‘How to Die Alone’ star Natasha Rothwell’s morning routine

On slow mornings, actress, writer and producer Natasha Rothwell likes 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-lasting relationship Rothwell builds with herself through quiet, peaceful am rituals.

“I love being able to go ahead and have a moment in the day that is mine before the computer is on, before anything happens,” Rothwell says. “I’m taking time to be with myself because I don’t think I have done that in a long time.”

Rothwell explores the path to feeling complacent in her new show, How to die alonenow streaming on Hulu. In the show, Rothwell’s character Mel is an airport worker who feels lonely and stuck; The show was deliberately set in an airport to convey themes of feeling like you’re in purgatory and about to take off. “I work in an airport, but I’m afraid of flying,” Mel says dismissively to a colleague.

Mel has a near-death experience, which prompts her to reexamine her life. It’s a show about self-love, but it’s also about getting your shit together — which hasn’t always been easy for the multi-hyphenate artist.

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“I was definitely not committed to having routine and structure,” says Rothwell. “It’s a practice. I’m getting better at it, but it’s not possible to figure everything out or have everything in order. It’s just trying to be a little better every day and making sure that taking care of yourself is part of the habit you create.”

But Rothwell knows that taking care of oneself doesn’t just magically happen: It requires preparation, and that’s where mornings have become crucial. The slow ones are her favorites, but by making sure she goes into the world mentally and practically prepared, she unleashes the potential of the day.

“The morning is really kind of the airport of the day,” says Rothwell. “You don’t know where you’re going to land, you don’t know if the plane is going to be on time, but it’s just exciting to travel and be kind of an active participant in your own life.”

Although Rothwell doesn’t always have time to enjoy the porch, this is how she kicks off her days off.

She caffeinates, ideally with matcha

I’m a coffee girl, I love it, but I enjoy the caffeine experience of matcha. It is not as fast as a caffeine shock or as fast as a caffeine release. It’s quite fun and easy when it comes to spreading the caffeine. And I just love the taste. I know some people hate it, but I love the taste.

When I get matcha out the door, I order 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 like to pretend I’m my own dentist. Flossing is just one of those things that people hate, and I’m one of those people. And so having the Waterpik kind of makes me feel like, okay, I’m a pro at this. I think it makes flossing fun.

She puts together a go-bag

Before I go for a walk with my dog, I put together a bag of essentials to make sure I have all the weapons I need to tackle the day. The soldiers are given headphones, allergy medicine, sunscreen and antacids because I’m a little worried, Annie, and sometimes that can get the best of me.

• Claritine 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 like to have noise-canceling headphones so I can play jazz, or play whatever I want, and feel like I’m in my own world. If it’s kind of a hectic day, which a lot of days are lately, I really try to find moments of silence and meditation because even when the schedule is chaotic, I try to maintain a sense of grounding and peace. And even if it just stops wherever I am, if I’m in transit, if I’m in an airport lounge, I try to keep myself really quiet and I put on the noise canceling headphones and I just count my breaths and feel the ground beneath my feet.

She turns on Spotify jazz playlists

I put on my Spotify Jazz Classics playlist, or sometimes just browse through the different playlists they have. But I’ve always loved jazz standards like Sarah Vaughn and Etta James. For me, that’s just the perfect morning.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.