Morning Hacks To Get You Ready Faster

Raise your hand if you're a morning person. I'll wait. Yeah, I didn't think so. No matter what we do, the crack of dawn is our sworn enemy. However, there are a few morning hacks that can speed up your daily routine. Take it from a reformed morning hater like me, who used to set a bajillion alarms to go off in 5-minute intervals. Looking back at my then-jam-packed routine is still nearly enough to make my fingers blindly hit snooze.

You've got to shower, find the perfect ensemble, stumble through your beauty routine, make your coffee, pray your keys are in plain sight, and dare not turn around because you forgot something important. Sounds miserable right? Just thinking about it is enough to give you some serious feels — the kind of feels that will send you desperately crawling back into your bed for mercy.

If you want to leave the alarm snoozing, bed clinging lifestyle behind in hopes of becoming a morning person, it's high time you learn a few tricks that have made my mornings so much easier. Your body will thank you, your days will get off to a smoother start, and minimal effort is needed to change your ways. All in favor of getting on your feet and out of the door in no time, follow these eight time-saving morning hacks.

1. Plan At Night

Think about how long you agonize over what to wear for the day. Save yourself some precious Z's by picking out your outfit the night before. It'll give you plenty of time to try on your clothes and decide what pieces go together without having to race against the clock. While you're on a pre-planning spree, you may as well pack your purse or bag too. Make sure your wallet, IDs, metro or parking passes, and other necessities are packed away. With more time to think about everything you'll need for tomorrow, you'll reduce your chances of leaving something behind. No one likes making it out of their neighborhood just to turn back to frantically search for something you need.

2. Prep Your Breakfast

Mornings just got a lot more bearable with pre-made breakfast meals. If you don't mind heating up your food, you can give yourself a head start in the morning by pre-cooking some of your ingredients like eggs and sausage. Yogurt parfaits, fruit salad, and breakfast smoothies are also great options that can be made and refrigerated overnight. It's like making your own ready-to-go meal for those mornings when you just can't be bothered with cooking.

3. Try Overnight Hairstyles

When it's early AF o'clock, fumbling around with blow dryers and curlers is a pain because how convenient is it that our hair never cooperates when we're pressed for time. I feel a mean eye roll coming in hot. Luckily, there are plenty of hairstyles to sleep in that will make for a flawless look and give you one less thing to worry about in the a.m. Who doesn't love perfectly tousled hair with lazy girl effort?

4. Put Your Alarm Clock Out Of Reach

No one likes their dreams interrupted by the sound of a blaring alarm when they're just about to kiss Prince Charming. It only makes us want to roll over in a half-asleep stupor and hit snooze so we can get back to our shut-eye. Silencing that alarm would be a bit of a challenge, however, if your clock was clear across the room. Putting your alarm clock out of arm's reach will force you to get out of bed quicker in order to turn it off. You may experience a little separation anxiety if you use your cellphone as an alarm clock, but making it harder to reach will get you on your feet faster. The sooner you get out of the bed, the sooner you'll be ready to leave.

5. Trick Yourself

You can always trick yourself into staying on schedule with your morning routine by tampering with time. Try putting an extra clock in your bathroom and set it about 10 or 15 minutes ahead. When you think you're running late, you'll actually be a few minutes ahead of schedule. Take it from someone like me who's always a tad early because her car clock is set 12 minutes fast.

6. Organize Your Bathroom

At 7 a.m. you're basically sleep walking with your brain on autopilot. Ain't nobody got time to search for the things you'll need to get ready when you haven't even been jolted by the godsend that is coffee. Make your life easier by restoring order in your mess of a bathroom. Organize your space and put your go-to morning products in plain sight. You'll save yourself time and energy when you don't have to hunt down the essentials.

7. Use Double Duty Shower Products

Although you can speed your day along if you shower the night before, some of us would rather wash up in the morning. If you can't commit to washing your hair at night, opt for double duty hair products in the morning. A 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner can do the work of multiple products. You'll get through your shower routine quicker without having to sacrifice an essential haircare step. Just be sure to give your hair special treatment when you have free time in your week to preserve your luscious locks.

8. Streamline Your Beauty Routine

Beware of makeup hoarding — it's a serious condition that can bring a lot of chaos to your morning. Streamlining your beauty routine can relieve some of that stress. There are a number of ways you can speed up your day by altering your morning makeup. You can opt for multitasking beauty products. There's always a five products in five minutes or less beauty routine that'll give you a full face in no time. Playing up just one feature like the eyes or lips can also help you use your time wisely.

9. Keep Your Keys In Sight

Yes, this seems like a given. However, the overwhelming majority of us still have to turn the house upside down before finding our keys. Keep them in plain sight, preferably close to the door, to make your exit as smooth as possible. It would be wise to keep your purse, backpack, or any other essentials nearby so you're ready to grab and go during your exit.

With these speedy hacks on your side, you'll be heading out of the door faster than ever. Handling your mornings like a pro means more time to get your beauty rest on! I can't think of a bigger win than that.

Images: Robin Yang, Brooke Cagle, Sambazon, Eder Pozo Pérez, Manu Camargo, Daryn Bartlett/Unsplash; Bianca Consunji (3)/Bustle