Maximize Your Time: In the Morning

Thursday, June 19, 2014 | Stamp in My Passport| |

Thursday, June 19, 2014

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Mornings are the time of the day that are most neglected. "Morning people" are either looked at with awe or confusion, because a lot of us wake up with just enough time to shower, get ready and get out the door. While I know that my peak performance is not before 7 a.m., I do enjoy mornings. If you would like to make more out of the time before your commute, here are a few suggestions. Sometimes it's not about waking up earlier, but taking advantage of the time you already have.

Limit your screen time

I'm still trying to break myself of the habit of scrolling through all of my newsfeeds before bed. The blue lights from your phone affect your quality of sleep. The same can also be said for checking your phone first thing in the morning. Make a habit of not touching your phone until your feet hit the floor. For two reasons: I'm sure it affects your brain in some way and takes up a large amount of time. You will wake up faster once you get out of bed than if you lay in bed an extra 20 minutes scrolling through everyone's late night instagrams.


Light up your apartment

This has to do with your circadian rhythms. Just as you are supposed to sleep in a completely dark room, you should also turn on the lights or open the blinds when you get out of bed. This tells your body that it is time to wake up. If you're anything like me, you would rather shower in the dark than face the blinding light in your bathroom. Although your eyes are still adjusted to the dark, turning on a light will make such a difference trying to wake up. Half the battle of gaining an extra few minutes in the morning is not spending them in bed.

Complete a simple task

This applies to either your morning routine or once you get to work. The day before, I look at what I have left to accomplish and set aside one task to work on once I get in and to have finished within a short amount of time. Once you cross one item off, moving on to the rest of the day's assignments seems more bearable.

Pick out your outfit

I need to take my own advice here. Standing in front of your closet trying to find something to wear that is also the elusive "business casual" can be daunting. Especially if you haven't done laundry in a few weeks. Inevitably the outfit you plan in your head will be missing an item or two that is in the hamper. Or your shirt won't be ironed. Or you can't locate the skirt that you could have sworn didn't make it into your last Goodwill donation. Don't just plan out your outfit in your head; assemble all of the pieces and make sure everything is ready for the morning. 

Create a morning routine

You may remember my post a few weeks about the importance of creating a morning routine. Having a set order not only helps you get to work on time, but also gives your morning some structure that will hopefully carry on throughout the day.

14 comments:

Kaelene Spence said...

After working at a coffee shop all through college I have become a morning person and I love getting up early before work to have my routine to start the day. A little extra time before I head to work makes me feel like I am not just waking up and rushing out the door.

Gina Alyse said...

Going for my phone before bed and first thing in the morning is a habit I'm trying to break and it's so hard to do! But I agree with all of these tips. I especially like the idea of completing one simple task in the mornings before getting the other to-do's out of the way. xo, gina

Jenny Fish said...

I'm currently having to rethink my mornings - I am definitely a morning person and I like to do x, y, z before work - but my company just changed their office hours to 30 minutes earlier, and I can't fit everything I would like into my morning. Maybe with these tips I can hop out of bed a little earlier.

Jess Hnatiuk said...

Great tips! I am a morning person, but I do get caught in the trap of looking at all of the news feeds and emails before I become active! I can get sucked in for at least an hour!!!

Christina McCall said...

Taking 10 minutes at night to set everything out (meds, purse and bag for work, clothes, and the food that doesn't have to stay in the fridge that I take w/ me) makes a huge difference since I leave the house at 6:10 every morning. If I forget to do one or more of those things, it throws me off and means leaving a few minutes late! Now I'm working on turning off electronic devices earlier, even when I'm reading a book on one!

Erika said...

Great tips! I really do need to be better about prepping everything the night before.

Jess said...

It makes a world of difference! And on the nights that I get around to it, makes me feel so much better trying to get out the door in the morning.

Jess said...

That's awesome! Yes, me at 6:10 would not be in the right state of mind to gather everything up for the day. Good luck with limiting your device use. That is one thing that I would like to try, but always get sidetracked from.

Jess said...

You and me both! Now that I've made a conscious effort with it, I can tell a huge difference.

Jess said...

That's the worst! I'm fortunate that my boss let's me come in at 8:30 and stay until 5:30, which gives me a little extra time in the morning. Good luck with adjusting to your new schedule!

Jess said...

Good luck with it all! The phone habit is the one I'm focusing on right now and I've noticed that since I've made a conscious decision not to check it first thing, I don't lay in bed for an extra 20 minutes or so.

Jess said...

You and me both. At my parent's house, my room faces east so mornings happened a little more gradually.


And thanks so much for the nomination!!

Megan C. Stroup said...

I really do need to start picking out my outfits the night before ... That would help so much in the morning! And I love your one task tip; that's a great idea!

TheJessaOlsonBlog said...

I love all these tips. I'm a morning person but lately have needed a lot of alarms to get up.