Stress is definitely something that can creep its way into our morning if we are not careful. For me, I love mornings. I have definitely always been an early riser and I enjoy taking my time in the morning. However, sometimes life happens! And there are morning (more frequent than I would like to admit) where I am scrambling to get ready and get out the door in a matter of 20 minutes. I don’t know about you, but even when I do wake up early and have extra “time to spare” I still manage to make myself late some mornings. (Please tell me I am not alone on this lol.)
Over the past couple of months, I have developed a ritual for those mornings where I have to wake up very early (try 3:30 am!) and need to avoid any extra stress at any cost! So, with that, I bring you this post on how to have a stress free morning!
This is for those mornings when you’re running late, rushing around, or hit snooze too many times. Now, this isn’t a typical morning routine. Think of this morning routine as “helpful tips” to have a stress-free morning, and not so much a routine. Because it can be hard to stick to a long and relaxing morning routine when you need to be out the door as soon as possible! So here are my nine helpful tips on how to have a stress free morning!
The Night Before…Plan, Prepare, & Pack!
1. Plan out tomorrow’s outfit the night before
Save yourself an easy 15 minutes and pick out your clothes/outfit the evening before! I can’t tell you how many times I have made myself even later to work/class simply because I had “nothing to wear.” When in reality, I obviously had more than enough options. I was either just procrastinating or being indecisive. I’m sure you have heard of this tip before, but if you have never actually tried it, I definitely recommend that you do!
Chances are you have more time to decide and try on a couple of outfits in the evening anyway. So why not choose your outfit then? It saves me so much time and stress! Instead of having to hurry up and get dressed and risk the chance of not feeling comfortable in my clothes throughout the entire day.
2. Prepare your breakfast/lunch for tomorrow
This one is definitely a lifesaver! Preparing my meals at home has helped me save time in the morning, and it has allowed me to save more money as well. Now, you don’t have to spend hours cooking or utilize your entire Sunday meal-prepping for the entire week. Unless you love to do that of course! 🙂 But choose to keep it light, simple, and less complicated for those nights where you are just packing a meal for the next day!
My go-to breakfast/lunch foods are typically overnight oats, a sandwich, a salad, a smoothie or some fruit. With that, I always pack extra snack foods like nuts, apples, protein bars, or protein shakes to keep with me just in case of emergencies. Basically, when it comes to preparing your meals for tomorrow, just pack whatever you like to eat for breakfast or lunch in a ready-to-go container and store it in your fridge until the morning. And it will be easily accessible for you to grab it on your way out!
That way, when you’re rushing down the stairs to grab your breakfast and your lunch, you don’t have to spend an extra 10ish minutes deciding on what to eat, assembling it, and packing it to take with you!
P.S: Overnight oats are a perfect choice for keeping your mornings quick and easy!
3. Pack everything you will need in your bag/purse
This one is so important to me! My bag has to weigh like 20 pounds with all of the things that I have to bring with me from place to place. So making sure that I have everything that I need packed and ready is crucial! Before I go to bed, I make sure that I have my laptop, planner (what my life revolves around!), my work and school notebooks, wallet, keys, etc. all packed away in my bag.
That way I don’t run the risk of forgetting anything or having to hurry in the morning trying to get everything neatly together! Because when I am scrambling and stressed to the max in the morning, the chances of me grabbing everything that I could possibly need are slim to none.
4. Prepare your gas tank the night before
This one may seem odd to some people, but this is a must! As soon as you begin doing this, you’ll wonder why you never did in the past. When you come home from work/school, or before you settle inside for the evening, always be aware of how much gas you have in your car before you have to wake up tomorrow! I can’t tell you how many times I have woken up late, had to hurry to get ready and out the door in time, just to see my gas tank on empty. Or when you’re driving and you hear the dreaded beep from when your gas light turns on. It’s the worst am I right?!
So to save yourself the time and the stress, always make sure you check to see how much gas you have in your tank before you settle in for the night. Instead of saying, “oh, I’ll just get it in the morning.” Because you never know if something could go wrong in the morning, or if you end up hitting snooze one too many times.
