Are mornings a mad rush at your house? By the time you find matching socks for the kids and answer the text messages that piled up overnight, you may feel like you’ve put in a full day before you even reach the office.
You can make your mornings run more smoothly. With just a bit of planning, you can have better control over the right start of your day. Take a look at these suggestions for feeling more relaxed as you start each day.
8 Ways to Save Time in the Morning
Staying on schedule is for many the biggest challenge. These time-savers will help you streamline your routine.
- Plan your schedule. Maybe you’re trying to cram too much into too little time. Figure out how much time you need for your usual morning activities. Then, you can calculate when you need to go to bed so you’ll get up in time and still be well rested each day.
- Organize your space. Do you know where your umbrella is? Keeping essential items in their habitual place will eliminate searching for car keys or gym bags. No need to search the entire house for each item. Put them always at the same place, and you will find them in an instant.
- Check the weather. Rain and snow may change your plans. Take a look at the forecast before you go to bed so you’ll be ready with rain boots or ice scrapers, and the proper clothing for each situation.
- Prepare breakfast. Eating breakfast gives you energy now, and makes it easier to resist snacking on junk food later. Assemble your cereal ingredients tonight so you can get going in an instant.
- Lay out your clothes. Hang tomorrow’s outfit at the front of your closet or on the back of your bedroom door. You already made up your mind on what you want to wear, so you just need to get dressed and get going.
- Simplify your look. How many products do you use in the morning? Design a simpler skin care regimen and browse around for a low-maintenance hairstyle. Saving some time will make you happier on the end of the day.
- Write notes. Save your brain power for more important subjects. Jot down reminders to pick up prescriptions or dry cleaning on your way to work. This way you free up your mind and nothing falls through the cracks.
- Shorten your commute. Studies show that the length of your commute has a dramatic effect on your health and wellbeing. Moving or changing jobs is a big decision, but you may want to explore your options. If you’re looking for a benchmark, the average one-way commute in the U.S. is 25.5 minutes.
5 Ways to Make Mornings More Peaceful
However much you need to do, you can stay calm and focused. It’s a matter of attitude. These tips will help you enjoy mornings more.
- Adjust the light. Light has a powerful effect on your brain. Darkening your bedroom at night will help you to sleep better so you wake up feeling refreshed. The opposite holds true for waking up. Exposure to morning sun will banish grogginess.
- Skip the snooze button. Try placing your alarm clock across the room if you’re in the habit of hitting the snooze button. Those 10 minute fragments of sleep usually leave you feeling worse than if you get out of bed immediately. If you have troubles on getting out of bed, try a 5 second countdown and just launch yourself out of bed.
- Play music. Spend a moment before going to bet to cue up a playlist of your favorite songs. Lively music will give you energy if you’re dragging around. Gentle instrumental music will soothe your nerves if you’re apprehensive about a job interview or business presentation. Having the right music around will get you into proper mood.
- Download a podcast. Continue your education during your commute. Find a podcast that will teach you Roman history or the fundamentals of accounting. Or find some inspirational audiobooks. You will make better use of your time and arrive at work with an active mind.
- Connect with Your Creator. Take a moment each night to be grateful for your day, reflect on all the things that had happened, and thank God for your day. If there is anything to resolve, do that right at this moment. You will sleep better if you have peace of mind. At the morning when you wake up, take a moment to commit the day into God´s hand. Meditate on a bible verse and you will conduct your day with a different mindset.
A few simple strategies can turn you into an early bird or at least make your initial hours happier and more productive. Starting the morning on a positive note will help you head off stress and feel calmer all day long. It will make quite a difference if you are off for the right start.
Do you need a guide to help you understand how to cope with Stress in an all inclusive approach? Learn how to combat stress, mentally, physically, emotionally and strategically in your life.
Martin Neumann was trained for Lifestyle Interventions in 1998 at Wildwood Lifestyle Center & Hospital. Since then he has lectured in different parts of the world about a healthy lifestyle and natural remedies. He is the founder of the Abundant Health website.
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