStrip/Blondie1930'': A regular gag is for Dagwood to oversleep and then run out of the house to his carpool. HilarityEnsues.
49[[/folder]]
50
51[[folder:Fan Works]]
52* ''Fanfic/ThePiecesLieWhereTheyFell'': As revealed in chapter 20 of the sequel ''Picking Up the Pieces'', Blazen Sun's day starts with his awakening exactly at sunrise, and then performing his morning meditations before eating and reporting to work.
53[[/folder]]
54
55[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
56%%* [[{{WesternAnimation/Cinderella}} "A dream is a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep..."]]
57* ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'': The beginning has Rapunzel sing through her morning routine, including spending a lot of time brushing her hair.
58* ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'': The movie starts out with how Shrek spends his morning - the opposite of cleaning himself up, since he's an ogre.
59* ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'': There's one of these with Carl after [[spoiler:the death of Ellie]].
60* ''WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit'': Many of the films (particularly ''WesternAnimation/TheWrongTrousers'', ''WesternAnimation/ACloseShave'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheCurseOfTheWereRabbit'') have Wallace being woken up and prepared for the day by one of his {{Rube Goldberg Device}}s.
61
62[[/folder]]
63
64[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
65* ''Film/AllThatJazz'': Joe Gideon's morning routine includes Vivaldi's "Concerto Alla Rustica" on cassette tape, eyedrops, smoking in the shower, taking pills with Alka-Seltzer, and finally declaring into a mirror: "It's showtime, folks!"
66* ''Film/AmericanPsycho'' opens with Patrick Bateman's everyday morning routine, showing the materialistic and sociopathic nature of our VillainProtagonist, who is putting on his MaskOfSanity.
67* ''Film/ElectraGlideInBlue'' opens with Frank's routine, which involves putting on some music, cooking two pork chops, and cleaning his dentures, before he's murdered. We then see Wintergreen's routine, which involves having sex with his girlfriend Jolene, working out, and putting on his uniform.
68* ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' opens with a rather humorous sequence showing Kong waking with a yawn, taking a leisurely stroll through his (at this point danger-free) territory, washing his head in a waterfall with a relaxed groan — hearing "Over the Mountain (Across the Sea)" by Bobby Vinton further sells it. [[MoodWhiplash And then]] we see Kong fashioning a tree into a spear and hurling it at the containment dome's fake sky in anger, with a later scene in the film showing he's made several more identical impacts during the time skip.
69* ''Film/Hairspray1988'' opens with Tracy waking up, coiffing her hair with copious amounts of hairspray, and preparing for school, all while singing and dancing.
70* ''Film/Hairspray2007'' opens with Tracy waking up to her alarm clock, getting up and getting ready for school, then walking there while singing, dancing, and greeting people who, judging by their reactions, appear to be used to seeing her every morning.
71* ''Film/TheIpcressFile'' opens with Palmer calmly getting out of bed and going through his morning rituals of getting dressed and having breakfast--all to the tune of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBCqP7R42K0 John Barry's insanely cool theme music]].
72* ''Film/LegallyBlonde'' opens with two stories during the opening credits: Elle's friends delivering a letter to her, and Elle getting ready in the morning.
73* ''Film/MishimaALifeInFourChapters'' starts when its protagonist wakes up [[spoiler: for the last time.]] The prologue is over by the time he's dressed and out the door.
74* ''Film/Oblivion2013'' interweaves Jack's morning routine with his [[AfterTheEnd voice-over about the end of civilization]]. He takes off for work in his [[FutureCopter Bubble Ship]], and then the movie's title card is shown.
75* ''Film/PeeWeesBigAdventure'' details Pee-Wee's morning routine, particularly the whimsical RubeGoldbergDevice he uses to prepare breakfast.
76* ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'': The beginning shows the protagonist going to the store across the street to get a Coke. Later on, when the ZombieApocalypse comes, the exact same routine is repeated... except now there are zombies and bloody traces around, which Shaun [[FailedASpotCheck fails to notice]] and just grabs a Coke as usual.
77%% Needs Context * ''Film/StrangerThanFiction'' begins this way.
78* ''Film/TradingPlaces'' opens with Louis Winthorpe's morning routine: getting served breakfast in bed by [[TheJeeves his butler Coleman]], who shaves him with a straight razor, gets him dressed, and then drives him to work at Duke & Duke Commodities Brokers.
