The Efficient Morning Routine
Society has sped up over the past couple of decades, most likely due to the adoption of computers (especially the Internet) and other digital devices in the home. With technology and information-gathering becoming faster and faster we’ve naturally readjusted our schedules to suit such a lifestyle.
So it seems like we’re finding less time to enjoy a good morning routine before heading out to work. With energy drinks and cereal bars a popular breakfast choice I feel it’s important to get to grips with a good old fashioned morning schedule again; one that is suited to today’s busy culture.
Image courtesy of liz_com1981 (Flickr)
For instance: I always have a cup of coffee when I get up. I’ve mentioned this in previous blog posts but I simply cannot go without a good dose of caffeine before I begin working. Now while I do have an espresso maker I also like to use my regular coffee machine for a good cup of filtered. If you find that boiling the kettle in the morning sets you back a few minutes, buying a coffee machine can fix that as most of them allow you to set a timer to go off.
I usually set mine for 6am so that when I do finally get up there is a jug of hot coffee waiting for me in the kitchen. Added bonus: there is nothing sweeter than the aroma of fresh coffee filling your home when you first wake up.
Now if you don’t like coffee maybe you want to use your juicer to make a fresh glass of orange. Chances are you may not have time to pour a whole load of oranges into the machine to freshly squeeze them. What I tend to do is pre-squeeze them the night before and leave it in the fridge to chill. This may sound obvious but you would be surprised how much time this saves. And much like the coffee it’s nice to know it’ll be waiting for you there in the morning.
Pre-scheduling things is the way to a more efficient morning routine I find. Planning a few things before bed time will help you easily shave off some time before work. Let’s look at technology for a second.
Image courtesy of espensorvik (Flickr)
I always check my emails first thing in the morning. And unless I am prepared to leave my computer on all night (not a good idea) checking them can take quite a chunk of time out of my day. But there are methods to setting up your computer to switch on automatically at a certain time. Much like my coffee maker I set my PC to come on at 6am. That way, as soon as I put my dressing gown on I can be checking my emails within seconds.
Oh sure, I could invest in a smart phone and check emails that way but that would cut into my coffee time.
Suzie Parkes is slowly becoming a morning person. Her home computer and Go Electrical coffee maker seem to be good bed fellows.
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Life surely has become too hectic nowadays!
I can well understand when you talk about the kind of morning routine we all have. And with kid’s who need to be dressed and sent off to school, everything else takes a back seat. 🙂
Ah…I can never think of having a peaceful cup of coffee (though I prefer tea the first thing in the morning and coffee can follow up later!), but yes, once the kids are sent off, I do have mine and enjoy it with the morning newspaper. It’s after that when I start with my Laptop, check mails and other stuff for 1-2 hours and then back to housework for a while, and then back again to sitting to write.
I guess you have the benefits of working from home and can afford to take short breaks to do things that need your attention too – isn’t it?
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Harleena Singh recently posted…5 Tips on How to Find Your Soulmate
Harleena – Nice to see your comment here. Suzie did a great job at writing up this article for her morning routine 🙂
I am a coffee person as well and I could actually relate to what she was telling about!!!!
Benefits of working from home are there, it allows me to take a break from the grind and work with my PJs on 🙂
Have a wonderful week ahead.
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Hi Suzie,
Lives getting much more complex but that’s totally opposite of what I’m dreaming of 🙂
Your morning routine is much efficient I’d say 🙂 Mine goes with a hot glass of milk and the best person to make that for me is my mother 😉 She knows my taste and still I don’t believe a machine would do that for me. Am I over-confident? 😉
Pre-scheduling can save a lot of time for sure dear 🙂 I’ve been doing it for some of my work and I could keep up with the consistency without getting into hot water with bunch of unplanned work.
I believe having such organized routine is really a life saver for those who busy with their work and family life 🙂
Anyway I’m not much busy enough as I guess ’cause my mother is always there for me 😉 lol…
Cheers…
Mayura recently posted…Do You Call Yourself a "Blogger"?
Mayura – Thanks for stopping by and leaving your thoughts on this wonderful article by Suzie.
Yes, moms always know what their kids need and how they want it and when they want it. Nothing to beat that, am sure.
Organizing the routine can be beneficial, but am not so sure if it will work for every one, atleast not for me, I happen to be a “take it as it comees” sort of a guy, planning ahead and scheduling is out of question 🙂
Have a wonderful time with your mother, and maker her a glass of milk one of these days, just to impress her and give her a break 🙂
Praveen Rajarao recently posted…Tips on Blog commenting
lol 😀 Yeah, I need to give her a break and make her one Praveen. Good idea 🙂
But she’s always the first there and everything is ready when I wake up. Our moms are amazing, no?
Hmm… I’ll try and I’m sure she will be impressed for sure as I never made any.
Cheers…
Mayura recently posted…Do You Call Yourself a "Blogger"?
This article just justifies why i have been doing what i have been doing lately.Thanks for sharing!
Now any kind of planning in my case comes as a string attached with having a 15 month old toddler 🙂
I try to plan everything, from getting his clothes, shoes, lunch box, both my husbands and my lunch box and clothes ready right before i get to bed. Even though that means sleeping 15 minutes late, because i am not a morning person, i’d rather do it previous night than steal those 15 minutes from my morning sleep time 🙂
But to add to what’s described in the article, i do one more thing which helps. I avoid eating breakfast at home, as that can take some time (at least in my case). So now i have milk, cereals, oatmeal anything i need stored in the break room at work. That way, i can get to work and relax and eat my breakfast with coffee, while i check my emails, or get ready for any meeting.
Thanks again for sharing this!
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Swatee – I can easily relate to your morning routine, and how difficult it should be to get everything in place for the entire family.
Your idea of having breakfast at work sounds like a plan, and maybe I should start doing that as well 🙂
But hey, dont you actually love what you do for your family? It gives you that satisfaction that you are taking care of them inspite of your busy schedule. I am sure you will have no complaints 🙂
Have a good day ahead.
Praveen Rajarao recently posted…The Trouble with High Pitch Roofs
Thanks for your reply Praveen.
Did i forget to mention that? yes i absolutely get a content feeling when i do all that i do for my family!And i totally agree with you on that 🙂
Swatee recently posted…Paneer Butter Masala/Paneer Makhani