If the alarm goes off early in the morning, you might have the urge to hit that snooze button a couple of times. Getting ready for the day isn’t an easy task for everyone, and busy mornings can often be the cause of a lot of stress.
However, there are a couple of things you can do to make sure your morning routine will become a lot less stressful, which will make you feel more at ease for the rest of the day. After all, a good start of the day does wonders!
1) Pick out your outfit the day before
Even though procrastination happens to the best of us, it’s best to pick out your clothes before you go to sleep to make sure that you won’t have to waste time, and you’ll also know for sure that you have a decent outfit and won’t have to deal with wrinkled clothes for the whole day.
2) Use dry shampoo once in a while
Getting ready in the bathroom and washing your hair can certainly take in a lot of time, especially with longer hair. If your hair isn’t too greasy and you’ve already washed it before, consider using dry shampoo instead. It’ll clean your hair and give volume, although you’ll definitely need to resort to water and regular shampoo if your hair is greasy.
3) Add an egg to your leftover food
If you’re someone that never knows what to do with leftover food from the day before, you’ll be surprised how much a difference an egg can make! No matter the dish, add an omelet or fried egg on top of your leftovers and you’ve got yourself a quick breakfast without having to waste food.
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4) Isolate yourself digitally
For a whole lot of people, checking their phones or e-mail is an essential part of their morning routine, but it’s also one that takes up a lot of time. Additionally, multiple studies have shown that checking your smartphone the first thing in the morning plays a part in increased anxiety and stress levels.
5) Use a shower cap as a time saver
Don’t have much time left, but you’d still like to take a quick shower before heading outside? A shower cap can prevent your hair from getting wet, and you usually don’t have to wash it every day anyway. A shower cap can save you some precious minutes.
6) Create a spot for all of your necessary stuff
If you’ve ever misplaced your keys, wallet, purse, phone or something else – you know that losing your essentials can cause quite some stress, especially if you’re running late. Create a designated spot for all of your necessary stuff so you’ll never have to look for your keys again.
7) Opt for a smoothie
Some of us simply don’t like having a big meal in the morning, but we all know that it’s important you get some vitamins, nutrition and the necessary energy to start the day. Blend a smoothie the day before (and add some protein powder if you want to) and put in the fridge. You’ll thank yourself in the morning!
8) Grab a bite on the go
Speaking of breakfast, why not take it with you on the go on your commute? A piece of fruit, a smoothie, a quick sandwich or nutrition bars – you can easily eat them while you’re getting to work. It’ll save you some time and make sure you won’t start the day hungry.
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9) Wipes are a lifesaver
You’d be surprised how much your morning routine could improve if you’ve always got a few baby wipes or makeup removal wipes nearby. They’ll quickly cleanse your face and will also get rid of deodorant stains.
10) Let your kids pick out their clothes
If you have to get your kids ready for the morning, it’s a good idea to transfer some of these good habits and lifehacks over to them. Make it a routine to pick out their clothes the day before, because you definitely want to avoid dealing with a little one who can’t find his or her clothes in the morning.
11) Adjust your coffee timer
A good cup of coffee – it’s an essential part of the morning routine for many. If you’ve got a machine that has a built-in timer, program it around ten minutes before you usually wake up. The coffee will be ready before you are!
12) Experiment with pancakes in a jar
Pancakes in a jar? That sounds like a pretty insane thought, right? However, it’s a thing that absolutely works. Just stir your pancake ingredients together, put in a heatproof jar and microwave it for a minute. The result is a handy and delicious pancake in a jar. Check out Boy and The Rabbit’s website for the full recipe.
13) Prepare your lunch
Preparation is key to a healthy morning routine, and why not shave some minutes off by preparing your lunch beforehand? Prepare and pack it before you go to sleep, some of these lifehacks definitely don’t have to be complicated to do wonders to your morning routine.
14) Put your alarm out of arm’s reach
A good way to prevent hitting that dreaded snooze button is to make sure you can’t hit that snooze button at all – at least, not without getting out of bed. Put your smartphone or alarm clock on the other side of the room – you’ll still wake up, but you’ll have to get up to shut it off. Perfect if you want to prevent snoozing.
15) Wet hair? No problem!
Letting your hair dry can take a while, especially for some. You could just let it dry naturally without using a hairdryer, but that usually ends up in a pretty unflattering sight. However, did you know that you can actually style wet hair pretty well if you know what to do? Spend half an hour on YouTube looking for wet hairstyling tutorials, and your life will change forever.
16) Get organized with a dry erase board
Sometimes you think of something in the evening that you should totally do the next day, but forget it anyway. Make sure that there’s always a dry erase board nearby, where you can write down all your thoughts and reminders (great for the kids too!). It offers a quick glance at all the things you’ll have to do before you leave the house.