79* ''Film/TurnerAndHooch'': The opening scene shows Turner's morning routine which establishes his character as an absolute neat freak.
80* ''Film/{{Zodiac|2007}}'': Complete with the child of the cartoonist confessing to swallowing his toothpaste. The sense of panic among the populace over the school bus threat is reflected in the cartoonist taking his kid away from the bus at the last minute and driving him to school.
81[[/folder]]
82
83[[folder:Literature]]
84* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'' starts off by showing the Dursleys' morning routine. ("Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work.") Although the second chapter takes place on Dudley's birthday, it's apparently a fairly typical morning for Harry as he's woken up by Aunt Petunia and forced to make breakfast.
85* ''Literature/{{Haze}}'': Seb has a strict routine that involves lying in bed for exactly four minutes after his alarm goes off. If his routine is off by even a minute, the whole day feels wrong.
86* ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1'' starts this way, with Arthur Dent getting out of bed and starting his routine before being interrupted by a bulldozer trying to tear his house down.
87[[/folder]]
88
89[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
90* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'': In [[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS2E3MakingFriendsAndInfluencingPeople "Making Friends and Influencing People"]], we see Simmons' morning routine now that she's left SHIELD. It includes her getting up, exercising, choosing her outfit, going to work, and saying hello to a friendly security guard [[BreadMilkEggsSquick at the HYDRA lab she now works at]].
91* ''Series/{{Angel}}'': Harmony's ADayInTheLimelight episode, "[[Recap/AngelS05E09HarmsWay Harms Way]]", shows her morning routine with a uniquely vampiric twist--she [[GameFace vamps out]] so she can brush her teeth easier (not easy to do when you can't see yourself in the mirror) and uses her SuperStrength to pick up a dresser to retrieve her shoe.
92* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'': The episode "The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak" opens with a TrainingMontage of Oliver Queen training Roy Harper, Laurel Lance learning boxing from Ted Grant, and [[KingpinInHisGym Malcolm Merlyn teaching Thea Queen]], causing Thea to wonder what normal people do in the morning. AnswerCut to [[NonActionGuy Felicity Smoak]] doing sit-ups before a workout video and brushing her teeth.
93* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': The morning after demons steal everyone's voices in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E10Hush Hush]]", Buffy goes through her morning routine in the fraternity dorm, noting only a distraught woman rushing past. It's only when she tries to talk to Willow that she realises something is very wrong.
94* ''Series/Daredevil2015'':
95** "[[VillainEpisode Shadows in the Glass]]": Wilson Fisk's morning routine is done as a RuleOfThrees, showing his [[LonelyAtTheTop luxurious but lonely life]]. The third time is different as [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes Vanessa is now living with him]].
96** "The Perfect Game": [[ComicBook/{{Bullseye|MarvelComics}} Agent Poindexter]]'s morning routine reflects his UsefulNotes/ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder. Along with {{Undercrank}} to make his movements look alien and robotic, the opening scene underscores how odd Dex is by showing how everything in his apartment has to be absolutely perfect. When he's done reading the newspaper, he puts it on a perfectly squared pile of other newspapers. He rinses his coffee cup, puts it on a rack to dry, then makes sure the handle is perfectly aligned with its neighbor. When he closes the door to his apartment it causes a framed photo to fall off-kilter, so he opens the door back up to fix it.
97* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'': The opening sequence is Dexter's typical morning, but shot so that his normal morning routine reminds viewers at every turn of who he [[SerialKiller really is]]; his floss becomes a garrotte, him pulling on his shirt becomes a sheet laid over the face of a corpse, and so on. It's very effectively creepy, and won an Emmy.
98* ''Series/ForAllMankind'':
99** The EstablishingCharacterMoment of Margo Madison has her waking up and going through her morning routine ''in her own office'', showing how she is MarriedToTheJob.
100** RecycledInSpace when Edward Baldwin is shown going through his daily routine while alone on the Moonbase. This suggests that he's holding it together [[GoneMadFromTheIsolation despite everything that's happened]], but unwanted interruptions to his routine (like a Soviet cosmonaut infringing on 'American' territory) soon bring out the worst in him.
