OPINION
Tees Talk
We asked eight local business leaders to reveal their morning routines before a busy work day . Here ’ s what they told us …
Peter Barron MBE , Owner , Barron Media
My morning routine starts around 6am . My wife Heather and I have an agreement – whoever wakes first goes downstairs to make the tea . It ’ s usually her because I ’ m a good actor .
We stay in bed for an hour while Heather obsesses over Wordle , and I catch up on the news via social media . Barely a word is spoken , other than to be reprimanded if I slurp my tea . I try not to but if tea ’ s too hot slurping is unavoidable .
After an hour or so , she goes down for breakfast - she likes marmalade - and I go for a three-mile run round Hurworth-on- Tees , followed by scrambled eggs on toast . I microwave the scrambled egg and it comes out like a yellow frisbee but frankly , I don ’ t care .
We both work from home , so we don ’ t need to leave the house . And so the day begins .
Erika Marshall , group marketing director , Education Training Collective
My mornings are all about efficiency . I get up at six after a single push of the snooze button . After a quick , “ Good morning , sleep OK ?” to my husband , I jump straight in the shower and get ready before waking my 11-year-old at seven .
It is not unusual to see me , fuelled by Berocca , lemon water and coffee , doing a quick ironing blast before work , or starting the dinner prep , because evenings and weekends are for family - who wants to do housework then ?
Most days , we leave at eight and I drop Noah at his lovely breakfast club , but I ’ m fortunate that Fridays have a later start , which means we walk to school together , which is always the highlight of my week .
Shak Asghar , CEO , Like Us
Kathryn Gardner , project director , K2 Construction Management
I ’ m not a morning person but my husband is , so I ’ ll be hitting the snooze while he ’ s making me a strong cup of builder ’ s tea and feeding the dog .
I do have a bad habit of scrolling through news websites and socials before finally dragging myself into the shower . We ’ ve developed a good tag-team system over the years , so we ’ ll take it in turns with dog walking and school runs .
Whenever my diary allows , I like to pop to the stables on the way to the office – fresh country air , sunrise and a quick play with the foal always put me in a good mood for the rest of the day .
Mornings for me kick off on a chilled basis - there ’ s no rushing around , just the vibe of easing into the day .
I skip the breakfast scene and head straight for the main event : brewing that perfect cup of fresh ground coffee . It ’ s all about that rich aroma filling the space , setting the stage for a dive into the daily business or tech learning session , although on occasions it gets replaced with F1 news !
Once I ’ ve fuelled my brain with some knowledge and my body with a couple of those potent brews , it ’ s time to gear up . With a playlist dropping some of my favourite beats in the background , I get ready to hit the road . Whether it ’ s the office or a first meeting on the agenda , I roll out ready to dive into the day ’ s adventures .
150 | Tees Business