Early Bird

Need to save time in the morning?  Here are some tips to add a few more minutes of sleep, and keep down on rushing in the morning.  This will prevent you from being exhausted before you begin your daily grind.
 
1.Get your clothes out the night before
Finding an outfit takes a lot of time.  You want to check the weather, make sure what you’re looking to wear is clean and if it is, it needs to be ironed.  I like to say that I am a pretty organized person but I have to get my outfit out the night before.  I get my ironing out of the way, along with the accessories, and I will check to make sure it looks right together.  This task can take up to more than 10 minutes and why do all of this in the morning when you can easily do it the night before?  Now you added 10+ minutes of sleep, right?

2.Put your belongings by the door
Keeping your books, purse or belongings by your front door or a place that you have to walk by on your way out can stop you from thinking if you have everything for the day and forgetting things.  It’s a hassle in the morning and it’s hard to remember everything you need for the day if you just woke up 30 minutes ago and if you have a family that needs you to help think for them.  For example, for those who have children, children have homework and may have extracurricular activities.  Asking them if they completed their assignments and have practice clothes that morning will be a headache because what they might think is done right isn’t and then you would have to start from square one with limited time.
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3.Get your family on a program
I don’t have my own nuclear family but what my mother used to do with my sister and I, is put us on a program which means, everyday doesn’t play out like you want it to at all but our practices, events and programs were on a calendar and when my mother’s schedule conflicted with ours, she had someone to take us and pick us up.  With all the uncertainties that come with a busy day, we were never overwhelmed.  We knew around what time and what we would be eating every night.
 
These tips can be a little extreme but do what works for you and your family.  Simply getting most of your work done the night before or at the beginning of the week will save you time in the morning to snooze a bit more, grab a bite to eat and to easily get to your destination without so much hassle.  You already have a long day of work, don’t work yourself into a frenzy because you ran out of time.  Make your life easier and more efficient.
 
Jessica McArthur
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