I'm not a morning person. I'm lucky to know my name, much less bounce out ready to face Denise Austin's morning workout. Not this girl. So I decided to stop fighting it, and start working with it. As the decorators say, if you can't hide it, paint it red.
So that means that I need to take care of some things the night before in order to start my day off in a calm, collected way. If you're not much of a morning person either, try these ideas, and see if they help your morning go a little smoother too.
1. Think about Breakfast: Get a jump start on your morning by setting the breakfast table the night before. Borrow this idea from restaurants (and especially if you have kids), set out bowls or plates, silverware, and even the cold cereal, protein bars, fruit, anything that you can for the first meal. If you're a hot meal breakfast family, a crock-pot set up the night before works well. In my house, we even use paper plates and throw-away forks.just makes clean up that much easier.
2. Think about Lunch: If you're making several lunches -or even only one - put each person's preferred lunch food into their own personalized small plastic basket in the refrigerator -- things like juice, soda, fruit, chicken nuggets and veggies (already divided into individual baggies), or anything prepackaged. I even stash the Peanut Butter and Bread right in the same section, so I don't have to hunt for it to make a sandwich. Other things like chips or cookies (again either prepackaged or already divided into individual baggies) are set up on the kitchen counter next to each person's lunchbox. Packing it up is a snap.
3. Think about Dinner: If you're the cook, plan the night before what will be for dinner the next day. Collect all ingredients, place them in one spot on the kitchen cabinet, or in a special part of the refrigerator. If you're going out, picking up, or ordering out, make that a Family Decision the night before. No what's for supper surprises.
4. Think about Wardrobe: Now I am the type who dresses according to how I feel when I get up.dressy, funky, comfortable. So each night, I make sure I put together 2 or 3 outfits, and hang them out on the front of the closet. (Tip: Never have anything hanging in your Main Closet that needs cleaning, needs repair, or doesn't fit). That way, I still have a choice, but don't have to destroy my closet - and my sanity - trying to find something to wear each day. This works for kids, and husbands, too. Some people don't mind deciding the night before, so you might just have one outfit ready, but if you're a little on the kooky side like me, give yourself some breathing room.
5. Think about Leaving: The house, that is. Similar to what you have set up for each person in the house for lunch fixings, also have baskets located strategically for going out the door. These baskets should hold ONLY stuff that you need for the next day -- keys, school stuff, dry cleaning, errands lists, cell phone, store returns, etc. Anything that is going out the door the next morning should be in that person's basket before they go to bed. (TIP: The asket might be backpacks for the kids and might hang on the back of kitchen chairs.). No last minute searches for the video to return, or writing a note to the teacher. It's all ready and waiting for you to just pick up and GO.
Now -- Think about all that EXTRA SLEEP you'll get!
Don't try to do it all at once. Implement one step at a time. After you get this system in place, all 5 steps should take you less than 15 minutes in the evening - and save you loads of time in the morning. And you'll go to sleep knowing that your morning is going to be calm, pleasant, and organized.
Kathy Gates, Professional Life Coach, believes that Life Rewards Action. She can help you create goals, overcome procrastination, organize your time and money, find your true passion, and learn to love the real you. Visit www.reallifecoach.com, email Kathy@reallifecoach.com, or call 480.998.5843
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