10 Steps Toward Anarchy-Free Mornings
Create a time of peace first thing in the morning by getting yourself organised at the start of the day
For many of us, the morning is a busy blur of family breakfasts, random tasks, frantic clock-watching and rapid showering. So how can a morning feel more calm than chaotic, more productive than problematic? One option is to take a leaf out of a truly organised person’s book and work a few of their can’t-live-without routines into your life. Here are a handful of organisational approaches to try.
2. Tend to dishes
No one wants to get in from a day at work to find a sink full of last night’s dishes or benchtops covered in mucky plates. In fact, even a dishwasher that has worked its magic but not been emptied is an unwelcome annoyance.
So organised bods run their dishwasher the night before and empty it in the morning. They also clear all surfaces of clutter, breakfast debris and used teabags, so the kitchen is fit and ready for the day ahead.
No one wants to get in from a day at work to find a sink full of last night’s dishes or benchtops covered in mucky plates. In fact, even a dishwasher that has worked its magic but not been emptied is an unwelcome annoyance.
So organised bods run their dishwasher the night before and empty it in the morning. They also clear all surfaces of clutter, breakfast debris and used teabags, so the kitchen is fit and ready for the day ahead.
3. Jump online
Organised people are brilliant at hopping online over their breakfast coffee to quickly clear their inbox of junk or fire off an admin email. They do not, however, find themselves so glued to their screen that they are late for work or forget to have a shower. This is a crisp and clinical online catch-up, not an hour-long social media wallow.
Organised people are brilliant at hopping online over their breakfast coffee to quickly clear their inbox of junk or fire off an admin email. They do not, however, find themselves so glued to their screen that they are late for work or forget to have a shower. This is a crisp and clinical online catch-up, not an hour-long social media wallow.
4. Don’t make a packed lunch
Why not? Because an organised person has already made all the packed lunches for the family the night before, of course! Simply remove from the fridge and go.
Fast-track school lunch making
Why not? Because an organised person has already made all the packed lunches for the family the night before, of course! Simply remove from the fridge and go.
Fast-track school lunch making
5. Get up before everyone else
Follow an organised person’s sage advice and get up before the rest of the household. Even if you rise just 10 or 15 minutes earlier than everyone else, those precious moments give you time to wake up before other demands are placed on you. If you share a bathroom, this is a particularly great idea too. Waiting for the shower can throw your morning routine into chaos.
Follow an organised person’s sage advice and get up before the rest of the household. Even if you rise just 10 or 15 minutes earlier than everyone else, those precious moments give you time to wake up before other demands are placed on you. If you share a bathroom, this is a particularly great idea too. Waiting for the shower can throw your morning routine into chaos.
6. Streamline the routine
Think about all the morning’s tasks and the order in which you might complete them. Try to line them up so they work with your schedule and the layout of your house. This will allow you to follow a logical path around your home, accomplishing key goals in each space before moving on.
So you might get up, go to the kitchen to drink tea and eat breakfast, then head back upstairs to shower, dress, dry hair and put on make-up. This simple course prevents doubling back and time wasting.
If you’re not organised, you could make tea, then zoom back up for a shower, then gobble breakfast with your hair in a towel, then race back up to dry it, then break off to feed the dog before running upstairs again to get dressed… Which method is more efficient?
Think about all the morning’s tasks and the order in which you might complete them. Try to line them up so they work with your schedule and the layout of your house. This will allow you to follow a logical path around your home, accomplishing key goals in each space before moving on.
So you might get up, go to the kitchen to drink tea and eat breakfast, then head back upstairs to shower, dress, dry hair and put on make-up. This simple course prevents doubling back and time wasting.
If you’re not organised, you could make tea, then zoom back up for a shower, then gobble breakfast with your hair in a towel, then race back up to dry it, then break off to feed the dog before running upstairs again to get dressed… Which method is more efficient?
7. Head to the freezer
This is where a truly organised person will find shelves groaning with pre-prepared homemade meals, cooked up during some spare time at the weekend. Pop a serving straight in the fridge and it will have defrosted in time for dinner.
Check out more money-saving habits
This is where a truly organised person will find shelves groaning with pre-prepared homemade meals, cooked up during some spare time at the weekend. Pop a serving straight in the fridge and it will have defrosted in time for dinner.
Check out more money-saving habits
8. Plan the weekend on Wednesday
Whether it’s booking cinema tickets or planning the menu for a dinner party with friends, organised people can whip up the foundations of a wonderful weekend on a Wednesday morning.
Whether it’s booking cinema tickets or planning the menu for a dinner party with friends, organised people can whip up the foundations of a wonderful weekend on a Wednesday morning.
9. Take care of dependents
It might be walking and feeding the family dog or simply watering the plants, but an organised person will factor in time to take care of any living dependents first thing.
It might be walking and feeding the family dog or simply watering the plants, but an organised person will factor in time to take care of any living dependents first thing.
10. Make time for wellbeing
If you put all these other tips into place, there should be a little time free for you each morning. Whether you use that for an extra cup of coffee and a skim through the paper, some quiet meditation sitting in your favourite chair or a few rounds of sun salutations, it could set you up for the day ahead.
TELL US
Are you a super-organised person? Let us know how you knock your mornings into shape in the Comments below.
MORE
How Do You Take Your Tea and Coffee in the Morning?
Morning Rituals That Will Make You Feel More Awake
How to Wake Up on the Right Side of the Bed
If you put all these other tips into place, there should be a little time free for you each morning. Whether you use that for an extra cup of coffee and a skim through the paper, some quiet meditation sitting in your favourite chair or a few rounds of sun salutations, it could set you up for the day ahead.
TELL US
Are you a super-organised person? Let us know how you knock your mornings into shape in the Comments below.
MORE
How Do You Take Your Tea and Coffee in the Morning?
Morning Rituals That Will Make You Feel More Awake
How to Wake Up on the Right Side of the Bed
No self-respecting organised person can leave the house without first making the bed. Time for airing is factored in, by turning the doona down as soon as the bed is vacated, then it’s ready to be made just after breakfast.
This is a worthwhile habit to acquire: a neatly made bed gives a room a feeling of order and invites you to snuggle back in at the end of the day.
Why should you make the bed every day?