Mornings are tough, which is why you should do everything you can to make your AM routine as smooth as possible. But sticking to an efficient regiment is more challenging than it sounds. From getting lost in your emails to taking 10 minutes to locate a missing shoe, it's really the little things that drag you down.
To help you feel more productive in the morning, scroll through the list below to see what mistakes you should avoid.
1. Setting an unrealistic wakeup time.
Snoozing your alarm multiple times is a sure-fire way to start your day off on the wrong foot. Aside from making you late, neglecting to wake up when you planned is also bad for your health. Fading in and out of sleep confuses your brain, making you feel groggy and disoriented. Set realistic alarms for yourself to resist the urge to sleep just "five more minutes"
2. Brewing your coffee after you wake up.
Why spend 10 minutes fussing with coffee in the morning when you could program your machine to do it for you? Invest in a self-brewing coffee maker so you can wake up to the smell of fresh caffeine without adding minutes to your morning schedule.
3. Turning on the TV.
We all know late-night TV watching can hinder your sleep, but we often fail to consider its impact on our early-day routines. Squeezing in screen time in the morning is an easy way to get distracted and fall behind schedule. Try keeping your TV turned off so you can focus on getting ready and out of the door in time.
4. Your cluttered medicine cabinet.
Make your time in the bathroom as efficient as possible by organizing your medicine cabinet. Put the things you use on a daily basis in the front, so you can easily reach in and grab the essentials. You'll never forget to put on deodorant again.
5. Procrastinating laundry.
Nothing makes getting dressed in the morning more difficult than the lack of clean clothes. Save yourself the "I have nothing to wear" headache and carve out time to do laundry the night before. Once it's done, pick out your outfit before you go to sleep, so you can wake up free of wardrobe malfunctions and ready to take on the day.
6. Forgetting to check the weather.
There's nothing worse than stepping outside to find you're completely unprepared to deal with the weather conditions. Save yourself the trouble of going back inside to change by checking the forecast the second you wake up or, better yet, the night before. This way you can be sure to dress accordingly.
7. Leaving your kitchen messy the night before.
Nothing is worse than waking up to a pile of dirty dishes. Not only is it unpleasant to look at, it's also an easy way to get pulled into cleaning when you should be getting ready for the day ahead. To avoid this far too common mistake, make it your mission to deal with the dishes the moment you finish dinner.
8. Waiting to pack your lunch just minutes before it's time to go.
Preparing your lunch the night before has big-time benefits. For one, you won't forget it, which is often the case when you're pressed for time. Secondly, you're more likely to pack a better lunch when you're not in a rush to go.
9. Checking your email.
Resist the urge! There's an entire book devoted to how you shouldn't check your email first thing in the morning. Wait to tackle your inbox until you've officially stepped foot in the office for the day. You'll be surprised how much time you'll save.
10. Your shoes aren't where they're supposed to be.
Whether you left them in the living room during last night's Netflix binge or planned your outfit around a pair hiding in the back of your closet, missing shoes will definitely slow you down in the morning. Make a point to keep them in one place at all times, like in a basket by the door, so you don't waste precious time on a needless shoe hunt.
Also on HuffPost:
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
No comments:
Post a Comment