On slow mornings, actress, writer, and producer Natasha Rothwell loves to curl up on the porch with her dog, a matcha, and a crossword puzzle while listening to jazz. One of her favorite artists, Etta James, sings about a “Sunday Kind of Love”—and that’s exactly the kind of steady and long-term relationship Rothwell forges with herself through quiet, peaceful a.m. rituals.
“I love being able to go through and have a moment in the day that’s mine before the computer is on, before any of that is happening,” Rothwell says. “I take my time to be with myself because, I think, I didn’t do that for a long time.”
The path Rothwell has traveled to feeling self-contented is one Rothwell explores in her new show, How to Die Alone, now streaming on Hulu. In the show, Rothwell’s character Mel is an airport employee who is feeling lonely and stuck; the show was intentionally set in an airport to communicate themes of feeling like you’re in purgatory and being on the precipice of taking off. “I work at an airport, but I’m afraid to fly,” Mel tells a colleague self-disparagingly.
Mel has a near death experience, which prompts her to examine her life. It’s a show about self-love, but it’s also about getting your sh*t together—which hasn’t always come easy to the multi-hyphenate artist.
“I definitely was not hardwired to have routine and structure,” Rothwell says. “It’s a practice. I get better and better at it, but there’s no figuring it all out or having it all down. It is just trying to be a little bit better each day and making sure that taking care of yourself is a part of that habit that you create.”
But Rothwell knows that taking care of herself doesn’t just happen magically: It requires preparation, and that’s where mornings have become crucial. The slow ones are her favorites, but ensuring she’s setting off into the world mentally and practically prepared is how she taps into the day’s potential.
“The morning really is sort of the airport of the day,” Rothwell says. “You don’t know where you’re going to land, you don’t know if the plane’s going to be on time, but it’s just exciting to be traveling and being sort of an active participant in your own life.”
While Rothwell doesn’t always have the time for luxuriating on the porch, here’s how she gets her days off to a great start.
She caffeinates, ideally with matcha
I am a coffee girl, I do love it, but I enjoy the caffeine experience of matcha. It’s not as quick of a caffeine jolt or as quick of a caffeine release. It’s kind of nice and easy in terms of spreading out the caffeination. And I just love the taste. I know some people hate it, but I do love the taste.
When getting matcha out of the house, my order is a Starbucks oat milk matcha with vanilla and a shot of blonde espresso.
She uses a Waterpik
I use a Waterpik [water flosser] because I love pretending I’m my own dentist. Flossing is just one of those things that notoriously people hate doing, and I’m one of those people. And so having the Waterpik just makes me feel a little bit like, okay, I’m a professional at this. I think it makes flossing fun.
She puts together a go-bag
Before I head out to walk my dog, I put together a bag of essentials to make sure that I have all of the weapons I need to face the day. The soldiers are charged headphones, allergy medication, sunscreen, and antacids because I’m a little anxious Annie, and sometimes that can get the best of me.
- Claritin Liquid ($22)
- Editor’s note: Rothwell has a partnership with Claritin
She uses noise-canceling headphones to stay grounded
I’m “neuro-spicy,” so I love having noise canceling headphones so I can play jazz, or play whatever I want, and just feel like I’m in my own world. When it’s sort of a hectic day, which has been a lot of days lately, I really do try to find moments of stillness and meditation because even if the schedule is chaotic, I try to maintain a sense of grounding and peace. And so even if it’s just stopping wherever I am, if I’m in transit, if I’m in an airport lounge, I really try to still myself and I’ll put on the noise canceling headphones and I’ll just count my breaths and feel the ground under my feet.
She fires up Spotify jazz playlists
I turn on my Spotify Jazz Classics playlist, or sometimes just go through the different playlists that they have. But I’ve always loved jazz standards like Sarah Vaughn and Etta James. To me, that’s just the perfect morning.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
