Waking up cuddling a pile of clean laundry you were too lazy to fold is, while admittedly comfortable, not the best way to start your day. Neither is opening your eyes mid-panic because you’re scrambling to figure out where and with whom your breakfast meeting is. Use these easy tips to set yourself up for the next day. Not only will your morning go better, but you’re bound to get a more relaxing night’s sleep!
Tidy your bedroom
I hate to sound like your mother, but really—there’s nothing like the feeling of waking up in a clean, organized space. Fold that laundry, put the graveyard of coffee-mugs to rest in the dishwasher, and make sure everything is more or less in its place. You’ll thank yourself when you don’t have to scramble for matching socks at 7 AM.
Get ahead of your work day
Getting into the following habit is tricky, but worth it. If there are easy things you can do at night to shave a few minutes off your morning routine, do them. Plan your outfit and prep whatever part of breakfast you can ahead of time. These little tasks really add up in the early hours.
Bury your eyes in a book
Losing yourself in a great book is a fantastic way to relax before bed. Plenty of research backs up the idea that reading improves cognitive function and lowers stress levels, so it makes all the sense in the world to make reading—if only for ten or fifteen minutes—a part of your bedtime routine. Even better, if you make reading before bed a consistent habit, it will help signal to your brain that it’s time for sleep, compounding its relaxing effect.
Get your stress out on paper
Have a nagging issue you just can’t get a handle on? Try writing down whatever’s keeping you up at night (on a piece of paper — definitely not your smartphone notepad), folding it up, and putting it away in your desk drawer till the morning. This helps signal to your mind that the problem is off the table, for the time being, helping keep it from ricocheting around your brain.
Simple tips are easy to brush off since they tend to seem almost too easy to work, but imagine how different your mornings would be if you actually put these tips into practice on a daily basis!
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