6 Simple Morning Routine Ideas to Get Out the Door on Time
When you already have a long, busy day the last thing you need is to get a late start. Self care morning routines often include lots of activities to pack into your morning, but sometimes you might not have the time or energy for that. If that sounds like you, you’re going to love these simple morning routine tips to get out the door on time.
Feeling flustered and stressed in the morning will set the tone for the rest of your day. Starting late can mean all of your appointments and meetings running late or pushed back as well.
By keeping your morning routine straightforward, you will alleviate some of that stress and pressure on your morning.
Benefits of having a simple morning routine
Creating a consistent morning routine for yourself has lots of great benefits. These benefits include:
- Comfort and structure
- Reduced stress and anxiety
- Higher productivity
- Improved mental health
- Decreased decision fatigue
Creating a simple morning routine also has some added benefits:
- Less time consuming
- Help you get out the door more easily in the morning
- Less stressful
- Easier to stick with consistently
- Flexible for whatever your day holds
Now let’s get into the 6 simple morning routine ideas to get out the door quickly.
1. Get up early
While it can feel oh so tempting to hit the snooze button in the morning, getting up early will help you start off on the right foot. Waking up early in the morning will give you extra time before you need to start work, so you’ll be less rushed and flustered in the morning.
If you find yourself often guilty of scrolling through social media on your phone when you wake up and then realize you’ve been laying in bed for 30 minutes. Do your best to break that habit by getting out of bed a few minutes after the alarm goes off.
2. Set yourself up for success
Setting yourself up for success is critical for a simple morning routine. A good way to do this is to prep for the morning ahead the night before.
Some ideas that will help you save time in the morning include:
- Laying out your clothes the night before
- Packing your bag ahead of time
- Writing out a to-do list for the next day
- Going to bed early
Fill out the form below to download your free daily planner printable that will help you to prep for the day ahead! You can use this self care planner to set yourself up for success in just 5-10 minutes.
As a bonus, you will also get three other life-changing self care resources: A weekly self care schedule, monthly journal prompts, and a stress management checklist.
3. Don’t pack too many activities into your morning routine
Typical posts for a self care morning routine will usually suggest adding a lot of activities into your day such as journaling, meditation, exercise, cooking breakfast, etc. And if you have the time in the morning for those things – that is great!
However, many of us have a tight timeline in the morning and need to get out the door quickly. Because of this, I recommend choosing 1-2 self care activities that you want to do in the morning. By keeping your morning routine simple, you won’t be crunched for time but still get plenty of self care at the start of your day.
4. Stick with a consistent morning routine
The best way to build habits is consistency! Once you establish what you want your morning routine to look like, do your best to do that consistently every morning as much as you can.
It’s also a good idea to keep the same or a similar morning routine for the weekend, so you won’t be thrown off when Monday rolls around and you can’t sleep in late.
I recommend keeping yourself accountable by tracking your morning routine habits. An amazing tool to track self care habits is wearable technology.
Another effective way to track self care habits is with wearable technology like an Apple Watch or a Fitbit. Both of these devices can help you track healthy breakfast, morning workouts, mindfulness, stress management, and more.
The Apple Watch
If you have an iPhone, the Apple Watch is a natural pair to your phone. The Apple Watch will be able to help you track habits with additional features like making calls and using the built-in GPS.
Fitbit Versa
The Fitbit Versa is a great alternative to the Apple Watch. It’s a great option if you have an Android phone or if you are looking for something at a lower price point. Another benefit of the Fitbit is that it has a 6+ day battery life as opposed to the Apple Watch is about 18 hours.
I personally use the Fitbit and really love it. Not only does it help you track exercise and steps, but it also helps you track stress, sleep, water intake, mood, and more. The companion Fitbit app acts as your self care tracker app to record all of your healthy habits.
5. Meal prep
Meal prepping is a great way to save time and to help yourself make healthy choices. If you have breakfast prepped or don’t need to spend time packing up a homemade lunch to take with you, that’s extra time and less stress!
It’s also a lot easier to stick with a healthy breakfast or lunch when it’s prepared ahead of time rather than making a quick stop for a donut and latte on the way to work.
6. Build in an extra 10-15 minutes
One of the best simple morning tips is to build in an extra 10-15 minutes. If you estimate it will take you an hour to get ready, set your alarm for an hour and 15 minutes before you need to leave.
This buffer helps you remain on time if things don’t quite go your way in the morning. Also, it will greatly reduce your stress in the morning if you know you have a little extra time.
Those are the 6 simple morning routine ideas to get out the door on time.
When you have a super busy day, the last thing you need is added stress in the morning or getting to work late. By keeping your morning routine simple and straight forward you are setting yourself up to not only be on time, but have a relaxing stress-free start to your day.
Use the tips in this post to build a simple morning routine that will help you leave on time every day.
Comment below with your favorite activity to add to your simple morning routine!
Thanks for these really helpful tips. I have found that consistency is the key to a morning routine that becomes a part of your life, every day. And it makes all the difference in my focus and attitude!