20 Sep Home Tip Of The Week: Simplify Your Morning Routine
How your morning goes sets the tone for the rest of your day. It can impact your mood, your mindset, and your schedule. Are you always running late and rushing out the door? We’ve come up with a few ways you can simplify your morning routine and set yourself up for success every day.
The Night Before
Go to bed early.
You’ll feel better in the morning and be less tempted to snooze through your alarm.
Prep your food.
Set the table with plates, bowls, utensils, and mugs. Prefer a hot breakfast? Try pre-cooking it. However, cold breakfast takes less time, especially if you pre-measure your portions and pre-wash fruit. Automate your morning coffee, if possible, or brew your coffee the night before and chill overnight in the fridge for a refreshing iced coffee. Organize vitamins and medicines into daily doses. Pack your lunch while you’re cleaning up from dinner. Leftovers work great!
Prep your wardrobe.
Check the forecast, and set out your entire outfit from undergarments to finishing touches like jewelry, outerwear, and shoes. Same goes for your workout clothes if you’re planning to exercise before or after work. This is also a good time to evaluate if your closet or makeup storage needs a makeover to make choices easier and more efficient. You might also consider investing in more classic, simple pieces of clothing that can be interchanged and layered to create versatile outfits.
Create stations.
Everything should have a place. Make sure your bag, car keys, and phone are always in the same place at night. Bring your closet up to season with appropriate jackets, shoes, weather gear, and sporting equipment. If you still find yourself forgetting things, make a checklist and keep it by the door to ensure you have all the essentials before you lock up.
In The Morning
Avoid hitting the snooze button.
Falling back asleep and waking up several times is a surefire way to start your day frazzled. Struggling? Move your alarm clock to the other side of the room so you have to get out of bed to turn it off.
Let in the light.
Once you’re up, open the curtains and turn on the lights! No need to get ready in the dark. Its amazing what a little sunshine can do to help get you going.
Ignore all of your electronics, but turn up the music if needed.
Resist the powerful urges of the phone and the TV. Don’t fall down the rabbit hole and get stuck wasting time in front of the screen instead of getting your day started. If you need some pep in your step, you can always turn on some music to get you going.
Get up earlier.
Have you followed all of the steps above, but are still struggling to get out the door on time? As much as you may be dreading it, it’s time to face reality and set the alarm a bit earlier.
What slows down your mornings, and how do you try to combat it? Let us know!
