Six Ways to Ensure a Good Morning
By: LJ Earnest
The key to a great day. Place your keys--and other must-bring stuff--by the door so you won't waste time looking for them just as you're leaving
Are you the type of person who greets the day with enthusiasm or grouchiness? If you are like most people, you'd answer, "It depends..."
What does it depend on? The first hour of the morning.
The level of stress and activity in the morning can set the tone for the whole day. A stressful beginning can make a whole day seem frantic. On the other hand, a relaxed beginning can make a difficult day seem smoother. To wit, the key to a great morning lies in the night before.
By getting things ready the night before, you can simplify the start of your day, and even some of your tasks for the next afternoon! Here are six ways to make the morning flow:
1. Get your clothes ready the night before. By picking out your outfit in the evening, you will have time to notice if something is stained, needs repair, or needs ironing. You can also pick clothing appropriate for the weather. You will be able to bypass the staring-in-the-closet part of the morning, as well as the frantic changing of outfits when you notice the coffee stain on your pants.2. Organize your out-the-door stuff. If you have a briefcase, get it packed. Ladies, pack your purses. Avoid the last minute scramble to assemble the client presentation notes that can mean leaving something important behind.
3. Put your keys by the door. If you spend five minutes looking for your keys each morning, you will end up spending twenty hours a year looking for keys. Keep your keys in one place--by the door--and you will avoid that last minute hassle.
4. Prepare your meals. As much as possible, automate breakfast and lunch. Skipping meals can lead to poor mental and physical performance later on. On-the-go breakfast "convenience" foods and fast food are loaded with extra calories, sugar, and fat that could lead to sluggishness. So, make your breakfast healthy: lay out a covered bowl of cereal and pull some yogurt to the front of the fridge. This way, you'll get to enjoy the food as you cut down on preparation time. Packing most of a lunch the night before can sometimes mean the difference between a healthy inexpensive lunch or a lunch of fast food. Put together some veggies and fruit or make a sandwich. You will avoid the afternoon slump of energy and save money.
5. Set up automated tasks. We live in an age of "convenience machines." If you wash a load of clothes while you are at work, bring the laundry basket to the washer the night before. If you will cook dinner in a slow cooker during the day, get the ingredients assembled and prepped, so all you have to do is plug and go. Having machines work for us is a wonderful convenience, but only we can make the most out of what they can do.
6. Help your children get ready. Help children pick out their clothes, assemble school work, and pack lunches the night before. This will eliminate the added calls of "Mom, have you seen my...?" or "Dad, I need these papers signed and a check for today..." This alone will take a great deal of frantic energy out of the out-the-door time.
You have more time to think and double-check when you prepare in the evening. None of the tips suggested above will take very long--you just have to invest about half an hour each night to get them done, and you will reap the benefits by a smooth, stress-free morning.
Credits: Photo by Anna Cercova, courtesy of Public Domain Pictures.
The author writes for the Simple Productivity Blog.
Suggested Resource: Simpleology 101: The Simple Science of Getting What You Want. (Use the Daily Time Praxis to help make your days even more productive.)
Comments
I would also add wake up grateful...grateful for family, friends and all your assetts, and "putting it out there" that your creator will help you find the people, ideas, circumstances, enthusiasm, energy, insight, creativity, etc....whatever it takes to have a productive, great day that will propel you towards you goals!
Seems to help me.
One of my mentors, Brian Tracy teaches about "The Golden Hour"...
I do a lot of these things.
Funny, I am always happier in the morning getting the day started than I am when I close it out.
An extremely important part of starting the day off right is to get adequate sleep. Studies say that if you get enough sleep, you can wake up without the alarm. You will not need to poison yourself with caffeinated beverages because you will be sharp and alert naturally.
Definitely a combination of the pragmatic preparation for the day and the spiritual sense of gratitude and true joy that comes as a result of holy spirit in us...
thank,s it seems so simple, why do i make it so hard?????
Hello
Well getting organized always helps but it doesnt always change your mood, I am the queen of organization and that does not control other events that occur throughout the day and control yoru mood. You always have control over your actions
If you can, make use of this gained time in the morning and start your day with meditation and visualisation ... works wonder.
Fantastic Tips.These tips of planning goes a long way even in our work environment.
Just arrange the work schedule for the next day by prioritizing the tasks and writing it down on your scribbling pad,and all are to be done before we call it a day.This method has allowed me to keep a smiling face throughout the day and also be stress free.
The ideas given are great. One more thing we can do is a plan for the day and do the works as per plan
Before getting out of bed, spend of few minutes visualizing how your perfect day will go. If you have specific tasks to do that day- visualize it in the BEST possible scenario.
Hi,
I am one of those )sickening) people who can leap out of bed ar 6.00am, "bright eyed and bushy tailed" ready to launch into another day. However, I'm definitely going to use the advice in your post for a variety of reasons:
1) I'm a little too alert in the mornings and my mind is often racing - so full of plans for the day that I can easily overlook the details of actually getting ready and out of the door.
2) I'm not good at actually ENDING the day and finally going to bed. By the time I do so, I'm usually so tired that I can hardly keep my eyes open. Some of your suggestions will come in very handy for me at the OTHER end of the day.
3)It's a great list for ANYTIME I want to be organized before I go out
Hey! I said I was sickening - didn't say I was perfect ;-)
Thanks for the post
I love the comment made by Sylvia R. One of those sickening people who are happy in the mornings! I am the biggest grouch and my boyfriend is just like Sylvia. Wow, I get so annoyed at him!!! But, I am smart! I have been using those helpful hints for years. And with me, since I am NOT a morning person, this helps keep me from totally tanking in the mornings. With out organization I would be doomed!
Kat...
Here are two quotes to place your morning and day in perspective:
Be pleasant until ten o'clock in the morning and the rest of the day will take care of itself. - Elbert Hubbard
Ernie J. ZelinskiSwallow a toad in the morning if you want to encounter nothing more disgusting the rest of the day.
- Nicholas Chamfort
Author of The Joy of Not Working
(Over 225,000 copies sold and published in 17 languages)
Hi,
These are wonderful easy to practice tips for a great start resulting in a stress- free and productive working day. I would like to add one more useful tip which is to spend 15-30 minutes to exercise before rushing to batchroom.
Lovely. Great site.