101* ''Good Morning, World'': This 1967 Carl Reiner sitcom is about two morning [=DJs=] for an LA radio station. It starts with a kind of stop-motion animated photo montage of Dave's alarm clock going off at 4:30, his eyes opening, stumbling around, shaving, pulling on (mismatched) socks and a suit & tie, driving (still dark out), arriving at the station, putting on a record and hailing "Good Morning, World!" into the microphone. (This was based on writers Bill Persky, Sam Denoff, and William B. Williams' personal experiences on WNEW. Williams used to say "Hello, world!")
102* ''Series/TheGoodPlace'': "Don't Let The Good Life Pass You By" opens with a montage of Doug Forcett going about his morning routine set to the Mama Cass song of the same name. The editing and choice of music are a reference to the ''Lost'' episode mentioned above.
103* ''Series/{{Lost}}'':
104** In the first episode of season two, a stranger (later revealed to be Desmond) is going about his routine until he hears an explosion. The shock reveal is that his seemingly normal living space is actually inside the hatch that the main characters just blew up
105** In Season 5, Pierre Chang's morning routine occurs as a member of the Dharma Initiative.
106* ''Series/{{Monk}}'': The opening credits of the first season show Adrian Monk's morning routine. It serves to demonstrate his OCD tendencies: his closet is full of identical suits, he disinfects his toothbrush with boiling water before brushing his teeth, etc.
107%% Needs Context * ''Series/{{Skins}}'', both UK and US, have this is in the first episode.
108* ''Series/TheWestWing'': We see Sam wake up in the morning. Next to a prostitute. Who is asking who POTUS is--and why he has such a funny name. [[spoiler:It's the President of the United States.]]
109[[/folder]]
110
111[[folder:Music]]
112* Music/RebeccaBlack: In the infamous "Music/{{Friday}}" music video, she sings about getting up, getting fresh, and eating cereal. Although she does none of this.
113* Music/TheBeatles: "A Day In The Life".
114-->Woke up, fell out of bed\
115Dragged a comb across my head\
116Found my way downstairs and drank a cup\
117And looking up I noticed I was late\
118Found my coat and grabbed my hat\
119Made the bus in seconds flat.
120* This also happens at the beginning of Music/{{Kesha}}'s "Tik Tok."
121* Music/{{Jewel}}'s "You Were Meant For Me"
122-->I hear the clock, it's six a.m.\
123I feel so far from where I've been\
124I got my eggs I got my pancakes too\
125I got my maple syrup, everything but you.\
126I break the yolks, make a smiley face\
127I kinda like it in my brand new place\
128I wipe the spots off the mirror\
129Don't leave the keys in the door
130* Music/SystemOfADown: "Chop Suey!" starts out referencing this:
131-->Wake up!
132-->Grab a brush and put on a little makeup!
133* Music/JillScott, "The Way"
134-->Woke up this morning
135-->With a smile on my face
136-->Jumped out of bed
137-->Took a shower, dressed
138-->Cleaned up my place
139-->Made me some breakfast, toast, two scrambled eggs, grits
140-->Grabbed my keys, grabbed my purse, grabbed my jacket off to work
141-->Beaming all the way down 3rd
142* Music/DollyParton, "9 to 5":
143-->Tumble out of bed and I stumble to the kitchen
144-->Pour myself a cup of ambition
145-->And yawn and stretch and try to come to life
146-->Jump in the shower and the blood starts pumpin'
147-->Out on the street the traffic starts jumpin'
148-->With folks like me on the job from nine to five
149[[/folder]]
150
151[[folder:Video Games]]
152* ''VideoGame/CustomRobo'': The main character of the Platform/GameCube version gets up to go to work each morning. Getting dressed takes three seconds. But whether he gets woken up by his landlady, by cellphone, or by himself carries some amusement.
153* ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'': The game lets you play through such a routine as a twisted TutorialLevel of sorts.
154[[/folder]]
155
156[[folder:Web Animation]]
157* ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'': A recurring element throughout "The Circus" is Stolas waking up in the morning to establish his mood and the current state of his life. He wakes up as a child in a bed full of toys, wakes up 25 years later groggy and alone, wakes up by being startled by Blitzo running away from a night of passion in bright daylight, and wakes up in the present day alone but in darkness.
158* ''WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail'': Strong Bad gets up at noon, answers an email, and keeps eggs on the couch.
159[[/folder]]
160
161[[folder:Webcomics]]
162* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': The Squirrel Prophet storyline ends with [[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2015-02-13 part of Sarah's morning routine]].
