Are mornings full of stress and a mad rush at your house? By the time you find matching socks for the kids and answer the text messages that piled up overnight, you may feel like you’ve put in a full day before you even reach the office. You can make your mornings run more smoothly. Take a look at these suggestions to feel more relaxed as you start the day and reduce stress in the morning.

8 Ways to Save Time in the Morning

Staying on schedule is probably your biggest challenge. These time-savers will streamline your routine to reduce stress in the morning.

1. Plan your schedule. Maybe you’re trying to cram too much into too few hours. Figure out how much time you need for your usual activities. Then, you can calculate when you need to go to bed so you’ll be well-rested each day.
   
2. Organize your space. Do you know where your umbrella is? Keeping essential items in their place will eliminate searching for car keys or gym bags.
   
3. Check the weather. Rain and snow may change your plans. Take a look at the forecast before you go to bed so you’ll be ready with rain boots or ice scrapers.
4. Prepare breakfast. Eating breakfast gives you energy now, and makes it easier to resist snacking on junk food later. Assemble your smoothie ingredients tonight so you can pull them out of the refrigerator tomorrow.
   
5. Layout your clothes. Hang tomorrow’s outfit at the front of your closet or on the back of your bedroom door. Buy a compact steamer to cut down on ironing time.
   
6. Simplify your look. How many products do you use in the morning? Design a simpler skincare regimen and browse around for a low-maintenance hairstyle.
   
7. Write notes. Save your brainpower for more important subjects. Jot down reminders to pick up prescriptions or dry cleaning.
   
8. Shorten your commute. Studies show that the length of your commute has a dramatic effect on your health and wellbeing. Moving or changing jobs is a big decision, but you may want to explore your options. If you’re looking for a benchmark, the average one-way commute in the U.S. is 25.5 minutes.

5 Ways to Make Mornings More Peaceful

However much you need to do, you can stay calm and focused. It’s a matter of attitude. These tips will help you enjoy mornings more.

1. Adjust the light. Light has a powerful effect on your brain. Darkening your bedroom at night will help you to sleep better so you wake up feeling refreshed. The opposite holds true for waking up. Exposure to morning sun will banish grogginess.
2. Meditate before bed. Meditating or praying before sleep may give you pleasant dreams. You can reinforce the positive feelings by meditating in the morning too.
3. Skip the snooze button. Try placing your alarm clock across the room if you’re in the habit of hitting the snooze button. Those 10-minute fragments of sleep usually leave you feeling worse than if you get out of bed immediately.
   
4. Play music. Spend your evening cueing up a playlist of your favorite songs. Lively music will give you energy if you’re dragging around. Gentle instrumental music will soothe your nerves if you’re apprehensive about a job interview or business presentation.
   
5. Download a podcast. Continue your education during your commute. Find a podcast that will teach you Roman history or the fundamentals of accounting.

A few simple strategies can turn you into an early bird or at least make your initial hours happier and more productive. Starting the morning on a positive note will help you head off stress and feel calmer all day long.

Is stress overwhelming you, even making you sick? Talk with a hypnotist to learn how hypnosis can help to alleviate stress, leaving you calm and relaxed, with phenomenal coping skills.