Tips on Shortening your morning routine

I've tried to be a morning person, but nope, I'll have to admit I am a night owl which means I always end up going to sleep late. Since I work from 8am, the whole getting things done at night doesn't work out so well for me. I like my sleep, a lot. If I don't get enough sleep I'm usually quite grumpy in the morning. So I've been thinking and I've finally come up with a way to shorten my morning routine which gives me more time to sleep {Win!}.

I can't say that I stick to this everyday because occasionally I'm lazy in the evenings to do anything that doesn't involve me being on the laptop. But on days when I do stick to this, I end up getting enough sleep, getting ready faster in the mornings and walking out the door looking fabulous.

1. Cook in bulk

This is the first thing that I believe impacts how fast you get ready in the morning. If you usually take lunch with you to the office, make sure to prepare enough food for a few days, say on the weekend. This way, you won't have to worry about this once you get up. This saves up to 20 minutes.

2. Pack your lunch the day before

Linked to the first point, not only cook your meals beforehand but also pack tomorrow's lunchbox before you go to bed. This saves you at least 5 minutes in the morning trying to put it all together.

3. Decide on your outfit the day before

If you're a fashion enthusiast like me, you'd probably want something stylish most of the time {there are days when I am totally not in the mood} which means you need a bit of time to come up with your ensemble. I love clothes which do not need ironing, this way I can think up my outfit while I lay in bed and just get it all out the next morning. If you plan your outfit and iron the items needed the night before, you're cutting off a minimum of 15 minutes in the morning.

4. Keep your makeup organized

I know some of us do better in messy situations than when everything is organized. And I know lots of times things may get messy because you didn't have time to organize, but I've noticed that if I have my makeup organized and keep my everyday products separate from the others, I get ready a lot faster. I don't need to check different places looking for where I put my eyebrow pencil or mascara. And this saves me another 5 minutes in the morning.

5. Wash your hair the night before

I'm glad I do not have oily hair which means I don't need to wash it that often. For those that do, I'd suggest washing it the night before and just refreshing it a bit in the morning. It'll look just as good. But if you still prefer washing it in the morning, dry it slightly and let it air dry the rest of the way. I always wash my hair at night during the week because it takes forever to dry. That's another 15 minutes minimum.

6. Low maintenance hairstyles

Ever since I started transitioning, I've really gotten into protective styling which means I don't have to spend much time on my hair in the morning. I always have 2 go to hairstyles which I spice up with a braid here and there when I have the time. For my straight hair girls who like to curl their hair often, I'd recommend sleeping in buns to skip curling your hair in the morning. 

All together, that's an extra hour of sleep gotten from following these tips. How great is that?! Usually, getting just 30 minutes extra of sleep is all your body needs in order to feel energized and ready for the day.

What do you do to get ready faster in the morning?