163* ''Webcomic/{{Huckleberry}}'': The first issue uses half a page to show the protagonist waking up, singing "awful shower songs", and having a big breakfast. The following issue also shows him waking up... then skips ahead to the actual plot.
164* ''Webcomic/{{Rain|2010}}'':
165** Chapter 1's [[https://rain.thecomicseries.com/comics/5opening page]] has Rain feeding her pet rabbit Puddle, taking a shower, drying her hair, putting on her bra falsies, and then applying makeup.
166** Mirrored and {{subverted|trope}} by Gavin in the [[https://rain.thecomicseries.com/comics/57/ opening page of Chapter 3]], where he barely does anything besides [[RingRingCrunch smashing his alarm clock]]. Heck, he only dresses up when his mother tells him it's time.
167* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': Undine's morning routine is shown more than once throughout the series, subtly showing her progress as she tries to heal emotionally from a traumatic event. Just before leaving, she turns to look in the mirror and affirms to herself:
168-->''"You are okay."''
169* ''Webcomic/YokokasQuest'': Grace [[https://yokokasquest.com/comic/chapter-5-page-5/ is introduced with her morning routine]]: Her phone alarm going off ([[NotAMorningPerson possibly for the 5th time]]), begrudgingly getting up, having a shower, [[MustHaveCaffeine drinking a coffee]], getting dressed, and applying makeup. The first hint that she's not your average girl is the [[StringTheory conspiracy board]] in the background as she's leaving the house.
170[[/folder]]
171
172[[folder:Western Animation]]
173* ''WesternAnimation/AroundTheWorldWithWillyFog'' opens with Fog getting up on the morning of October 2nd, 1872. He is shown doing some stretching exercises, then making a cup of coffee and deciding (after one sip) that it needs "precisely two more drops of milk", which he promptly adds. (Normally, making Fog's morning coffee would be his butler's job, but Fog has just fired his butler, though he hires Rigodon as a replacement that very morning, unknowingly hiring Rigodon's friend Tico at the same time.) This scene establishes that Fog is very particular, especially when it comes to punctuality, and its very ordinariness provides a contrast with the adventure he will shortly be embarking on.
174* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': Ralph Wolf has his morning routine, from wake-up to clocking in for work, down to a Rube Goldberg science in one of Chuck Jones' wolf/sheepdog installments.
175* ''WesternAnimation/MollyOfDenali'': In "[[Recap/MollyOfDenaliS1E26ValentinesDayDisasterPorcupineSlippers Porcupine Slippers]]," Molly tries to record her mom's morning routine of making coffee, despite the latter's objections.
176-->'''Layla''': You know the rules. No videos of Mom before 9:00 a.m. on a Sunday.
177* ''WesternAnimation/MyGymPartnersAMonkey'': In "The Morning Zoo", Principal Pixiefrog's daily routine includes him rummaging into the office, throwing his hat in Mrs. Warthog's face, and giving a completely disrespectful, apathetic announcement.
178* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': In "Final Desmithation", [[VillainOfTheWeek Jennith Chunt]] has a morning routine, consisting of... sleeping on a bed of loose grains and dragging herself across Chinese silver grass.
179* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'': Many episodes begin with him getting up to his blasting foghorn alarm clock and ready for work. "[[DayInTheLimelight Rise and Shine]]" focuses on [[CloudCuckooLander Patrick]]'s morning routine. HilarityEnsues.
180* ''WesternAnimation/{{TrollHunters}}'': Jim's first appearance shows the busy morning routine of a homemaker. Waking up at 6 AM, he dashes around the house cleaning stains, changing light bulbs, expertly cooking breakfast and caring for his mother, packing lunches... and ends up being LateForSchool.
181[[/folder]]
182----
183[--Wait, [[FridgeLogic why do they brush their teeth]] [[BrickJoke before they have breakfast?]] [[spoiler:Food tastes better that way.]]--]
184%%If you came here hoping to explain that brushing your teeth before eating actually prevents tooth decay, do us a favour and don't. While it's possible, since teeth are at their strongest before eating and brushing strengthens them before the acids in food have a chance to break them down, that is not remotely funny and in fact kills the joke. You don't want to be a joke murderer, do you? Of course not. Please think of the joke and restrain your justifying edits.

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