I don’t know about you, but if I’ve got somewhere to be early in the morning (though my definition of early is probably different than yours), there’s usually a manic rush as I try and get everything done on time before I head out.
That rush is easy to avoid, even if you get up not long before you need to leave. It just takes a bit of planning. Here’s how to fly through your morning routine like it didn’t even happen. This is designed to capitalize on your time in the evening or night when you aren’t rushed to optimize your morning routine. The order of items is important, by the way.
Also, this is just a rough guideline with ideas on how one could set up a morning routine that’s fast and effective; there are undoubtedly thousands of hacks you could apply to make things faster, or just get more done within the same time frame.
And finally, I will say that I’m not making this up as I go along; I’ve done this before within the time allotments set out below.
Getting Out of Bed
Stick an alarm clock by your bed and another across the room (or even in another room) that goes off a minute later. The second one forces you up even if you miss the first one, and it makes the first alarm even more effective if you don’t live alone – you’ll have to turn the second alarm off before it wakes anyone else up!
Walk directly to the bathroom.
My time: ten seconds.
Showering
Grab a two-in-one shampoo and conditioner, chuck it in your hair, and use a scrubber with body wash to clean yourself up while you brush your teeth with the other hand (you can store a toothbrush and paste on the ledge of the shower wall if it’s wide enough – and if you can reach up there!). From the time you’ve got the temperature right, you can be out in 90 seconds without sacrificing any cleanliness.
My time: ninety seconds.
Getting Dressed
Jump out of the shower and dry off with the towel you put on the towel rack the night before. Your deodorant, cologne or perfume, and anything else you put on after your shower (moisturizer for the ladies, for instance) is lined up on the sink ready to be applied in rapid succession.
Your clothes for the day are lined up on a rack (or whatever you have available in the bathroom) in the order that you put them on; items that require ironing were done the night before.
You don’t need to shave, because you did that before bed—there’s nothing wrong with a bit of overnight stubble. Fortunately we live in a time when stubble is even considered trendy; I imagine this routine would be much harder in a more “clean cut” era. I don’t pretend to know about shaving one’s legs, but I imagine (and this is a wild guess) that it’s fine to shave the night before. Feel free to correct me!
Walk to the kitchen.
My time: two minutes.
Breakfast
Leave breakfast until last, because if you eat breakfast first and then start losing time, there’s not many other corners left to cut. You shouldn’t skip this important meal but it’s more expendable than a shower if you’re going to be around other people.
Some people will refuse to change their breakfast habits to make things happen faster, but in any case, it’s possible. If you eat cereal, put some in a bowl the night before and stick it in the fridge, requiring you to just add some milk and eat in the morning.
If you have a shake for breakfast, there’s no noticeable difference in taste if you prepare it before bed and stick it in the fridge until morning—in fact, the time it has to cool down will probably improve the taste.
If you eat a fairly complex breakfast, say bacon and eggs on toast with hash browns, that takes time to cook, you can get all the refrigerated ingredients on a plate. In the morning, get the plate out of the fridge and you have everything you need to start cooking; no messing around with packaging or finding an ingredient you forgot about.
I like miso soup for breakfast. Since it’s already prepared, there’s nothing easier to heat up in the microwave, and it can be eaten quickly.
My time: two minutes.
Getting Out the Door
My laptop is ready in its bag, sitting by the door; in that bag is my wallet, and on a hook by the door are my keys. My shoes are also by the door, and I can slip them on as I grab my bag. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet learned to grab the bag, slip the shoes on and get the keys all at once!
The only thing I have to grab before I leave that’s not by the door is my phone, as I charge it over night via USB in my desktop. No wasted time there, though, since I scan feeds and email for a minute or two as I eat breakfast and can take the phone with me as I go to put the bowl in the kitchen sink.
Notice I said scan and not read; it’s really just to pass the time between mouthfuls!
My time: ten seconds.
How long does it take me to get out the door on an early morning? Just under six minutes.
In short: spending fifteen to twenty minutes preparing for the morning before bed can mean you spend only five minutes getting ready in the morning. No more morning rush! Of course, I like to take my time where possible and if I’m not going to be rushed, I take the longer, more relaxed route to morning preparation.
But if I’m working late and I want to maximize my sleep without pushing back my day, this is the model I use to get my night’s work done and still get up early without feeling exhausted.
Offering a unique perspective and insight on productivity based on his experience as a writer, musician, family man and manager, Joel Falconer has been published online and off, and brings to Lifehack's readers practical advice you can use to be more efficient and effective.
