4 Simple Strategies to Save Time Getting Ready in the Morning

Wake-up Stress Free

Apologies to all my readers for not having blogged for a while. We've been in the middle of a big move and I am currently working on my next book. As a result, time has flown by. Talking about lost time, this is the topic of my post today.

Time: The final frontier... Well as far as getting ready in a hurry in the morning, of course. Have you noticed how time always seems to go in the opposite direction to what we wish? When we want time to go really fast, this is when it draaaaaggs. On the other hand, when you could really do with more time, it is as if you stepped into a worm hole and emerged at the other end, having lost an hour. Losing a whole hour, or even a quarter of an hour, is not an option for many of us in the mornings. 

Whatever you are rushing for, whether it is work, school run, university courses, training courses or whatever else, would you like to find out how to make your morning routine easier, simpler and less stressful?
So, what can we do to save time getting ready in the mornings? 

I have found four simple strategies to help gain precious time before we run out of the door every day. Here they are:

Plan

Do as much as you can the evening before. I know, I know, I hear you: you're too tired in the evenings to do anything of the sort. However, if you want to avoid stress the next day, you may have to do a bit of work the day before. It won't be much though. If you make it a habit, it will become second nature. After a while, you may not notice you are doing it. Think about it: it will leave you with more time in the mornings for other tasks and for any unexpected eventualities.

Plan what you are going to wear the next day. Look at the weather forecast. It is rather annoying to get a skirt and sandals ready for the next day, only to wake up to the sound of heavy rain outside your bedroom window. 

Get your outfit ready on a hanger or over a chair, including underwear, hosiery, shoes and coat/jacket. Even jewellery can be selected the night before. If you read my book, "The Tidy Closet" , this is what I call the outfit-to-go.

Give your nails a coat of polish the evening before, maybe while you are relaxing in front of the TV. Clear nail polish is the easiest to put on quickly. An added bonus is that, even if it gets chipped during the day, you can't really notice it. Great for every type of work. Do the same for your toes during the 'sandal season', but choose a bright or dark polish.

Get your handbag ready. If, like me, you own a variety of handbags, you will want to choose a different bag according to your outfit. It may take time to delve into your large collection to retrieve the right one . So, it is best to plan this the evening before, non? One of the 200+ tips I gave in "How to be Chic and Elegant",  was to have a separate inner fabric bag, in which you place all the contents of your handbag. It is then so much easier to transfer them all in one go, from bag to bag, without leaving anything in 'yesterday's handbag', as invariably happens. Do you like this idea?

Organisation

This organisation method may seem extreme to some of you but believe me, it works. Consider the precious time wasted every morning searching for various eye pencils, lipsticks and the like in your "Tardis*" of a cosmetic bag (*for the Dr Who fans). You know the type of bag I mean? Tiny on the outside but contains as much as a ride-and-roll suitcase? If this is the correct description of your own cosmetic bag, please read on. You may find this beneficial.
Although I don't wear much makeup during the day, I use the following method when I have an important day or meeting ahead, to minimise stress and wasted time.
This is how.
Remove all the makeup and beauty products that you are going to use, from your bathroom cabinet and/or cosmetic bag. Lay them out on your vanity table or the place you usually apply your makeup in a row or rows, by order of use, left to right.  In the morning you can then start using your products without having to search for them. This way you can start with your cleanser, toner and moisturiser at your bathroom cabinet. Next, you can move on to your vanity table, to apply your base and makeup. Put each item straight back in your make-up bag or bags after use to keep things tidy. 
This simple method allows you to go much faster rather than rummaging through tons of products for each one that you need.

Trim

We all know how long we take with our hair: washing, rinsing, conditioning, blow drying, plus the other oils, creams or conditioning treatments in between. Washing our hair the night before can make us look like we've been dragged through a hedge backwards, the next morning. We then have to spend even longer attempting to bring our hairstyle back to its best. Not always easy.
Keep the deep conditioning treatments for the weekends when time is not so much of the essence.
Another thing to do is to try to cut down on the blow drying time. Now and again, have your hair trimmed shorter than usual. It will benefit you hair and give you a younger, fresher look. Choose a low maintenance haircut that will require only a quick blow dry or no blow dry at all. Just style your hair with a brush and/or styling products. Let it air dry naturally while you get ready. Give it the finishing touch before leaving the house.

Multi-Purpose

Try using multi-purpose beauty products if you can. They may help to reduce or even halve the time of your skincare regime. You are probably aware of these products, but are you using them yet?

All-in-one Facial Cleanser (cleanses/tones/refreshes)
All-in-one Serum/Moisturiser/Anti-Wrinkle/Anti-Aging
Moisturiser with SPF
Tinted moisturiser
Blemish/Beauty Balm or BB Cream
Colour Correction or CC cream
All-in-one eye shadow Colour Palette
Leave-in Hair Conditioner
All-in-one Shampoo/Hair Balm

I hope these four simple strategies will help reduce the time it takes you to get ready in the morning. You may find that they even remove some of the stress of getting ready in a rush. Please let us know in the comment section below what is your favourite way to save time in the morning.

A bientôt
Marie-Anne ♥

Image via www.jimclarkfitness.com

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