17) Let your oats soak overnight
If you’ve never heard of this breakfast hack before, you’re literally in for a treat. Soak oatmeal in a bit of milk or some light yogurt and it in the fridge before you head to bed. The next morning, you’ll have delicious soaked oats – all you have to do is add some nuts or fruit and you’ve got yourself one tasty breakfast.
18) Have some back-up clothing ready at work
While the thought may sound a bit weird for some, it definitely can’t hurt to keep a bit of emergency clothing at your workplace. An emergency shirt would be an absolute godsend if you’ve just spilled your to-go coffee, for example.
19) Learn how to do your makeup routine quicker
Of course, this lifehack won’t be applicable to all of us, but if you put on makeup in the morning, you’d be surprised by the amount of minutes you could shave off simply by learning how to do your routine quicker. There’s a ton of great books (Cindy Crawford’s book for example) and YouTube tutorials that will help you out and save some previous time.
20) Use quick-iron techniques
Finding a piece of clothing in the morning that’s wrinkled will definitely put a dent in your schedule. However, there are a few quick-iron methods that can make these moments less stressful and hasty. Wrinkle release sprays don’t do wonders, but work pretty well! (Hand)steamers are also very efficient at getting rid of wrinkles in just a couple of seconds, although you will need to heat it up for a bit.
21) Take some time for a morning workout
Admittedly, most of the points on this list will help you save time – but it’s equally as important to make some time for your own health. A morning workout – even if it’s just a couple of minutes – will ease your mind and boost your productivity levels for the rest of the day. Do some bodyweight exercises or go for a run, the possibilities are endless. Make a routine out of it, and you’ll start feeling the differences without a doubt.
22) Don’t be scared of cold showers
If you’re not a morning person or would like to avoid stress in the morning altogether – a cold shower doesn’t exactly sound like a brilliant idea. However, as numerous studies have shown, a cold shower in the morning will make your body and your mind feel awake and you’ll feel energized and more productive afterwards. Additionally, people who often shower with cold water get sick less often.
23) Avoid blue light before going to bed
You’ve probably heard this one over and over again, but the effects of blue light on your night (and thus, how you feel in the morning) are quite extensive as numerous studies have shown. Enable all the anti-blue light filters on your devices, or just avoid using them before going to bed altogether. Your sleep will improve making you feel more refreshed and replenished in the morning.
24) Sleep in your workout clothes
Of course, workout clothes have a main purpose: giving a loose and comfortable fit while exercising. However, that also means that they’re super comfy to sleep with and might save you sometime if you don’t mind going out in workout clothes (to drop off kids at school, for example).
25) Get your geek on and install a smart alarm app
Sometimes, a little bit of tech in your bed can go a long way. Some apps, such as Sleep As Android, for example, offer extensive sleep tracking capabilities which will measure your sleeping pattern and give you personal recommendations. Additionally, these apps are able to wake up while you’re in a light sleeping phase, which should make you feel a lot less tired in the morning. Sense is another app that can wake up you in a smart way, and it even measures things such as air quality and light level.
26) Take care of your plants
Sometimes, not thinking about yourself can help you feel more at ease. Try to incorporate watering your plants into your morning routine once a week, for example. Good for your plants, good for your state of mind.
27) Train yourself to sleep better
With a bit of will power, you can actually train yourself to sleep better and get the most out of your nights. If you feel like you’re always tired, you could definitely try considering this. The methods can be found all over the internet, but it all comes down to this: set your clock a little bit earlier gradually, and at one point you’ll start to wake up before your alarm even goes off.
28) Create a bathroom schedule
The bathroom being occupied when you need it the most almost always ends up in a stressful situation. If you encounter this way too often, create a schedule for every member of the family – it’ll take a while to get used to, but the results will pay off.
29) Take some time to read or learn
Taking time for yourself is important, and there are a number of ways you can do that. Meditating and exercising are two of those things, but reading is an important third. If you don’t have time to read things during the day, reserve some time in the morning. It’ll destress you and you’ll add a bit of wisdom to the start of your day.
30) Make your bed
Don’t postpone the things you can do immediately is solid advice, even during stressy mornings. Coming home to find your bed already made and neat isn’t only relaxing, but doing it the first thing in the morning gives you a productive feeling as well. You might as well incorporate it into your morning routine, because the benefits far outweigh the extra time you need to take into account.
If you keep these great tips and lifehacks in mind, you’ll definitely have easier and less stressful mornings. Who knows? Maybe some of us could even turn into a morning person.
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