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译文:
怎样利用你的早晨时光
我虽不认识你，但是如果哪天早上我得早早的到某个地方（虽然我对早的定义可能与你们有所不同），在将所有东西准备妥当，可以出发之前，必定要经历一番匆匆忙忙。
其实这种匆忙是很容易避免的，即使你是在不得不起床的时候才起来，然后稍作安排。一下提供一些或许未曾尝试的具体步骤，那就是在头天傍晚或是晚上就要充分利用你的时间做好相应的安排，这样自然可以避免第二天早上的匆忙现象。注意安排的秩序非常重要。
当然，这也只是个大致的条况供参考，针对如何高效快速地利用早上的时间，那可有上很多花样方法供你借鉴，让你更加有效地利用时间后者更快的在有限的时间里做完更多的事情。
最后我要说的就是一下的这些方法不是我杜撰出来的，而是我一直坚持在做的。
起床
在你的床边上个闹钟，另外一个放在房间里（或者放在另一个房间）不过时间要比前一个设的晚一分钟。作用就是避免第一个闹钟没有听见，如果你不是独居，第二个的效果就会更加有效。因为你要关掉它以免吵醒他人。
起床后直接去洗手间
我的所用时间是10秒钟
洗个澡
将二合一的洗发水和护发素抹到头发上，然后一个手一边刷牙另一个手可以同时用搓澡巾搓背（你可以在淋浴架上放些牙刷和牙膏，只要空间许可。或者就是伸手可以拿到的地方）待水温适合后你可以洗上90秒钟然后出来完事，确保干净利落。
我的用时是90 秒钟。
着装
出了淋浴室，用干毛巾擦干身上，当然这个干毛巾头天晚上要备好在架子上。关于那些除臭剂，古龙香水或是其他什么香水，还有其他什么想要的东西一定要备好放在洗脸池旁（比如，如果是女士，那个增湿剂之类的）
第二天要穿的衣服要提前放在架子上（或者不管你在浴室里要要的什么东西），都提前放置好这样你就可以不用在找，而是直接穿上，如果是需要熨烫的衣物，头天晚上搞定。
你不要早上刮胡子，而是头天晚上上床前办完，一晚上最多就长出来点胡子茬，那也没有关系吗。相反现在倒是一种时尚，但是我估计这种方案在崇尚刮精胡子的年代多少有点不合时宜、对于剃腿毛我可是没有什么经验可说，但是我想（当然是个大胆的设想）最好还是头天晚上剃完为好，如果不对尽管指正。
去厨房
我的用时是2分钟
早餐
将早餐放在最后，因为你先吃早餐就意味着开始浪费时间，也就是说你就没有什么时间去干别的什么了。你当然不能不吃早饭，因为早饭还是相当重要的一餐，但是它的确要比洗澡耗时，
一些同志会反对为了节省时间而改变他们的早餐习惯，但是无论如何，我们都能达到节时的效果。你可以饮用谷类食品，头天晚上就倒在碗里，然后放在冰箱里，第二天早上只是加些牛奶就可以食用了
如果你认为这样的早餐不妥，其实我告诉你味道上没有什么区别，只是放在冰箱里一个晚上而已，实际上，这段冷却的时间可能会在味道上有所提升。
如果你的早餐比较复杂的话，如熏肉和鸡蛋都需要时间切碎烤熟之类的，那可真是要花点时间，你不妨将所有的要烹饪的东西预先放在盘子上，然后冷藏起来，第二天早上，直接就可以加工了，不必为了找配料，拆包装而搞的一团糟
我常食用的就是日本都面酱汤，因为这种是成品，直接放在微波炉里就可以加热饮用了，食用起来也非常便捷。
我的用时是2分钟
出门
我的笔记本电脑提前放在电脑包里了，而且就放在门口的地方，电脑包里有我的钱包，门上挂钩上就是我的所有钥匙。我的鞋子也是放在门边，我可以一边那电脑包一边穿鞋子。但是遗憾的就是我现在还不能同时完成三样事情，拿包，穿鞋和取钥匙同时进行。
一个唯一不能在我离开家门的时候随手可以拿到的东西就是我的电话，因为手机每天晚上要在我的台式电脑上充电，但是放在那里也不耽误时间，因为我本身就要花上一两分钟查看电脑和电邮，当然这还是在我吃早饭的时候完成的，在我去厨房放碗的同时我就可以将我的手机带上。
注意我说的是快速浏览不是细读，只是在吃饭的时间打发一下光阴而已
我的用时是10秒钟
我一般在早上出门的用时是多少哪？不到6分钟。
简单说，通常要在睡觉前花15到20分钟准备准备第二天的事情。也就意味着第二天早上只要5分钟准备，这样以来就避免早上的匆忙了。当然在我闲暇是我也是尽可能的利用我的时间，尤其是为我的早晨时光我总是做的游刃有余
但是如果我工作的太晚，而且还有保证自己的睡眠时间，或者不至于耽误第二天的工作，以上范例就是我保证了晚间工作，而又第二天早上不感到困乏的诀窍。