Do you sometimes feel that your alarm is the starting gun to a mad dash to get showered, dressed and out the door where you're sprinting to catch up, and you've only begun the marathon of a day? When your morning begins with a race against the clock, it sets the tone for the day. To get back on track you need to change your pace. Learn to do that and you'll be breathing a whole lot easier throughout the day. It just takes a little training.
By making a few adjustments to your a.m. game plan, you should be able to work in a little time to relax: 20 minutes to exercise, five minutes for a mini-meditation or even just a few minutes to stretch. Your revamped mornings will pay off in a winning attitude. Here's how to get started:
Hit Replay: Review the steps you take to get out the door and determine the time-wasters. Do you sleep through the alarm? Is the closet a jungle of clothes, where you have to hunt for the right outfit, never certain what you'll come up with? Are you habitually losing things--that navy bag, your left shoe, the folder of contracts? Or are you a change artist, getting hung up by trying on and taking off outfit after outfit? Maybe you lose minutes with tearing through half a dozen makeup bags, drawers and pocketbooks to come up with the right lipstick and a suitable foundation. By analyzing your missteps, you'll have a better idea about what your next move will be.
Visualize the Perfect Start: Now picture how you'd like your morning to start. You jump out of bed, well-rested. Morning prep-showering, dressing, putting on makeup-is no longer a heart-racing activity. In fact, aerobics are now left to your exercise session, and working out is a regular part of the morning. Your morning shower gives you a few minutes of relaxation before you dress. No need to deliberate over outfits, that decision was made the night before, which leaves you time to put on makeup (no more applying mascara at stop lights en route to the office). You walk into the first meeting of the day without that pit in the stomach feeling that you've forgotten something.Analyze Next Steps: Once you gauge the difference between your usual routine and the ideal, you can map out the changes you need to make to get there. Do you constantly underestimate the amount of time it will take to get things done? If you need to wake up earlier, then train yourself to go to bed earlier. If you eat up time dressing, at the very least you should probably lay out your clothes the night before. But the real answer may begin with revamping your closet for maximum efficiency. Decide if that's a task you can tackle on your own or if you need help from a friend or a pro to get it done.
Speed Clean: Save time on the dirty work without adding precious minutes to your morning routine with Scrubbing Bubbles products. Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner helps eliminate buildup of soap scum and mold & mildew stains in no time. After the last shower of the day and while your tub is still wet, just touch a button to activate a powerful 360 spray of cleaning formula. To keep your toilet bowl fresh and clean for up to a week, use Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Gel. Just use the dispenser to stamp a gel disc under the toilet bowl rim and let it go to work. Each time the toilet is flushed, a small amount of the concentrated gel whirls around the bowl, cleaning it and leaving a fresh scent behind.Make Tactical Changes: Now the hard part. Begin to implement the necessary changes. Be patient with yourself, and don't try to change everything all at once. Start with some simple changes like organizing your makeup. Toss out anything broken, expired (such as mascara that you've had more than three months), or that you haven't used in ages. If you carry makeup to the office, organize one cosmetic bag that stays in your pocketbook, and another case that's kept at home. You'll be amazed how little changes can add up to big timesavers.