In The Morning…
1. Ignore your phone
To save yourself the much needed time in the morning, make it habit to not check your phone or mindlessly scroll through social media while you’re laying in bed. Now, I’m sure most of us are guilty of checking our phones as soon as we wake up. At least I know I am! Whether it be your text messages, email, or social media. But then, pretty soon you see that 20 minutes have gone by and you have a half-hour to get ready. Been there – done that!
Something that has helped me recently is that I set my phone away from my bed so that I have to physically get out of bed to shut it off. That way I am not tempted to lay back down in bed and scroll through my phone. It allows me to wake up without hitting snooze over and over again. It also allows me to get moving through my morning much quicker without the need for laying in bed and checking everything!
2. Make your coffee at home instead of buying it
Coffee just makes the mornings better am I right? And I know, I am a fellow devoted Starbucks goer myself! But I am also a student who’s trying to budget hard right now lol! I would also rather save an extra 15 minutes making my coffee at home instead of waiting in a drive-thru. This has actually been my favorite switch so far in my morning ritual for when I am in a hurry. On the mornings where I have to wake up extra early, I have been using my Cuisinart Coffee Maker to brew my coffee before I wake up! It’s the best!
This trick is nothing new, and I am so behind on this lol, but it has saved me so much time and stress in the morning! It’s been better than waiting for my coffee to brew or waiting in a long line at Starbucks. Not to mention, I love waking up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee! It has honestly been the best addition to my morning the past couple of weeks!
3. Stick to a basic makeup and hair routine
Now if you’re one to put more time and effort into your hair and makeup than you go, girl! I used to be like that! Except for me, it wasn’t necessarily that I enjoyed it as much as I felt like I had to do it. This was because I was insecure about my skin and I always felt like my hair had to look done up 100% of the time. But in the past, taking my time to get ready was a relaxing and almost therapeutic way to begin my day. So again, if you love to take the time to ready than you do you!
However, if you are prone to rushing and stressing in the mornings, then my tip to you would be to have a go-to simple makeup look and hairstyle for your workdays. For me, my go-to’s are CC cream, a little bit of bronzer, blush, mascara, and lip gloss. On the days where I am really rushing, I tend to throw my hair up into a messy bun or quickly add a few curls into it with my curling wand or curling iron. However, my hair is something that I tend to take more time on most days, and waking up 15 minutes earlier to do so is worth it to me.
My strategy for this is to shower and wash my hair the night before and then let it air dry or run the hairdryer through before I fall asleep. That way, it is washed and dried when I wake up in the morning, and I don’t need to spend another (tbh an hour or more!) worrying about my hair in the morning!
4. Get your water in
I actually fill up a water bottle the night before and place it by my bed for when I wake up in the morning. I’m literally convinced that water is the key to everything. Any time I wake up with a headache or don’t feel quite right, it’s usually because I haven’t had enough water the day before.
To eliminate this worry, I try to start every day by drinking the entire bottle of water. It really makes such a difference! Keeping a water bottle by you is also a helpful way to rehydrate after a long night’s sleep. It is also a great, healthy habit to begin your day! That way you’ll be closer to hitting your daily H20 goals as soon as you wake up!
5. Keep a positive mindset by saying one thing you are grateful for
Let’s be real, if you’re running late, stressing out over it won’t make it any better. It is so important to always try to stay calm in situations like this and to not let your morning affect how the rest of your day will go. Of course, I know that this is way easier said than done! With that, one thing that has helped me is to intentionally start my day on a positive note. Whether or not the morning went the way that I originally planned it to go. I believe that it is important to start embracing early mornings, rather than placing a negative view on them. To me, it is all about mindset and not letting tiny, insignificant moments ruin your overall, positive mindset for the day.
So for me, I like to remind myself of what I am grateful for during my commute to work or school. Even on those days where everything seems to be going wrong. I just hold one positive thing in my mind, no matter how big or small, and I focus on what I am thankful or grateful for at that moment. With this mindful practice, I have definitely seen huge, positive changes in my overall mood on my commute to work!
Related Post: “6 Powerful Habits That Have Positively Improved My Life”
What are some ways that you combat stress in the morning?
I would love to hear some of your helpful tips!!
xo, Cydney
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